I was only in England for three months. After traveling around the world for a year and a half, I only lasted back in London for 100 days. After applying to perhaps 40 volcano jobs all around the globe, only one even replied. The offer came pretty quickly. Hugo Yepes, the director at the Instituto Geofisico in Ecuador contacted me saying that there is a huge project about to take place in the South American country. The Institute were ordering numerous amounts of volcano monitoring equipment and they would need some help to instal it all.
After some brief chats, it was clear that both parties could benefit from me making the trip across the Atlantic and getting on board with this lucrative project. He wanted me not only to help in installing seismic instruments on the volcanoes of Ecuador (many of them active), but to also use my skills in seismic data processing and some personal projects on volcanic prediction based on work that I had done for my Masters thesis. Hugo said he had funding to pay me for one year, so thats how long he wanted me out there for. In the process I would get to travel all over Ecuador and learn new techniques in monitoring volcanoes. It couldn´t be better really.
I planned my trip, taking almost a month to sort out my visa (which was a real hassle), getting new equipment and clothes, and booking flights. At the same time I started to tell everyone that I was off again. It was actually really hard leaving this time around. Last time, others and myself were well prepared for my departure. This time though, everything happened so quickly. What made things harder was that I had some real amazing times back home. I went to a lot of Spurs games, my last being the 9-1 thrashing of Wigan Athletic. I played in the Monday pub quiz with my Sister and Dad up in town every week - on one occassion, our team, perfectly named "The Volcano Cowboys" were successful. One Thursday every month I would meet the cousins at their music event - "Soulshack" and on the rest of my Thursdays I was back playing 5-A-Side footy down at the Pitz. I spent a lot of time catching up with family and equally as much time with friends. Over the last few months, I had had some of the best nights out with my boys that I can ever remember - and now it would all end again. It was mixed emotions.
Ivé realised that to make the most of it all you sometimes have to make sacrifices to achieve your goals. Of course the trip would be fantastic and it was always going to be the right thing to do, but I would have to give up my home, my family and my friends one more time.
The last few weeks at home before I left were definately special. My family put on another leaving party, with all the family there. It was a great night and bizarrely just like my last leaving party a few years ago.
I also had two incredible leaving parties with my friends. The first, all of my London boys were out as we headed into town for a drunken, chaotic night. Earlier in the evening, an old school friend and now famous singer, Amy Winehouse joined us in the local pub. We all enjoyed a fair few drinks before we persuaded Amy to come up to the London club. My friend Michael and myself were driven in Amy´s convoy up to the club. All I remember about it was being fairly intoxicated chatting to Winehouse´s driver about volcanoes for 45 minutes - I´m not sure if he was enjoying the small talk or not. Amy was squashed in the back chatting to Blake before we eventually arrived at Covent Garden. In the end Amy got us all into the club straight away before people started to realise who she was. Then she was mobbed by 500 drunk people and we quickly got her out before things turned bad. Me and the boys stayed in the club and partied to the early hours.
My final night was just as eventful. All the boys were out again, but joining us was also my good traveling friend Darren, his girlfriend who we met in New Zealand - Jaqui, and other traveling friends - Harriet, Rob and Kate. It was a brilliant night and the perfect send off. Me and the boys also did a final meal out (just like last time) and with that it was time to say goodbye. The emotions were high and the hugs were long. I left the country with my helium "welcome home" balloon still flying high in my room, and with that - I was off..............
Tuesday 22 December 2009
The Offer From Ecuador - Leaving Home Again
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Life In London (England)
I have been home from my year and a half travels around the world for just over a month now and life is fully back to the way I remember it. There is still the odd person I haven’t seen, the odd reunion I haven’t arranged and the odd homely locality that I still haven’t yet ventured to, but all in all, my life is back to London normality.
This past month has been busy. I have attended my sisters wedding, travelled across Europe to Germany’s capital, Berlin, for a small trip away, had a fair few reunions with friends from home and travellers alike, who I had met at some point down the road, and have been on plenty of nights out on the town with almost every group of friends I have. Of note, the boys and I went to a fancy dress party. Surprisingly, it didn’t worry me that for the first time in my life I was attending a public event with Banana Man, Captain Jack Sparrow, Peter Pan, an Old Granny (oh young man), a Bishop, and Spiderman by my side. Nor did it bother me that I was attending a public event dressed in the brightest, pinkest, most ridiculous looking hippy outfit imaginable. Equally, it didn’t concern me that most of the boys said I looked like John Lennon. What was worrying, however, was the fact that all of the boys said that if I had just stepped off the plane from my eighteen and a half month trip around the world looking like that, they wouldn’t have even raised an eyebrow. The perception of myself as a traveller and in fact, the perception of all other backpackers who have just stepped off the plane back home, has now been categorically shifted into a realm I hadn’t before considered. Luckily, with the number of alcoholic units consumed that night, by the end of the public event, neither my or any other traveller’s perception was ever questioned again, nor was the need to worry over it’s meaning.
On worldly matters though, something which has been genuinely bothering me, is the news of a series of natural disasters which have been wrecking the lives of thousands throughout the world. Most of these events have occurred in locations that I had travelled to recently. About 15 months ago, I made a quick stop over in Myanmar (Burma) to get my visa extended for Thailand. Less than a few weeks later, on the 2nd May, 2008, the country is devastated by one of the worst tropical cyclones (Cyclone Nargis) to ever hit this part of the world, killing close to 150,000 people and later taking the title of the second deadliest named cyclone of all time.
About 14 months ago, I’m travelling through Indonesia’s largest Island – Sumatra. Since that time, one of the world’s most potentially dangerous volcanoes (Anak Krakatau) started to erupt. When I was there the volcano was just huffing and puffing, spectacular to watch but not at all a danger. I climbed onto the volcano of Anak Krakatau and clambered mid-way up the small island to a point which was only just (at the time) safe enough to reside. If I had been at that point a year later – I probably would have needed a bucket of ice on standby…….it makes you think. Just a few days ago, a 7.6 MM earthquake hit’s the western edges of Sumatra killing 700 people and less than one day before that, a submarine earthquake of 8.0 MM strikes the South Pacific, generating a devastating tsunami which attacks the island nations of Samoa and Tonga. I watched a computer model on the BBC website of where the tsunami waves were generated and which parts of the islands they struck, with one of those lines focusing on the very tip of Eastern Upolu Island in Samoa, where just over 6 months ago, I was sunbathing on the beach.
Now of course this is all coincidence. You could argue that the more of the world you travel, the more likely devastating natural events are going to occur in those locations that you have visited, especially if those locations are ones with a history of disastrous natural phenomena like that of Indonesia – that’s all just statistics. I myself was in an earthquake during my travels of Sumatra, it was centred very closely to the recent event and it too caused damage and devastation although not on quite the same scale. Yet, while I plan my life and which worldly destination to head off to next, I may first pass by the London Flood Barrier and just double check that everything is working properly before I leave these shores. You never can be too careful.
On a happy note, I saw my team - the mighty Spurs win 5-0 against Burnley the other week. Some often claim that Tottenham Hotspur could be considered a natural disaster in itself. It was the first time I had seen them since my travels and I can’t quite describe how good it was to be back at White Hart Lane. Equally as good, my father and I were very generously given tickets in the Centenary Club, where you are provided with a three course meal before the game, then watch your team out on the terraces, but in seats made of the most softest of cow’s skin. After the game, whilst walking out the ground, we also bumped into Harry Redknapp (the Spurs Manager), where we proceeded to have a brief chat and a shaking of hands. I had missed the footy more than I realised.
My 26th birthday passed too. Yet while I didn’t celebrate this one by jumping off a ledge towards a river, safe only by a piece of elastic as I hurtled to the ground attached to my friend Darren, and both dressed with party hats on, as was achieved last year, I did still manage to have a great night out in London with all my mates and celebrate with the enthusiasm of two birthday’s - to make up for lost time.
Apart from all these events, I have been concentrating on my future. Many applications to volcano jobs have been sent out to places all over the world. I’m trying hard for jobs in South America and even harder for employment in the Caribbean – well you can’t blame me. I have also been reviewing my PhD options, however nothing, I’ve realised is going to happen quickly, but, if I keep pushing, they will happen eventually……..
Berlin (Germany)
Even when I was out in New Zealand, some two months earlier, the planned trip to visit Germany's capital (Berlin) was already being talked about. The reason for the trip however, had somewhat eluded me at the time and it wouldn’t really be until we got off the plane at Tegel Airport that it would all start to make some sort of sense. And so, a few weeks after returning back home to London I was packing my bags once again and jet-setting off, this time to the very centre of Europe’s domain. Berlin was a family trip, with all but my father taking the leap across the North Sea. After some breakfast in Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food Restaurant, located in the very heart of Heathrow Airport’s - Terminal 5, we caught our early morning flight.
Quite some time ago, a German named Gunter Demnig came up with the idea that he would create small brass plaques, about the size of a beer mat and then lay them into pavements, cobbled paths, driveways and squares all over Germany. On each is recorded the name of a victim of the Nazis - usually, but not always those murdered in the Holocaust. The idea grew, with over 20,000 of the plaques now crafted by Demnig to date. Their reach has also expanded, with the small brass stones, now being laid in cities all over Europe.
The idea is that the stones are laid where the victim lived or grew up as a child, before their devastating outcome of horror. The scheme is called Stolpersteine or ‘stumbling stones’, with the catch being that each is laid a little unevenly, so that one stumbles over them, catching your attention, for acknowledgement that on that spot once lived an individual among the millions, a particular and personal story that might otherwise have been lost. The commemorative idea is widely accepted by German locals and other countries where the stones are being laid, despite the potential health and safety issues that stumbling stones may frequently generate.
Demnig and his growing team research widely before creating the stones and often contact family members of the individual who may wish to be present when the stones are laid. My grandmother had been contacted a while ago about laying two stones for the parents of my grandfather. This was the main reason for the trip to Berlin, but our four days here would also be used as an opportunity to explore. For while I had been to Germany on a number of occasions I had never visited the countries historic capital.
The first thing you notice when you arrive in Berlin is just how green the city is. I’m not really sure what I was expecting but for some odd reason, green just wasn’t it. There are numerous parks and rivers dotted all over the place and it appears that at every available space were planted yet more trees. We were staying in a hotel near the famous Kurfurstendamm or Ku’damm Road, in the western portion of central Berlin and which is renowned for shopping of all kinds but particularly of designer and hence expensive items.
This family trip would also extend across the Atlantic pond, with cousins Sharon and Vic coming over from America. My Cousin Rachel and Aunt Susan were also joining us. I hadn’t seen Rachel since my travels, so that was a nice surprise. To say that our 4 days was busy would be downsizing the scale of the trip somewhat. We crammed huge amounts of sightseeing, walking and most importantly – eating, into our 100 hours in Berlin.
On our sightseeing days, we ventured across the heart of the capital. We travelled across the communist designed Alexanderplatz, past the giant (365m high) television tower and through the Central Mitte Park where statues of Marx and Engles stand tall. We walked past the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and continued down the famous Unter den Linden. This wide, cavernous road stretches for 1.5km and is lined with interesting and historical buildings. The road extends from the Schlossbrucke Bridge to the incredible site of the Brandenburg Gate. Considered the city’s most symbolic landmark, the Brandenburg Gate is a triumphal arch, which dates back to the 18th Century and since that time has played an important location for historical events. Hitler and Nazi soldiers paraded with torch-lit marches through the gate and after being cut-off to the people of Germany for 28 years, locals of East and West met at this spot for emotional celebrations on October 3rd 1989, when the Berlin wall was finally brought down.
We immersed in the history of the city further, by taking visits to the interesting Jewish Museum and to the museum of Checkpoint Charlie. Both museums where fascinating and provided a real insight into the life of those living in the Berlin during difficult times of the 20th Century. The museum of Checkpoint Charlie lies next to the actual site itself, its name given by the western allies to a crossing point between East and West Berlin during the cold war. The museum describes the many ways in which people were smuggled across the border for the hope of a better life, some being miraculously successful while others were less fortunate.
We also visited part of the Berlin wall too. Not much of the wall still stands, but there are parts, where pieces of the wall are still visible. Boarded and fenced away, the wall covered in graffiti and based by flowers, still forms a reminder of this cities difficult past. We walked along the shopping Street of the Ku’damm Road and explored the Harrods of Germany known as KaDeWe, a huge shopping centre with a food section that would blow your mind and your wallet at the same time. We explored the Turkish sections of Berlin too and headed out to East Germany to catch up on some personal history, visiting the site where my grandfather used to live and go to school.
We crammed in a trip to the Reichstag too, an immense building, which was constructed to house the parliament of the German Empire. Built in the 19th Century, the building has been of significant importance during the last 100 years. In 1933, a fire ruined large parts of the structure before it was rebuilt again in the 1960’s. The old, architectural piece now has a huge glass, modern dome standing tall within its centre. Finished in 1999, the dome provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding Berlin landscape and provides a sharp contrast to the parliament house of which it sits in, yet nonetheless doesn’t oddly appear out of place. We took a trip up through the dome for great views over the city, despite the initial long queues to get in.
Our evenings in Berlin were equally as busy. Last April, I was working in Dunedin in New Zealand’s South Island. I stayed in a cool little hostel, where working behind the desk was a young, ever-happy young German named Kassandra. I got to know Kassandra quite well as I stayed in that hostel for some weeks. She said that if I was ever in Berlin, to give her a call and she would take me out for a drink or two. So that’s what I did. My sister and I met up with Kassandra and her friend Tessa for a night out which was somewhat a unique experience for us both. If we were tourists on our own – we would never have found this place. You need to be in the know to go to a place like this and that meant being a local. We were taken to a student Pre-Oktoberfest party. High up, with fantastic views over Berlin, a mass of students gathered, wearing lederhosen and drinking beers bigger than the Hubble Space Telescope. They smashed their glasses together, dancing on tables and listening to a live band playing very German, glass smashing hits. By the end, despite the lack of costume, we were up with them on the tables, bashing our beer glasses till we could physically bash no more. It was a great night and a (very German) fabulous experience.
Among the Berlin parties and sightseeing, we were also in the city to lay some stones. We stood outside the place where my grandfather and great-grandparents once lived. It’s now a hotel. Gunter Demnig turned up and started to dig up the pavement. There is no ceremony, no words said – the stones say it all. Often German school kids turn up to see the event take place and understand this part of the countries history. The whole thing was over in a few minutes but hopefully the stones will remain for years to come.
After a manic but enjoyable few days in Berlin, we headed home to Autumn England. I had had my fun, now I needed to get a job……..
Sunday 20 September 2009
Amy & Jody's Wedding
On the 29th August, 2009, my one and only sister, Amy Steele, got married. It was a special day. The ceremony was held in North London's Islington Town Hall. The room reminded me of a court room. Very old and grand - a fitting venue for such an occasion. I had my own responsibilities on the day. Not only was I in charge of playing the music throughout the proceedings (pressing the right buttons on the ipod at the right times), but I also read out a chosen poem. It was an excerpt from Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and I'm sure it was partly chosen for me because it had a line in it about volcanoes.
One thing about my sister Amy, and her now husband Jody, is that they are a little quirky. So it was no suprise to see Jody turn up to get married wearing a cravat and funky trainers. They both looked equally stunning however and the ceremony was fantastic, certainly worth flying over from the other side of the world to see.
It was a beautiful day, hot and sunny, so it was fitting that after the formalities everyone ventured to the pub garden over the road and sipped on Pimms. More family members soon joined before we were engaged in a deliceous Asian-Fusion meal for lunch, in a cute little restaurant just down the road, on Upper Street.
The final part of the day took place in the evening, where 100 people or so filled a cool bar - The Distillers, in Farringdon. True to their quirky form, the newly weds had hired an ice-cream van to serve 99's and other iced goodies to guests for the night outside the venue, and the Wedding cake was actually a tower of different flavoured cup cakes, stacked up to the ceiling. Yum. A salsa band played for large parts of the evening and with the alcohol flowing it made for a perfect night of partying.
Many of the guests headed upstairs to have their photos taken, in all manner of positions and configurations. The photographer was brilliant at getting the best out of the guests. Not that they didn't all look pretty amazing already of course, I'm just saying he did a good job thats all. I spent a lot of the evening talking (and catching up) with all the people that I hadn't yet seen since my return home just a few days before. It was a great night.
I'm not sure even now (almost a month on) that my sister can believe that she is now Amy Smith, but I do know that she is very happy, and thats all that matters. It was a fantastic day and a lot of fun was had by all. May Amy and Jody have a wonderful, successful and happy future together. x x x
Friday 18 September 2009
London (England) - Returning Home
I knew it would be a manic few days coming up. I hadn't seen so many people for such a long time. My first call, was family. It was good to see the parents again, even though I had met up with them in New Zealand just a few weeks before. I met my Mum at the airport and my Dad on the tube back home. I had missed them, though I couldn't say the same for the London Underground. It hadn't changed. It was still the same old tube and the same old delays. I'm not really sure what I was expecting. I probably would have been more suprised to see the underground system replaced by supersonic space-like crafts whizzing around London at brake-neck speeds, but I suppose I just hoped for something better.
My home town, Southgate, located in the very northern stretches of London, hadn't changed much either. As I walked back home - I quickly realised that everything (apart from the odd shop here and there) was exactally as I had left it. It was then that the feeling of not really being away, hit me. It was as though I hadn't left at all. Very strange, though not in a bad or good, or disappointing or exciting way - just a stange one. When I walked into my house, that hadn't really changed all that much too - yet that did please me. It was familiar and I liked it. The only differences were the welcome home balloons and banners that lined the hall-way - I was pleased about that too. It was good to be home.
A while ago, maybe 2-3 months or so, I was in New Zealand and speaking to a very good (and old) friend back home. It was then that I decided to only tell Michael the date of my return. All the other boys would think I was coming back a few days later and just one day before my Sister's wedding which they all already knew about. It was only a few days difference but I thought it would be fun to suprise them all. It's often the other way around - that the returning traveler comes home to a welcome party - and that did happen, with all my family a few days after I arrived. But with my boys, I thought I'd turn the table a little. I told Mike, I didn't care how, but to get them all in a pub the day after I landed into Heathrow. He didn't let me down, and that night I met Mike outside the pub, before strolling in to some incredibly shocked but happy faces. I remember seeing my friend Naddy's jaw almost hit the floor, before everyone took a second to realise what was going on. It was amazing to see them all after a year and a half and within a few minutes it was all back to normality.
Over the next few days, I saw nearly all the people that I hadn't for so long. I couldn't get to see everyone in such a short time, to get round them all would take a few months but those close at hand, I made the effort (and they did too), to meet up.
Actually, it all ended up quiet convienient for my return back to England. I was staying for a little while, before I decided where to head off next, which job to pursue or if to make the leap into a PhD. However, originally, I had planned to return to New Zealand after a short time. That was before I realised that I couldn't get any more work through my visa. At the time I thought I would return back home for a few weeks and then head off back to Auckland. My reason for returning home - was my Sisters wedding and now, the big day was upon us...............
Thursday 17 September 2009
Back In Hong Kong - To See It Properly
We reached the chaos of Kowloon and headed straight off to our hotel located on the largest land mass surrounding these shores and simply known as Hong Kong Island. We had about 6 days in HK, to see and do things, but first we needed a rest. We were booked into another swanky hotel, in a great location - on the northern shores of Hong Kong Island. To our delight, our hotel had a roof-top swimming pool and equally to our delight (and very unusual for HK) we had a fair few consecutive days of hot, sunny and cloud / smog free skies. We topped up our tans and relaxed by or in the pool and it was pure bliss. After the manic traveling of China, this is exactly what was needed. We also had a gym and a whole manner of other luxuries which I continually expressed a desire to make use of but never actually did - the sun and the pool was all I needed.
To stay for 6 days in Hong Kong (or any worldly location) and do nothing but rest by a swimming pool (to me at least) is a bit of a missed opportunity. You have to take in your surroundings, soak in the atmosphere and experience the culture and lifestyle of those around you. And so, in light of this, we got off our arses and decided to do a few things.
We traveled along and around Hong Kong Island by all means of transport, but most of all I like to use my feet. We had a wander around Hong Kong's Times Square. A bustling place with fancy shops and even fancier dressed locals. It was only then that I realised how affluent Hong Kong really is. Factories and industry seems to have disappeared here and has instead been replaced by office blocks and hard, long-hour working locals. Their wages are reflected in their work, and their designer clothes and sporty cars are reflected in their wages. This is a city full of rich kids, who have cash to burn and they burn it in style. You would probably find it a difficult and depressing place to live if you were broke but come here with a bit of muller and you can have the time of your life. I suppose you could say that about any place in the world - money in some sad sense makes the world go round and not the conservation of angular momentum as I had originally assumed. But in some global destinations having or not having money to enjoy or destroy your life is enhanced to extreme ends of the scale, and HK is certainly one of those locations.
We ventured to the southern portions of Hong Kong Island, where we were submerged in the intertwining alleys of Stanley Market. Down in this part of HK, Stanley has a very European feel to it. The white-washed villas in the hillside reminded me of my kids holidays in Greece. Smart little cafes line the water front and the hectic crowds just don't stretch this far down. Its relaxing, and after a while you quickly forget that your in Hong Kong. We then moved around the corner to Repulse Bay Beach. It's a nice stretch of clear sand but its HK's most popular beach and for that reason, plus the incredible weather, it was hard to find the clear sand.
A year ago or so, Harriet, her friend Rob and cousin Kate came to Hong Kong on their way to New Zealand, so Harriet was quite familiar with the city. During their last visit, a friend of a friend of Kate's, who was born in HK but had lived in New Zealand for many years was now back in this Asian city, living and working. Her name was Shiki and Harriet contacted her again so she could take us out on the town. To me, she would essentailly be a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend - but then, who's counting!!!
Shiki is a really fun person and an excellent tour guide of at least the night scene in HK, which was fine by us. I mean in the day, its easy to get around and find the tourist attractions with minimal effort. But to find the best places to go out at night is somewhat more of an effort. You really need to know the city and as we later found out - you need to know the right people. To get into many of the clubs in HK, you need to know someone who is a member of that club. They pay a yearly subscription of some outrageous amount and then your in - and all your mates too. So for two consecutive nights, Shiki took us out to the club scene with all her friends. It was fun to see how the HK locals go out and party. Actually, we were taken to some quite exclusive places, where models and wealthy youngsters would gather and look cool - I didn't feel out of place for a second - ha!!! We were taken around the Soho district, where most of the partying takes place. Shiki introduced us to all her friends, some who spoke perfect English, others who didn't, but all very welcoming and friendly. Shiki herself, still has a very strong kiwi accent. A few days before we arrived Shiki had split up with her boyfriend, and by pure coincidence (we assumed), we spent a lot of time trying to run away from him as he seemed to turn up where-ever we were. Nevertheless, we had fun those two nights.
Shiki also took us to us to her home, where she lives with her uncle in Kowloon. We spent our lunch time, eating out in a very traditional (not a tourist in site) restaurant. We let Shiki and her uncle order the food. They brought out a dozen different dishes, all very different to anything I had eaten before and all very deliceous. Shiki and Harriet also took me up Victoria Peak. They had both been up before but it's a must do if you visit Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island is pretty hilly. Mountains run through the Island, and up on one of them - Victoria Peak, they have built a cable car (some time ago), allowing folks to get the most incredible view over the city. The cable car is an experience in itself. A slow and steep ride up the side of the mountain. At the top, they have restaurants and tourist amusements, but it is the view that focuses the main attraction. We went up at night and the view over HK is just phenomenal - the skyline of the city lit up in all the colours you could think of.
On my last day in HK, Harriet wanted to tan up by the pool, but I was up for seeing more. I headed off to Lantau Island. It's the same island that houses HK Disneyland and the airport, but they were not the reason that I was heading here. I went to a small town called Ngong Ping. It's a charming town, very quiet with little shops lining its only street. Next to the town however, is a famous Buddist (Po Lin) Monestary and up on a nearby hill is the Big Buddha. There are a number of stairs to climb and in the heat, it certainly was exhausting. Once your at the top however, you are greeted by a huge bronze Buddha statue. Tian Tan Buddha is 34m high and up until 2007, was the largest outdoor- bronze seated Buddha in the world. Inside is a museum about the Buddha and the Po Lin Monestary and surrounding the stucture are a number of Buddist statues. Up on the hill you get a fantastic (if slightly misty) view of the surrounding mountain-side. I also visited the Po Lin Monestary and saw many Buddist's (robed in orange) praying. It was an interesting experience and something that I had not really seen since the beginning of my travels in SE Asia.
Harriet and I had had the most fantastic two weeks. It was tiring, sweaty and a lot of hard work but it was worth it. We saw and experienced so many fabulous things, met some incredible people and just had a damn good time. It was time for our final flight. In 12 or so hours I would be back in London, England - and my home. I had been away for just over a year and a half (18 and a half months) but it was finally time. I was excited, nervous and full of anticipation. I couldn't wait. I would get to see all my family and friends again, walk down some familiar streets, taste the delights of British food, the sunny weather - I was ready. After an anxious plane flight, I stepped into Heathrow Airport, the last place I had seen when I left. I was back home, and I hadn't even told any of my friends that I was coming back today. I thought I would suprise them - I wonder what they will say......................???
Friday 11 September 2009
Back In Shanghai For The Day
Again, Harriet and I quickly made friends with the local Chinese man in our cabin berth. It's a shame that I can't for the life of me remember his name because he was very friendly, loved to practise his English with us and was incredibly helpful when it was called upon. We spent most of the night chatting and playing card games. He entertained us for a most of the journey, which was lucky because for the first time, our train was suffering technical problems and we actually ended up getting into Shanghai about 4 hours late!!!
He was a young man who worked in the computer games industry, but who then went onto explain that you couldn't legally buy a Playstation or X-Box console in China (you can from Hong Kong) and that the government also block a lot of websites, denying you access to specific pieces of information, which explained the reason that I had a lot of trouble accessing Facebook. The political situation in China is complicated.
He also recommended a few places to visit around Shanghai that we had not yet seen, and when we departed he got onto the subway with us and then walked us all the way to the first location before returning to the subway to head home and see his family. I can't imagine too many English folk I know doing that for a tourist they had never met before.
The place he walked us to was called Xin Tian Di. It's a rejuvenated neighbourhood of Shanghai, filled with narrow streets that are full of smart coffee shops and restaurants. It has a modern and affluent feel to it and is regarded as the new, trendy part of town. It was designed by an American architect, yet has a design that seems to fuse Chinese and European style, well at least in my opinion. It's pretty cool and is making its name as an entertainment center.
After a look around and a bite to eat, we took a taxi to a popular spot with tourists and locals alike, known as Yu Yuan Gardens, but to me felt more like a very Chinese-styled water village. The area had very narrow streets borded by elegant buildings and street market style shops as well as food stools that had particularly interesting cuisine. Water features surround the old-styled buildings and the whole area has a bustling atmosphere along the busy streets yet a relaxing feel once out onto the sections dominated by the water-garden.
After a day enjoying the sun and sights of Shanghai, we jumped in a tuk tuk. I had forgotten how much fun they were as I hadn't ventured into one since my times in South East Asia, but then got into an argument with the driver over pricing that I thought we had agreed before the journey (apparently not), which funnily enough also reminded me of my past traveling experiences. We eventually made it to the train station for our long journey back to Hong Kong.
We had a about 6 days coming up in Hong Kong and among all the sight seeing, I couldn't wait to first do absolutely nothing. It had been a hectic ride across China and we were absolutely knackered, plus the fact that we also both smelt worse than a seal giving birth, so we would definately enjoy some rest and relaxation (and a good scrub) before doing anything even mildly active. Yet despite the craziness, our times in China had been fun, interesting and all-in-all, an incredible experience that we would both not forget in a hurry. I'd love to come back and see more. It's such a vast country and places from one corner to the next are so very different from each other that you could spend a life-time exploring the place. For now though, I had had a real taster and it was time for Hong Kong, which I was equally excited about returning to................
Thursday 10 September 2009
Xi'an
On our train from Beijing to Xi'an, we were sharing a berth with a lovely Chinese family, who all spoke very good English. All the Chinese people we had met were very friendly and particularly helpful whenever it was required - which was generally frequent and this family were no different. The family were traveling back home to Xi'an (where we were heading) and soon proceeded to tell us all about the city, where to go and what to see and do. They had a funny young daughter who amused us for a fair amount of the train ride. I didn't realise at the time, but they explained that all Chinese people have two names, a normal (Chinese) name and a westernised or English version. When he pronounced his daughters name it must have been about 38 characters long and took almost a full minute to say. Then he told us it translated to Emily!!! I wondered what my name would be in Chinese.
Xi'an is a beautiful old city. It forms one of the oldest cities in China and was once the countries capital during some particularly important dynasties. Surrounding the area are the old city walls. The whole place is filled with ancient tradition and history and you really feel it when you're there. On our first day, we didn't really do a lot. We walked the streets and down little back-alleys. It really felt like we were fused into real Chinese life. Near our hotel was a fabulous little street market. Most were locals selling and buying all manner of items. They had real Chinese street food straight of the stalls too, so I didn't miss the opportunity to delve straight in. I can't really put my finger on what it was that I liked about Xi'an almost as soon as I stepped off the train but I now think it was because the place felt a lot more personal.
The following day we decided to head over to the site of one of the most incredible archaeological finds in world history. About 40km to the east of Xi'an's city center is the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army. First our driver and guide naturally took us to a terracotta making factory where they explained how the army soldiers were made and asked if we wanted to then purchase some newly made statues, from ones that could fit into your hand up to full life sized models. I quickly explained that a 6 foot tall, two tonne teracotta warrior was unlikely to fit into my back-pack and we continued on to see the real thing.
In 1974, some local farmers were drilling a water well, in the Shaanxi Province (a suburb of Xi'an), when they stumbled across a pit filled with hundreds of life-size terracotta warrior statues. This discovery prompted archaeologists from all around the world to flock to the Shaanxi Province, to investigate. Today, they have uncovered four pits with over 8,000 army soldiers in total, and excavation still continues. Along with the warriors are approximately 130 chariots with 520 horses, 150 cavalry horses as well as officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Each army warrior is classified by rank (e.g. soldier, general etc.) and every one is completely different to his neighbour, which suggests that they were directly modelled on real soldiers at the time. This is essentially the world's first Madame Tussauds gallery.
The Terracotta Army is a form of funerary art buried with the first Qin Emperor in 210 BC and consequently, they are also sometimes referred to as "Qin's Armies. Their purpose was to help rule another empire in the afterlife, as similar to ancient Egyptian practices. We headed over to the Mausouleum complex, where you can visit three of the pits and the museum which provides countless pieces of information on the armies construction and purpose as well as presents some of the artifacts that were found in the excavation pits along with the warriors.
Pit 1 is the most impressive. The area is huge, like being in an airplane hanger. There are thousands of army soldiers as well as some chariots and horses on display. They are all standing upright as though ready for battle at any moment. In some areas of the pit, they are still extracting more soldiers, while in other parts they are still piecing the men back together - it's a time-consuming process. Pits 2 and 3 get progressively smaller but still house some wonderful examples of the life-size men. We then had a walk around the museum, which is equally impressive and allows you to piece togther bits of information that you wern't treated to in the excavation pits. It was a fascinating experience.
On our way back to the taxi, we walked through a busy market where replica warriors are sold as well as thousands of books and other souvenirs related to the terracotta army. In one bookshop is a man signing books and taking photos with customers. His name is Mr Yang and he was the first farmer to discover the Terracotta Army in 1974. It was his farm that stood above one of the greatest treasures in Chinese history. Our guide said he was paid about 30 Yuan (£3) for the find and had to give up his farm. He was treated well by the government in the fact that they relocated him, but he is largely forgotten about in the grand scheme of things. We met him and shook his hand, a nice fellow that perhaps deserved more than he got - but thats life I suppose.
After, our guide recommended somewhere for us to eat and then took us to a very famous mountain in Xi'an. We took a cable car up to the top for great views over the city, despite the mist.
We later returned and eventually boarded our next train. Because there is no direct train from Xi'an back to Hong Kong, we would have to head back to our first Chinese stop - Shanghai, spend a day there and then later get the 20 hour ride back the way we came. Still, we hadn't seen everything in Shanghai (it's impossible in a couple of days) so we were glad to be returning for a second visit.........
Tuesday 8 September 2009
Beijing & The Great Wall Of China
Our train from Shanghai to Beijing was for the most part, pleasant. Our only drama was we were sharing with two others, one of which snored at decibels loud enough to hide the sound of a small Apollo space rocket taking off. The other Chinese man on the bunk above who clearly didn't know 'Mr Snorer' would every so often tut in disgust at the fact he couldn't get to sleep, which I found amusing because between the rhythmic snores and the occassional tut - it seemed to create some familiar song which I couldn't quite place - I'm thinking some 'Girls Aloud' number perhaps.
One factor that we were slowly dealing with since arriving in China, was the language barrier. I think in all the other countries that I have traveled, only Indonesia and now China, were those where English is spoken so rarely and / or not very well, that it could be a bit of an issue at times. In the hotels it isn't too bad, but head out onto the street (the real world) and it becomes difficult to communicate. I mean to be fair, thats probably an exaggeration - you can always get by, it just meant that everything took a little longer than it should. Taxi drivers are perhaps the poorest English speakers, which always seemed odd to me, because most of them probably have more encounters with tourists than in most other professions. We jumped in a cab outside Beijing's train station only to be shouted at by the driver. He was waving his arms about like he was trying to bring a small plane into land, before calling all his mates over to shout at us as well. Me and Harriet sat in the back of the taxi, half asleep because we hadn't had any (thanks to 'Mr Snorer') and being shouted at by numerous Chinese men who we couldn't understand in the slightest. Eventually we realised what they were saying and got out the cab. Apparently we were trying to get a taxi to our hotel which was only down the road and the driver was not prepared to take us such short distances. So we walked to our hotel, which actually, with very heavy backpacks, in the swealtering heat, wasn't all that short of a walk!!!
We had a lot to do in Beijing, or at least there was a lot of things we wanted to do so we got right to it with a trip to the Ming Tombs. Located 50km north of urban Beijing, the Tombs are the resting place of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In the 15th Century, Emperor Yongle moved the capital of China from Nanjing to the present capital Beijing. He was the first to be buried there before a following 12 Emperors were laid to rest in the same area. Harriet and I had a good look around some of the palaces and tombs. The area is huge and there is too much to cover in one go, so we centered on the main tomb, Yongle's burial place known as Changling. It's laid out as a series of buildings, each one leading onto the next. The Chinese styled stuctures are very detailed and particularly impressive. In the garden area's they have little seats shaped as elephants. Inside, it has become a sort of museum, with lots of descriptive text explaing this fascinating period in Chinese history.
We then headed off to get some lunch. One thing about any tour, or hired taxi who is taking you to some tourist spot in China, is that they will always, at some point, take you to a factory of art and crafts. The idea is the factory will give the driver money for taking tourists to their store in the hope that foreigners will buy the goods that they are selling. Most of these places also have restaurant's attached so if you want food - they always recommend them for places to eat. They do a very similar thing in Thailand, where tuk tuk drivers will drive you all over Bangkok, all day, for free, as long as they get to take you to at least 4 factories on the way to the destination you really want to go to. We were taken to a Jade making factory for our lunch. They had some great Jade statues and jewelry of all shapes and sizes, but I didn't really need anything made of Jade to be honest, so we ate and left.
After we headed another 30km on, to the site considered a wonder of the man-made world. The section we were heading to was called Badaling but the whole piece of pure human achievement is known simply as - The Great Wall of China.
The Great Wall is a series of stone and earth fortifications, built, rebuilt and maintained between the 5th Century BC and the 16th Century, to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire. The Wall stretches along an arc, right across, from east to west of China, that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. Recent archaeological studies have concluded that the Great Wall of China, with all its branches, is 8,851.8km (5,500.3 miles) in length, which is approximately a few hundred miles longer than the distance from London, England to San Francisco in the United States. To say that this is a masterpiece of human engineering and a whole heap of pure hard work, might be considered an understatement.
The Badaling section, where we were heading to, is undoubtedly the most visited part of the wall, but there is a reason for that. The wall is well preserved here, and more importantly there is easy access to this section. You can climb up to the wall if your fit / mad enough but in the sweltering heat of Northern China that day, it was never going to happen. Instead you can take a cable car to the top. The ride only takes a few minutes, and as you step out you get the most immense view. High up in the mountains, your eyes are caught by the misty endless orogeny, and rural lands of this vast country, and spiralling around the mountain terrain, a sleek wall slithers across and around the hill-side like a snake.
Up on the wall, we were greeted by hundreds of tourists (most Chinese) who wanted to see this incredible piece of Chinese history and say they have stood on the longest wall in the world. It was hard work walking the wall. You have to remember that it follows the mountain-side, so most of it is steeply inclined. Most people were struggling with the heat and would often hide away from the sun’s rays by resting in one of the many watch towers which appear every so often along the walls profile. As you looked out over Northern China, you could see the wall flowing up and around the mountains before disappearing into the mist, and at that point it was easy to understand how many believe it to be a wonder of the man-made world. Whether it is myth or fact, there is a rumour that you can see the Great Wall from space, but no-one has ever really resolved this long-standing dispute. After a time (and many photo’s) we headed back down.
Before returning back to the hotel, our driver took us to a Chinese tea ceremony, where they explain to you all the different types of tea drunk in China (there are thousands) and the medicinal benefits of each. We got to try a few, as well as learnt how to drink them properly, by holding your cup in a certain way depending if you were male or female and how to slurp as loudly as possible (it’s polite to slurp). We were also shown a whole host of different equipment for making and drinking the tea before being asked to look around their shop for purchasing. It was an interesting experience.
It had been a long day but Harriet and I were not quite finished there. We asked our driver to instead drop us off a few minutes walk from our hotel at a famous landmark in Beijing and China alike. It was Tiananmen Square. The square is a large public area, which holds great cultural significance, forming the site of several key events in Chinese history, the most notable in 1989 when a pro-democracy movement in China saw thousands of protesters amass in the square. Hundreds of the protestors were killed by government troops. Not long before we arrived in China, the people again gathered in the square to mark the 20 year anniversary of that tragic but important event. Even today, Harriet and I, like all others wishing to enter the public area must proceed through a strict security check first.
Tiananmen Square is huge. It’s the largest city square in the world. Most of it is pretty sparse although surrounding the area are numerous government buildings, and on one side is the wall to part of the Forbidden City, where Harriet and I were heading the following day. There was a relatively large group of people gathered to one end of the square although we weren’t exactly sure why they were there – it appeared to be some sort of military parade but the significance was lost on us, so we returned back to our hotel.
The following day was going to be another jam packed viewing of China’s most treasured arenas. We had booked an organised tour to see three famous and ancient landmarks around Beijing. The only other two people on our tour besides us were two friends, one American and the other Australian who we got to know well throughout the day.
Our first stop was in the heart of Beijing, at the Forbidden City. It is a Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty, but is essentially large enough to be classified as a city within a city, with its southern gate extending out to Tiananmen Square. For five Centuries it served as a home to the Emperor and his household. The walled city consists of 980 surviving buildings and 8707 bays of rooms, with a building design that typifies Chinese palatial architecture. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed as the largest collection of preserved wooden structures in the world as well as the world’s largest surviving palace complex.
We took a walk around the city and within many of the rooms and buildings with our helpful guide, who would explain the life of an Emperor and what each building in the city was used for. The area is now under charge by the Palace Museum and they have an extensive collection of artifacts and artwork to view. We also took a stroll around the gardens where the Emperors many hundreds of wives would play. They had trees in the garden, marked to show that they were over 300 years old. It is a remarkable place.
By now it was becoming quite common for the locals to come up to us and ask for mine and Harriet’s photo. I remember having this continually in Indonesia and it was the same here in China too. We must have looked so different (especially Harriet who is very tall and has bright blonde hair) that they had just never seen anyone like us before and wanted a picture to show all their mates. We felt like a bit of a celebrity but by now were used to this sudden influx of stardom.
We next headed off to the Temple of Heaven. Set around the most beautiful parkland, the Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings, which once, were visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven, generally for good harvest. The main temple is a large circular building because the Heaven was represented by a circle, the Earth by a square. Naturally a world heritage site, it was given the honour in 1998 for being a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design. The garden or parkland around it is 2.73 squared kilometers, larger than the entire Forbidden City, and apparently most locals come to this peaceful place for exercising. I found the whole area particularly tranquil. The track that leads through the parkland towards the temple has a white painted line running through it, which then skates off into the distance. It apparently marked the track for athletes, running in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. We took a slow stroll through the area before continuing on.
Our final stop was the Summer Palace. Located northwest of Beijing's center, the Summer Palace isn’t actually famous for being a palace but instead is dominated by Longevity Hill, standing 60m tall, and the 2.9 square kilometer, man-made - Kunming Lake. The whole area is very picturesque with a variety of palaces, gardens and other Chinese styled architectural structures dotted around the lakes shores.
In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List (why not), declaring it "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design”. We took a boat across the lake to some of the palace complexes. Along the side of the lake there is also a wooden covered walkway known as the ‘Long Corridor’. Fitting to its name, it stretches for 728m. It was built in the 18th Century and has rich painted decorations (more than 14,000 paintings) all along its ceiling – each completely different as well as detailing parts of Chinese history.
Naturally throughout our day, in between all the palaces and temples, we also had time to stop off at a silk factory, where they showed us how to make silk, starting from the silk worm, all the way through the production line to creating a perfectly smooth duvet. We spent some time in a pearl factory too, where they took out pearls straight from the Oyster shell and explained to us how to tell if a pearl is real or fake. We went to another tea ceremony (Harriet and I were pros by this point), where I actually bought some tea this time round and also a ‘pee pee boy’, which is a small boy sculpture that pees if you pour boiling water onto his head and thus know that the water is ready, i.e. hot enough for your tea. Fitting in all that, with a stop at a restaurant for lunch, and it was one hectic day.
Before leaving Beijing there was one thing that I hadn’t done which I still very much wanted to do in this city. It was dinner time and I hadn’t yet eaten Peking duck. Beijing (which used to be called Peking) is the home of this dish and I love it. The two other girls on our tour also wanted to try Peking duck here so the four of us went together. Our guide dropped us off at this very famous duck restaurant which is very popular with the locals. You had to get a ticket and then wait outside, before getting called to your table. Inside there were no other tourists, so we knew this was the place to be. As you walk in, before the seating area, there is a glass window which looks out onto the kitchen. From the window you can see all the ducks racked up and cooking. We didn’t really know what we were ordering and no-one really spoke English, but a duck turned up for us. They bring it whole to your table and then a chef looking bloke cuts it up for you there and then. You get a lot of meat and pretty much every piece of the duck too. It was very similar to back home – with the pancake rolls and hoi-sin sauce…..delicious. The restaurant is also famous, because every time someone orders a duck, the table is given a certificate with the number of your duck. Since the restaurant opened, they have counted how many ducks they have gone through and then put that number on a certificate for customers. The certificate also says how much the bird weighed – very odd. I can’t remember exactly, but I’m sure our bird was in the seven or eight hundred thousands!!! Sue, the Australian girl, grabbed the certificate and claimed it for herself before anyone really had the chance to view it.
After an enjoyable meal, we said our goodbyes to our newly made friends, retrieved our bags and headed for the train station. I really enjoyed Beijing. It’s different from Shanghai. It’s a real fuse of old and new China. Ancient buildings would be seated next to modern structures. Roads here are wide compared to Shanghai and it doesn’t seem as crowded although there are still a lot of people. I would definitely like to return one day to explore a bit more, but for now we were off on another sleeper train.
Our next destination used to be the capital of China at one time, and in 1974 some local farmers made one of the biggest archaeological discoveries the world has ever seen, there. The discovery was some ten thousand terracotta army soldiers and the place they discovered them – was Xi’an…………
Sunday 6 September 2009
Shanghai (China)
Train's in China are quite an experience and I certainly recommend anyone wanting to see the real China to travel around by this mode of transport. As we came to realise - each train from one location to another is generally different from the last but all in all, they are comfortable, clean and pretty fast. We planned it so every train journey we ended up on was an overnight sleeper train and we were in berths of four. Harriet and I would, for the most part, get a good night sleep but that often depended on who the other two room-mates were and more importantly - if they snored. We got our first taste of Chinese food on the train too - which actually wasn't too dissimilar to Chinese back at home although the train version isn't generally of the best quality and often would appear to us both as - meat in slop - and we weren't really sure what meat it was either.
Each bunk on the train always has it's own TV although they very rarely work, yet you are at least given your very own pair of slippers, although they often didn't fit my western sized feet. Trains in China are very popular with the Chinese rather than just tourists (we actually didn't see that many tourists on trains) and so it became a great way to meet the locals.
The train from Hong Kong to Shanghai was the longest of our entire trip. We weren't even sure it was running as a few days earlier Typhoon Morakot had torn it's way through this part of the world. In fact it mainly affected Taiwan, where it made the record books as the deadliest Typhoon to impact the country. Our train was running however, and to our delight, was about 20 hours in duration. Although mostly overnight, there were parts during the start and the end of our journey which were light enough to view rural China and the less rural, industrial China, out of the train window. After our long trip we headed through immigration, as China is sort of classified as another country from Hong Kong, although it kind of isn't (it's complicated) and we finally stepped out into China and our first stop - Shanghai.
Shanghai is the largest city in China and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with a population of over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, Shanghai is now described as the 'showpiece' of the world's fastest growing major economy.
We stepped out of Shanghai's train station, and within 3 minutes had already been completely conned. I mean this was Asia, and we were tourists, so if there's a buck to make then the locals are gonna make it - even if it isn't in the most honest manner. I'd seen all these tricks before and was used to avoiding them, but we had just come off a 20 hour train journey and we were both very tired, so we thought we would just let it slide this time. What we needed was a taxi to our hotel and we had no idea where it was located. Getting a taxi on the meter was becoming difficult and we were being harassed to take an unmetered one. They were quoting 100 Yuan (about £10), which I knew was ridiculously high. When I told the drivers that we wanted a metered cab - they said that metered taxi's would cost 120 Yuan to our hotel - yeah right!!! We eventually took an unmetered cab for 80 Yuan and let the con take place. They catch tourists coming out of the train station in the hope that it's their first time in the city and they have no idea where they are going or how much it should cost to catch a cab. We later found out that you could go pretty much anywhere, in any city in China, on a metered taxi, for no more than 15 Yuan. We reached our Hotel.
We only had two days in Shanghai so we dumped our bags in our stunning hotel and went to check out the town. We were staying close to the Huangpu River and the European styled Bund area, which lines the river and faces the Pudong (high-rise business) district on the other side of Huangpu. As you walk down to the Bund from our hotel, you get a real sense, and our first experience of China. Busy, narrow streets with thousands of people everywhere. It reminded me a bit like Vietnam compared to any other Asian country I had been to, with most people opting to choose bikes (be it motorbike, moped or push bike) as their favoured mode of transport. To cross the road (as was the case in Vietnam's Hanoi, or Saigon), you literally had to cross the road on the count of three and watch as the bikes whizzed and skidded round you. Buildings were old and those in need of restoration had bamboo scaffolding smothered around them - which I thought was an interesting choice of material to use for such a job, but which on many levels must work. However, once you reach the Bund, buildings become very grand and suddenly you are presented with every designer maker you could wish (or not wish) to see. It was an interesting contrast.
The whole of Shanghai and other parts of China are currently in construction, as the whole country is getting ready for Expo 2010. Although this grand tradition of international fairs and expositions is a global event, Expo 2010, themed "Better City - Better Life" appears to have it's central heart here in Shanghai. As such, new buildings are going up, the Bund area is getting a complete make-over, new metro lines are being put in place and a small blue character named Haibao (the Expo 2010 mascot) can be seen absolutely everywhere. If you decide to come to China next year between the 1st may and 31st October 2010 - may I strongly recommend booking early as the event is expected to generate the largest number of visitors in the history of world fair's.
We decided to head over to the other side of the river and to get there, we used some sort of weird theme park ride. Signs to get to Pudong were informing us that we needed to go underground. When your down there - I assumed we would be getting the subway across - never assume. As part of Expo 2010, they had constructed some sort of odd kid's ride which takes you across the Huangpu River in a small pod and then plays with your mind by putting on this most bizarre light show. It was very interesting if not slightly, well, mad. On the other side of the river we headed over to the business centre which has three very tall and extraordinary buildings. One is the Jin Mao Tower, a landmark skyscraper in Shanghai, the second was the newly constructed World Financial Center which looks weirdly like a bottle opener but at least has the highest observation deck in the world, and finally the Oriental Pearl Tower, which looks like nothing any human has ever seen before unless of course your standing right outside it. We opted to head up the latter. After eating off the street stalls (I loved getting back to eating Asian street food), we purchased our tickets and then endured what can only be described as the longest queue the world has ever seen. I waited less time in line for Disney Land's 'Splash Mountain' which I'm sure held some sort of record for waiting about. First there is one queue, then an elevator takes you up some of the spaceship looking tower, then you queue for the next elevator, which takes you up a bit further, before the queue's continue....well you get the idea. When we eventually did get out the queue and onto the highest observation deck (known as the Space Module) - we had a great time. You get a fabulous view of Shanghai even though it was a bit misty. The Jin Mao and Financial Center buildings were just round the corner, you could see the Bund in the distance and then beyond, out over the rest of China. They had a number of viewing decks, one which amused me but scared the pants out of Harriet, had a glass bottom, so it looked spookly as though you were floating at over 250m above the ground. The also had a rollercoaster ride in the tower, which we naturally had to experience, as well as restaurants, a cinema and all manner of other things.
We later returned back to our hotel via the underground river, theme park ride and prepared ourselves for the night ahead. We were going to a Chinese acrobatic show. Unfortunately you couldn't take photographs or video's of this incredible performance and what a shame. They must of had about 12 different scenes, each one more breath-taking than the last. At some points you almost couldn't watch for fear of some major catastrophy unfolding before your very eyes. It's odd what people will pay to see. It really doesn't matter what the actual talent is, but as long as someone can do it better than you or in some cases, if someone can do it all, then people from any part of the world will pay to see it. Take a footballer for example. Most people can play a bit of footy even if not very well, but if they are incredible at it, thousands will come to watch them and thousands is what they will get paid. Now take a man, balancing on 14 stacked chairs, most of the chairs are only balancing on their neightbour by one leg and the man, at the very top and almost interfering with the light fitting's, is balancing on the last chair using only one finger. Stuff football is all i'm saying. There were plate spinners, some guys who would do 15 back flips before jumping through a series of hoops, each no bigger than an ipod, and then the last act - well!!! They bring out a caged sphere. A guy on a motorbike comes out, starts his engine and gets in, before spinning around the cage at top speeds. Then a second motorbiked crusader comes out and gets in with him. They then both ride around this ball, criss-crossing each other and only avoiding near death by the narrowist of margins. By the time the 5th Biker gets in the cage, most of the audience has experienced at least one myocardial infarction. Five bikers all in a small caged ball, riding round at 35mph, each so close to the other that it can't possibly be achieved by pure practice but instead, can only be explained by some sort of voodoo magic. Everyone came out of the show in bewilderment and also sweating a lot.
The next day Harriet and I decided to take a boat cruise down the Huangpu River. From the river you get to see some great views of Shanghai, plus Harriet is a bit of a boat person and loves to cruise on any stretch of water. We sailed up and down the river, taking in the sights. The new Expo 2010 building is almost complete and we sailed right up to the oddly, yet architecturally beautiful construction. We also took a final stroll down the streets of Shanghai, taking in the sights, sounds and smells, and the boy pooing on the side of the road (who provided all three), before making our way back to our hotel. Our accommodation was an incredible place to stay. Our room was very traditionally designed in the old Chinese style. The amazing thing is, China is cheap and so although it appeared to any bystander that we were staying in the grandest hotel on the block, it actually wasn't very expensive. We headed off to the Train Station (cab just 12 Yuan) and left for our next destination. We were actually passing through Shanghai for one more day on our return leg so we would get to experience a bit more of this fascinating city, however that would have to wait a few days. Out of all the places in China, our next stop was the one that I was looking forward to the most. Filled with tradition, the home of Peking duck (yum), some incredibly famous buildings and one particularly famous wall - well it could only be Beijing.......
Friday 4 September 2009
Hong Kong
I couldn't wait to be back in Asia. I had so many incredible experiences and memories of my times in the South Eastern parts of this section of the world, that I couldn't wait to see more. I had never been to Hong Kong but of what many had told me - it was just like most Asian cities - hot, busy and pretty much pure chaos. I was ready.
It didn't take long for me to find out that the hot part was right. We stepped out of the airport and suddenly my sweat glands went into overdrive. And as soon as we got out onto the streets I realsied that the chaos part was pretty much spot on too.
Actaually, this time round, we wern't spending too much time in Hong Kong - in fact we were only staying for one night. The plan, was to leave for China tomorrow, spend a hectic week or so traveling the mainland and then returning to Hong Kong for about 6 days to look around and rest up after our intense travels in China. So this first taste of Hong Kong was just that - a taster.
We got the MTR (their version of the underground or subway, except that it is extremely clean, unbelievably efficient and far more comfortable) and headed off to Kowloon. This time in Hong Kong we were staying on Kowloon because it was close to the Train Station and it just made our already complicated lives that little bit less complicated. On our return trip we would be staying on the main island - known simply as Hong Kong Island.
Kowloon is north of Hong kong Island and borders with mainland China. It is an urban sprawl littered with hectic lives and unbelievably busy streets. At the heart of the busy streets is Nathan Road, which just so happens to be where our hotel was located. The hotel was pretty smart. I had left all the hotel booking to Harriet, so I wasn't suprised when we walked into this grand hotel - far more plush than anywhere I had stayed in my previous days of traveling.
To say that Swine Flu is taken seriously here would be a bit of an understatement. I mean I heard it was a problem in other parts of the world but these things seem to go unnoticed somewhat in New Zealand. It's like all the major drama around the globe seems to bypass the little country way out in the South Pacific, so it was a bit of a shock to see a women disinfecting the door handle with bleach as soon as I walked through it. In fact our whole hotel was being cleaned every hour, on the hour.
Apart from that the hotel was comfortable. We had a brief look up and down the manic Nathan Road before deciding it was all too much and it would probably be better to hide in our hotel room. The next day we reached Hung Hom Train Station, went through immigration, showing off our approved visas for China and got on the train. As the minute reached our departure time, the train started up and slowly pulled away from the station. I wanted to see more of Hong Kong but that would have to wait a week. First we would be heading into mainland China. It was a 20 hour, overnight train ride, where we would arrive way out on the Eastern Coast. We were first heading to China's biggest city - Shanghai..............
Saying Goodbye To New Zealand
It was my last few days in New Zealand. I returned back to Auckland from our travels of the North Island with mixed feelings. I mean, I think I was ready to leave. I had had the most amazing time in this country and I will always love the place, but it probably was the right time to move on - wait, was it?!?
Before I left, there were many more people to see and say a fond farewell to. When I first arrived in the country I was greeted by some distant relatives (Lilian and Cliff) who I had never met previously. They live in Auckland and had looked after me for my first few days, but since then, I hadn't been back to see them. The parents and I arranged to meet them for a meal. It was great to see them again, chat about what I had been doing in NZ for the last year and thank them for their hospitality. It was nice for my parents to meet them for the first time too.
I had been in NZ for exactly a year and my work visa was now running out. Thats perhaps the main reason I would have to leave. All the jobs in volcanology in NZ are government owned organisations and they have to play it by the book. They can't just keep me on and pay me cash in hand under the table, and as a result my time was up. My very good friend, Darren, who flew out to NZ to travel around with me, but who ended up staying a year and working, was also having to leave the country for similar reasons. Darren had been living down in Queenstown with his girlfriend Jaqui and they both headed up to Auckland to prepare for their departure, which was a few days after my own. My parents were flying out the very next day, so Darren and Jaqui, Harriet and I, the parents and Darren's cousin (who was originally from England, but who had moved to live in Australia 10 years ago and who had taken a quick flight over to NZ to see Darren before he left) all went out for a meal. It was the most delicious food, in this small restaurant down some hidden back alley in Parnell. We all chatted about our last year in NZ and how we were all gutted to be leaving. I don't think the reality had quite hit me at that point. We went out for a few drinks after, where we saw some old friends in a pub and who we knew we would probably never see again.
The parents flew on and the very next day, Harriet and myself would also be leaving. Due to a bit of coincidence and some intense arranging, Harriet and I were leaving on the same plane home. So here's the quick version of the story. Harriet had a flight back to the UK, for some time at the very end of August because she started her last year of University, and I needed to get back to the UK for my sisters wedding on the 29th August. So a while ago we went into STA to see if we could get on the same flight. However, due to the ticket that Harriet had and the incredible popularity of flights out of NZ at that time of the year - the only seats available to Harriet was to fly from New Zealand to Hong Kong on the 10th August and then 15 days later, to fly out of Hong Kong back to London on the 25th. I wanted to stop in Hong Kong for a few days but this was a bit extreme. We decided to go for it anyway and later re-decided that rather than go to Hong Kong for two weeks, we would do just over a week traveling China too. And so the planning began. It's pretty easy to get a visa for most countries, especially if you're just a tourist.....not for China though! To get a chinese visa, you either need to know someone in the country who can 'invite' you in (that was a no go for us), or you have to show immigration in advance, your whole travel itinerary with confirmation of all hotel bookings and transport in and out of the country. And so the planning continued. For the past two months we had been booking all sorts of accommodation and transport around China, just so we could get our visa. We planned to travel from place to place in China (and in & out of the country) via the train, and boy was that a drama trying to book. Anyway, after much faffing about, we got all the documents, applied for our visa and with suprising ease got them approved.
We were on our way - or so we thought. Just as I'm heading off on my trip with my parents around the North Island, Harriet gets an email saying that she has been dropped off the system and that she is not on any flight from Hong kong to London. STA had apparently messed up big time and were struggling to sort a solution as the flight she was supposed to be on was now fully booked. Well Iv'e seen volcanoes erupt at pretty close proximity and they are scary enough - but watching Harriet - let's just say she is the Yellowstone of the erupting world. After a lot of messing about, some angry emails and a fair bit of shouting, we both got moved to earlier flights on the same day out of Hong Kong. It all worked out in the end (just), but before we left we had one final meal to attend.
Harriet's Aunt and Uncle (Patricia and Steve) had been really good to Harriet and I over the last year. The let us stay on their farm, took us out to places and we often did a trip here and there with them. Their best friend, Leith was similarly generous to us, and so we thought we would cook them all a final meal to say thank you. Harriet and I went over to Pat and Steve's farm house, where we cooked a great roast dinner. It was the full works and incredibly the kitchen didn't burn to the ground during or after the excercise. We also bought them a few gifts and a lot of alcohol to show our appreciation. It was a nice way to say farewell and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.
The next day was D-Day (Departure Day). We sorted out our flat with the land-lady, packed our bags, said our final goodbyes and with incredible haste - left New Zealand. There was so many things to sort out and so many people to say goodbye to that I didn't really take in the fact that I was leaving. It was great living in the flat but we were out of it so quickly that morning that I didn't even check it over to make sure that I had taken everything out of it. Nonetheless - it was another fun chapter of my traveling over and I will always remember it as a beautiful country with some fantastic memories. I have no doubt that I will return to New Zealand one day - and probably sooner than I think.
We Said our final goodbyes to Pat and Steve and got on the plane. Our flight was long but it felt even longer. We were entertained by movies throughout but as soon as I got into my seat I quickly wanted to get out of it. I think it was the whole situation that was flying past me so quickly that was making me anxious. It didn't help that a weird man kept staring at Harriet for pretty much the entire 12 hours too, so it was a relief when we finally landed in Hong Kong.
As I had left New Zealand without really taking in the situation, I equally hadn't really thought about heading into Hong Kong and China. The realisation that I was back in Asia suddenly hit me. The anxiousness passed. I absolutely love Asia and now I had arrived back, right into the thick of it again...........
Heading Back To Auckland Via Hobbiton
Rotorua was our last major stop. We were on our way back to Auckland, for in a few days my parents were flying on to Singapore and then home, and for me - well I was also flying on!!! Between Rotorua and Auckland however, was a little town called Matamata. If you came here 10 years ago you would find a lot of farm land, a small town but not what you would consider a major tourist destination. Skip on a decade and the farm land and small town are still here, yet now - tourists flock to this part of the country and the reason is Lord of the Rings. The filmakers used a small farm near the town of Matamata as a set for Hobbiton. And being tourists, we thought we would check it out.
As you drive through Matamata you realise that everything is Lord of the Rings related. They even have signs as you drive in to the town centre which read - "Welcome to Hobbiton". Around the town and in quite a few places in this part of the North Island, the farmland is just like the Shire, with perfectly rounded and smooth rolling hills which trace off into the distance.
So that's Matamata for you. Oddly, the world's only other Matamata, which is located in Tunisia – was a site used during filming of George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy. You really do learn something everyday - most of the something's are completely useless - but they are still something's nonetheless!!!
We continued on our way, and in a few hours, we were back in Auckland.................
Thursday 3 September 2009
Rotorua
It was quite odd being back in Rotorua. For while I have returned to other parts of New Zealand on more than one occasion, I hadn't really been back to Rotorua since my very first month in the country. Darren and I had spent a few days here - taking in the sulphur that emanates from below, and strolling around another of NZ's great lakes.
The parents and I first went to the Geothermal Village. There are many around the town - most of which are located just south of Rotorua. The walking tour around the park saw us pass geothermal pools, geysers, bubbling mud and lakes that were so green and yellow - that they almost looked as though I had just taken a bath in them!!! The geothermal park's are interesting, even if you don't have a desire to be a volcanologist. As we walked round, the smell of rotten eggs wafted over us, clinging to our hair and our clothes. It was a pleasant way to spend a morning.
After all that walking and with geothermal activity surrounding us - we thought what better way to relax than a soak in the geothermal pools. Each pool is a different temperature - from about a warm 36 degrees Celcius to a scoulding 42 degrees. At the Polynesian Spa you also get a great view over parts of Lake Rotorua.
We later took a walk around by the lake and went to a quietly hidden Maori Village which Darren and I had stumbled across almost a year earlier. It's quite interesting to see some of the Maori culture especially if you haven't seen anything like it before. We had another great meal out on the town, later that night, before preparing ourselves for the next days travels. We were heading back to Auckland but on the way we thought we would stop off at place known to many as Hobbiton, to the Kiwi's however, it's called Matamata...........
Taupo & The Tongariro National Park For The Very Last Time
We were up early and back in the car for our next road trip. We were heading west towards the North Islands very central core. I had been to this place many a time, in fact I had been here just a week or so ago but my parents wanted a tour and no tour of New Zealand would be complete without stopping off here in my opinion. So off went to The Tongariro National Park and my old home - Taupo.
We first headed straight to Taupo so we could check in and dump the bags. I didn't need to point out the lake - it's pretty large and exceptionally obvious as soon as you get anywhere near the area. Our hotel was right on the lake-front and I wasn't complaining - I don't think I had stayed anywhere so good in all my year and a half of traveling. We then took the scenic drive down to the National Park. My Dad, like myself, is a bit of a Lord of the Rings fan and I wouldn't let him miss out on seeing Mordor and Mount Doom. We first parked up by the start of the Tongariro Crossing before the three of us decided to take a brief stroll along the first part of the track. From the track you could see the volcanoes of Tongariro, Nguaruhoe and Ruapehu. Now and again I would show them bits of old volcanic rock and often store them in everyones pockets for safe keeping. It was a bit cloudy at first so our views were some what blocked but they soon passed.
We then went into the Whakapapa Village, right in the heart of the National Park, were we did what any English person would do - we had a nice cup of tea and a scone. We also went around a small museum which provides information on the volcanoes and the area in general.
We later returned to Taupo for dinner. Beforehand however, we stopped off at my old hostel - Go Global. I had not stayed here for a while so I decided to see what the place was like. It hadn't changed very much, if at all - but there was no-one working who I knew. I really should have pre-warned people of my arrival and I will no doubt regret not doing that - in fact I already regret it. I must have made an impression on the place though, because just as you walk into the hostel, are a series of printed pictures up on the wall. Most of them were of the era when I was there and many of the photos had me in them (looking pretty ridiculous in one way or another). It made me smile.
The next day, we headed north. I took my parents to the impressive Huka Falls as well as the outrageously long journey that I used to walk to work. We stopped at GNS and I said a farewell to my old boss Gill. We continued north. It was just one more hour to our next location. I'm sure I could smell the place about 30 minutes before we arrived. There's not many places that smell as bad as Rotorua.............
Napier
My parents had left Auckland to continue their holiday in the more southerly parts of New Zealand, while I had 101 jobs to sort out as I prepared to leave the country in a few weeks. The jobs were boring, the goodbyes were emotional, the parties were hectic and the following week I caught an early morning flight to Wellington. The parents had been travelling the South Island of NZ but had now made it across the pond to the southern tip of the North Island and the countries capital. I had spent a fair amount of time in this windy city but had decided to fly down to Wellington to meet them there because it was cheaper to fly down (just NZ$40 - thats about £24) than get a bus, and I wouldn't have to endure a journey that would make a sane man weep. So I got to Wellington, met up with the parents and we all jumped in a car and headed off on a 4 hour scenic drive. We were going to the eastern part of the North Island, a part of the country which I had not yet seen. Our destination was Napier.
Napier is a port city at the southern end of Hawkes Bay. The city itself is like stepping back to the 1930's with almost every building providing the very recognisable 'art deco' style. The reason for such aesthetics, stems from the fact that in 1931 Napier suffered to the hands of nature when a 7.8M eathquake devastated the town and killed 256 people. The earthquake was the second largest quake ever recorded in New Zealand. Oddly enough just a few weeks ago another 7.8M earthquake struck the Fjordland region of New Zealand's South Island, of which my friend Darren (living in Queenstown and close by to Fjordland - ish) was shaken around the cinema where he was working as he tried to sell Transformers tickets to customers. Although it now falls as joint second largest earthquake ever recorded in NZ along with the Napier disaster, this newly struck earthquake didn't kill a single person.
After the 1931 quake, Napier was rebuilt, almost from scratch, and in fashion at the time, was art deco. As we walked around the town, my parents said it reminded them of Santa Barbara in North America. Napier is a pretty town although would it probably be a bit more lively if it was summer time. It definately appeared to be a summer town tourist spot.
Napier and more specifically - Hawkes Bay, is also gaining a name for itself as one of the world's great wine regions. It's now becoming difficult to travel around New Zealand without stumbling across one of the great wordly wineries, and this place (according to the experts), is one of them. It would certainly suit my father quite nicely. Since I last saw him (a year and a half ago), he has now become what appears to a novice such as myself - to be quite a wine expert - or at least he's certainly an expert at consuming the wine. After a stroll around town and along the sea-front parade where you get a great view of the impressive Hawkes Bay, the Pacific Ocean and for us, a dead fish washed up on the beach, we headed off to taste some of these so called - great wines. My Mum and Dad had just been traveling the Marlborough region and tasted some great alcoholic grapes and you would think that such a tasting could be repeated here. Unfortunately it appeared impossible to find anywhere in Napier that would sell wines from Hawkes Bay. The logic appeared odd to me. I can walk down Southgate high street, in North London, walk into Asda and choose from about 18 different kinds of Hawkes Bay wine, yet here I am, so close to the region that I'm basically swimming in the bay and yet I can't find a single place to wet my palette. I've given up questioning things like this and have just learnt to accept that the world is completely insane and most definately illogical.
We drank our 'house red', went for a nice meal and then called it a night. It was a big day tomorrow. We were heading to a new location. One that was very familiar to me - it was Taupo.......
