With my enthusiasm for the intensive tours undimmed, I set out once again in February 2006:-
Mon 6 Feb 2006:
The adventure begins (again). Monday, noon, I'm in the BA lounge at Terminal 4, Heathrow awaiting my first flight to Mexico. What lies in store? Good things, I hope.
Tue 7 Feb:
Well, I haven’t seen much yet. Flight was uneventful (747-400B). Haven’t been in BA ‘Club World’ before. Reclining seats in pairs but one faces forward, one back, like a love seat, with a low divider. There’s a curious ‘ladies fan’ which deploys above the divider for greater privacy. Electric recline and lumbar support and a tip-up footstool to support the legs. Swinging arm with individual screen. 14 ch audio, 18ch video plus map of journey. Video apparently from tape (so not on demand). Watched the Judi Dench on the Windmill (recommended) and The Curse of the Wererabbit and Grand Day Out from Aardman (excellent). Gave up on the SF The Island, 'cos I found it dire. Cabin attendants excellent but PA announcements from the Chief Purser in the patronising schoolmaster tones I always associate with BA.
Arrived on time - very long walk to immigration. I hustled to get somewhere near the front - by the time I came through immigration there was a huge queue behind. My checked bag was waiting in reclaim. Customs use a system where you press a button and the system decides randomly whether you’ll be subject to inspection. Green! Into the arrivals hall, faced with a long line of touts and greeters holding a variety of signs. Quickly find a very well-dressed man (white shirt, tie, dark suit) from the tour company and soon led to a very smart black limousine with an equally well dressed driver.
Already dark, we take a main road across the city (3 lanes each way plus 2 local lanes each way and in the middle a metro line part of the way: traffic heavy but all moving about 50 mph).
Casa Vieja is a boutique hotel built in the hacienda style in the residential and designer shop area of Pulanco. Splendid suite for me with kitchen area and dining bar, lounge area with hifi and large television (not switched on by me), massive bed and bathroom, all ethnic and carved wood. Very comfortable, very quiet. Light breakfast was in the terrace restaurant and then I found out the BBC forecast was a bit out cos this morning its overcast and none to warm. Have to stop as being picked up to have a look at the city. Note to English teachers: sorry about the lack of apostrophes, brackets and other sundry punctuation. I can{t cope with this Spanish keyboard!
Wed 8th:
A fairly eventful day. Guide arrived (late) then we waited for car to arrive (later) then we went for petrol! And off into the hubbub which is Mexico City. It`s far less American than I expected, probably scruffier than I expected, and there`s less English spoken than I expected (and a lot of the English is so oddly pronounced that it sounds like Espanol - but it`s still better than my attempts at Espanol/Castillano as they varously call it).
There is a quite huge park at Chapultepec (near Polanca) - a colonial legacy. It contains some fine museums which there's not time to visit. We went downtown, parked and looked at some of the buildings from the colonial era and a number of churches.
I divide the history, crudely, into 3 phases - the archaic, the colonial and the modern. Mexico seems a dizzying amalgam of all three. The ancients believed where they found an eagle with a snake in it's mouth, that was the site for their city. Tough break. They found the eagle in the middle of a swamp but, undaunted, they set about reclaiming the land which has become Mexico City. So the city is sinking. Fast. And is subject to periodic earthquakes. So a lot of old buildings are lost and many of the remaining ones are a bit warped.
What's left gives a fascinating insight into the comfortable lives once enjoyed by the Spanish. The whole of Mexico was divided into 200 huge fiefdoms. Some of the palaces remain adapted to more modern purposes - government, museums etc. Construction is a mix of limestone and volcanic rock, cut to brick shape but simply stacked to form walls. It doesn`t look substantial, but many such buildings, like the early churches, have survived well.
The sun came out and it warmed up and all was well. A brief ride on the Metro, more churches then back to the car. On the way out of the city, we stopped at the Shrine of Guadaloupe - a place to which devout pilgrims make their way each year. There`s an underground car park, a covered market selling every type of religious artefact you could imagine. The roof of the car park forms a parade ground, with stations of the cross, a modern bell tower and a modern church (a bit like Paddy's Wigwam in Liverpool). There is a convent and the original church, twisted like an old woman and propped up with scaffolding and concrete. Inside the church (services seem more or less continuous and people come and go all the time) is displayed the allegedly miraculous picture of the Virgin Mary (depicted in Spanish green not blue). To cope with the numbers of faithful trying to look, there are four moving pavements in front of the picture - you get carried right to left, change pavement, come back left to right. If you haven`t finshed your devotion, you go round again.
The strength of the faith in Mexico is remarkable. I didn`t realise the last Pope visited Mexico 5 times (and his Popemobile is on display!). Perhaps 50% average unemployment and endemic corruption in government has played a part. It`s a turbulent history. The blood-minded Aztecs followed by the equally bloody Spanish, attempts at indepence around 1800, the loss of the Northern Lands to America around 1840 and so many polical upsets since. There`s a hotly-contested election next month - almost every wall seems to be sign-written (quite professionally) with political slogans "Firm in our beliefs and policies", "My priority is the women and children".
Then North East on American style highways and toll roads to Teatihuacan. This is a huge ruined city, over 2000 years old, rivalling some of the Egyptian structures. The largest pyramid (yes, I climbed it) almost equals the volume of the Great Pyramid at Giza. State of preservation not too good (old cities are convenient sources of building materials) but the scale and layout are impressive. There's a smaller pyramid commanding magnificent views along the 2km processional highway but we ran out of time, so I only climbed part the way up (guide had insisted we had late lunch first - I had tortilla soup, quite adventurous for me).
Then back to Mexico city, get petrol, carry on East to Tlaxcala, arriving 9.30pm. Catastrophe! The hotel say they have no rooms. Guide undertakes many phone calls, which I can`t follow but eventually accepts my suggestion - find another hotel for me so I can get to bed; post-mortems later. Guide`s boss insists on speaking to me by 'phone to apologise. He alleges it's the hotel's fault. Oddly, I think he may be right (Ruan, please investigate and credit as appropriate) We find a not-very-visually attractive hotel up the road (Hotel Jeroc`s Plaza, website www.jerocs.com.mx) and I pay for my room. Only downside, the room is freezing and there`s no hot water but at least I can get some sleep.
Thu 9th:
Still cold when I get up but by now (09:15) the sun`s out and it`s starting to warm up. I enjoyed a good buffet breakfast and am ready for action. Soon (I hope) the guide will pick me up (he was booked in a motel, apparently) and it's another day sightseeing then back to the first night's hotel, which was excellent - it`s website www.casavieja.com. My initial feeling not-to-good has changed into a cold, with runny nose and sneezing but, oddly enough, I feel much better. So - on with the action!
Picked up from hotel on time and we go to look at centre of Tlaxcala. This town preserves its colonial appearance with a central square with bandstand flanked by attractive buildings including a former viceroy's palace, now the town hall. This town and state allied with Cortez and to this day is something of a pariah in some circles. For a different reason, I think the passions must be similar to Protestant-Catholic in Ireland, where the Battle of the Boyne is talked about as if it happened last week.
Of course, we took in a couple of Churches, Parroquia de San Jose and Sanctuario de Nuestra Senora de Ocotlan before driving into the sticks through a series of villages to Cacaxtla (kah-KASH-tla), the hilltop ruins of the city of the Olmecs dating from 700-900 AD. Built on an impressive huge, low flat pyramid, the walls of the various houses only rise a few feet but colourful wall paintings survive. To preserve these, a huge open-sided roof has been erected overall. It's a magical place commanding marvellous views of the surrounding countryside.
Now, although my guide had excellent historical knowledge, last Saturday I'd found a 15 pound guide book on Mexico for 3 pounds (Kismet, I thought) and this has been my constant guide. "Are we going to Xochitencatl?" I ask. "No, it's not on the tour" he replies. Transpires he's never been there but, after the cock-up last night agrees to go (after 'phoning his boss). Only a few miles from first site, hilltop site (pronounced so-chee-TEN-cahtl) is earlier and dedicated to fertility. Super museum of artifacts, including tiny clay models of pregnant women with cut-away wombs showing the baby. There's the Spiral Pyramid, originally climbed by a spiral path (now there's a steel staircase), a low pyramid called Basement of the Volcanoes and a large flat-topped pyramid with even more spectacular view. Although it was hot and hazy the recently-active volcano of Popocatepetal was clearly visible. Magnificent.
Then we made our way back through tiny villages (horse drawn carts still in use) to the main highway for the around 90 mile return to Mexico City. Pass a number of heavily decorated and loaded pick-ups and lorries heading to the Shrine of Guadaloupe with pilgrims. Also pass a number of backpacking pedestrians walking to the Shrine as a devotion. Amazing! A warm welcome back at the Hotel Casa Vieja. It's a super little hotel and very friendly.
Last evening? Thought I'd better check out the Metro properly. It's a huge, heavily-used system (the website has a good description). Found the local metro station OK and with two changes got to the airport. The second train was having problems and kept doing emergency stops, apparently because of a door indication fault. If you're right at the front, you can check the view through a darkened window. At one stage, the fault annunciator panel was lit up like a Christmas tree!
Looked at the domestic air terminal and the huge models of the airport extensions. Like Heathrow, Mexico has two parallel runways used by international and domestic (5/23 Left and Right). Returned home a different route with 3 changes. Blew a whole 25p on the trip! One route has more modern rolling stock (LED headlights and destination boards, flat screen alarm annunciator and speedometer). The trains are rubber-tyred (like Paris) and do 0-60 in under 12 seconds (that's kpm, not mph!). Interesting how closely trains are allowed to follow. At one point, we stopped at a red only one train's length behind the preceding train.
So, now it's morning. Breakfast, then I fly to Miami, change, and south to Quito (Equador). More when I can.
My photographs of Mexico are here.
Thu 9th:
After a good breakfast I`ve got as far as the American Airlines lounge, checked in for Miami then transfer to Quito. I really liked Mexico. The people are friendly and seem considerate. I hadn`t properly realised what a turbulent history the country had had, I`m ashamed to say. They can clearly be a passionate people - the obvious religious devotion testifies to that. I somehow thought that they`d benefited from proximity to the USA, but I don`t see that that's the case. I think they deserve better than they seem to be getting. Bright sun here and the day warming up nicely.
Thu 9th (again):
Fairly uneventful day travelling. Mexico airport is big and busy but the atmosphere is relaxed and helpful. Miami airport is big and busy and the people seem stressed and brusque. I didn´t enjoy transiting. You now have to complete a Visa Waiver form and Customs form, go through immigration (both forefingers fingerprinted and photograph taken) then go through a detailed security search of your handbaggage and pass through a metal detector, just to get back airside where you started! The flights to and from Miami were American Airlines (737 in, 757 out) but the attendants were friendly and the catering good.
We came into Miami from the West over the bottom of Florida and a big town (not yet identified). The modern residential areas are served by a square grid of roads creating 'neighbourhoods'. Each neighbourhood is pierced by an artistic pattern of curving roads, many cul-de-sacs, making the area ´interesting´. Various designs of house cluster around these roads. Viewed from above it's a surreal patchwork quilt of lines and colours, looking like abstract art for the Gods to enjoy. There was a similar area coming into Miami. I was puzzled by the number of bright blue roofs but, on finals at lower altitude, it appears to be industrial-grade polystyrene, presumably temporary repairs after hurricane damage. There's a desolate swampland coming into Miami: first a wet, pock-marked barren landscape, giving way to a striated area, presumably where there's more water flow. A few dead straight highways pierce this area. Then there´s water control canals, highways and the city itself, mainly low rise except for a clump of skyscrapers downtown and high rise condos on the beach. Don't think it's my sort of town.
Then flew South, over Cuba, Panama, arriving on time Quito about 9pm. Efficient immigration, baggage and customs, soon found my man in the arrival hall - a very pleasant well-spoken young man from the local operators, Metropolitan Touring. During the 20 minute drive to the hotel, he confirmed all the particulars, gave me maps, contact numbers, explained the arrangements. I'm most impressed with the arrangements so far.
Although Quito (pop 1.8 million) is part modern, I'm staying in the Colonial Quarter built by the Spanish, very much to my taste. The hotel is impressive. I'm in the older part of the hotel facing the street (looks as if they've extended at the back in mock-old style but quite well done). My room has a lounge then a wooden open staircase up to a mezzanine with bed and bathroom. Very attractive. You can check it out here. Well, I'd better go get some sleep now.
Tue 14th:
I forgot to reset my watch in Quito, so I´d an hour less than I thought to send my e-mail! The flight was about to leave sans Jan. Hence my crash ending last time. Try again. Having sent email Sat from ship, dinner then visit bridge. V interesting. On 154 NM trip to Urbina Bay. I'd included lots of comments on evolution far too boring to repeat. Bed. Wake at 3.30 watch moon. At 6 join others on sundeck for sunrise. Claudia from Seattle leaves camera behind (with their pics) and it never turns up. Breakfast, boat ride to the shelving dark sand beach at Urbina Bay. Coast for abt 4km rose 13 ft in 1954. Easy hike finds 1 giant tortoise, many land iguanas and numerous birds & plants. Return to beach people variously sunbathe, paddle, swim, or snorkel. Return to ship which cruises to Fernandina. Naturalist gives talk on Darwin then lunch with Ecuadorean dishes. Then last trip to Espinoza. Young island with major earthquake activity 500 yrs ago. Black alien landscape of solidified lava. Although little vegetation, island teems with fauna. Boat trip along coast finds birds, marine iguanas and 1 Galapagos penguin. We land and walk across this strange, fissured landscape amongst sea lions, thousands of technicolour Sally Lightfoot crabs and hundreds of marine iguanas. It´s iguana nesting season & iguanas are digging burrows in the gravelly areas. Birds are nesting too, but they all ignore the parties of tourists! All of the guides have excellent knowledge & give lots of fascinating facts about geology & wildlife. Heavy rain for a time. Back to ship, briefing, Darwin quiz the Darwin´s birthday dinner, complete with "Happy Birthday" & b´day cake. During dinner, the ship starts North to go around the ´top´ of Isabela en route Baltra. We cross the equator heading North about 11 pm with me on the bridge watching the GPS count down the seconds of arc to the magic point. We crossed a second time heading South about 2 am whilst I was asleep. We all get a certificate signed by the captain to celebrate "crossing the line". Up early, breakfast, goodbye to ship & crew. We´ve anchored about 1m offshore this time, because of rocks & shallows. So we have a long boat ride, taking a buoyed channel to a small ferry dock. We take a private bus over the main road across Santa Cruz island to the town of Punta Ayora and then on to Charles Darwin Research Centre. Here numerous nations run various conservation programs, each with their own lab. We look at the giant tortoise program. They collect eggs, artificially incubate, feed in a small corral then condition them for the wild in a rugged area with limited food to make them forage. Then they chip them & turn ´em loose. Bus takes us back to the ferry terminal, catch the ferry (about 40 pax with an outboard) and make the 10 minute crossing to the airport island. Board another bus to the airport across the abandoned WW2 American air force base with derelict buildings & foundations all over the place. Tour company checks us in and then it's an A320 flight back to Quito with 1 stop. Met at airport & we go for a short city tour during a thunderstorm! Stop at Quito´s best bookshop & pick up another Galapagos book & Lonely Planet Chile (which has proved invaluable). Back to airport, check in and that´s where I was last night, in business lounge writing to you. Well, uneventful Lan Chile A320 flight in business class to Santiago. Sleep a bit & arrive about 6 am today. Met efficiently & whisked to the Park Plaza Hotel who have the room available, despite the early check in. What then? Well, my time on this m/c has run out so, best beloved, I´ll tell you next time.
My photographs of Galapagos are here.
Tue 14th:
I`d only has 2 or 3 hours sleep on the plane so I'd intended sleeping on arrival at Santiago but, well, it was sunny, the subway station was only 5 minutes walk so I went to the city's main square lined with colonial buildings and a cathedral. Checked out the main post office. They know how to do Post Offices everywhere but UK. National History Museum was just opening so visited (www.museo.historiconacional.cl) & found it excellent. Cathedral interesting. Then went to check out the railway station (surprise!). Very elegant building with impressive all-over roof nicely adapted for modern use & adjacent to a large bus station & down-market mall. In addition to a few long distance trains, there a local electrified service (overhead electrified). By this time, I'd discovered there was a railway museum in Parque Quinte Normal, not too far from the railway station (but far enough when walking: around 30 Celsius today). The street is full of auto & industrial motor rewind shops: nice but run down. Many buildings converted into small workshops with shop attached - lots of them! Reach the park OK and locate the section with the locos. There`s about 20 steam locos in the open in quite good condition & nicely presented. There`s a few coaches and a station building with a variety of exhibits. Very good & unexpected. Walk across the park to the end of one of 3 Metro lines - miss out the Natural History & Technology museums. Had originally intended to go back to hotel at lunchtime but instead take Metro and walk through a sort of market area to Cerro San Cristobel. This is an improbably looking jagged hill about 800m high with a park on it. Full of Chileans enjoying themselves and quite a few tourists, too. Take the funicular part way up (two stepped coaches on steel rails balancing one another via a cable which pulls them up & down. Views of Santiago are amazing. Somehow, the taller modern buildings don`t seem quite so offensive in this context & there`s still a lot of decent buildings in the city. Then take the telepherique (small cabins suspended from a cable which is driven). You should find details of both modes at www.funicular.cl. The latter is very exciting as it flies over a forest area, climbs & falls following the hill contours, gives views if the city which change from moment to moment and it's one of the longest I`ve been on. Finally, I climb to the tallest bit with a statue of the Virgin. Sadly, she has to share her commanding position with a number of radio masts hosting a remarkable variety of antenna! Return to hotel by Metro for shower and change. Teatime now. Intend more Metro travel but find ticket doesn`t work. Talking to ticket inspector (talking is a bit strong - there`s not much English spoken where I`ve been but I`ve managed with a bit of mutual incomprehension. At least Spanish is fairly easy to read) realise it`s 10 more minutes before my cheap tickets are valid again. So have Pepsi & fries at KFC then off to check out the old North Station which is now an arts centre (shades of G-MEX). I also check out one of the older residential areas now much frequented by students & by then I think I`ve seen enough & return to hotel. I know I`ve said it before, but I didn`t expect to like this city but find I`m charmed by it. Yes, there are beggars at Metro entrances but people don`t seem as bad-tempered as where I come from. Cars avoid you rather than run you down (but don`t rely on that). I even had a driver stop for me when I thought he had the right of way. All in all, I`ve had a good day. Oh, and this was the first chance to get some laundry done. Whilst shipboard, I had to wash things myself. OK, but difficult to dry. Tomorrow, late afternoon, I`m supposed to fly to Tahiti. Tomorrow morning? I think I`ll go to the seaside. More reports when I can.
My photographs of Chile are
here.
My photographs of the splendid railway museum at Santiago are
here.
My railway photographs of Chile (Subway, main line, Valparaiso Metro and Funiculars) are
here.
Wed 15th:
I loved Santiago but it´s 125 km from the sea. So this morning I was picked up at 7.30 am for a trip to Valparaiso. There´s a good highway to the airport (3 lanes each way and automatic road pricing using a transponder on the windscreen interrogated by an overhead scanner as you pass. Then, onto a 2-lane each way highway the rest of the way with toll stations. It´s quite rugged & attractive terrain. The highway is a scar on the landscape (like UK) which they improve with huge hoardings up to 50 ft tall mounted on the hills which make our lorry-mounted motorway adverts look positively discreet. And about 30% are lingerie ads! I adored Valparaiso, said to be the most quirky S. American city. It´s an old seaport, not too large (though there´s a big Chilean Navy presence), important for commerce and 1 cruise ship (Discovery) in today. It´s built on hills cascading down to the sea so there are 15 ancient funiculars run by equally ancient staff (owners?) One way trip typically 15p. Well, I only had time to travel on 4 then check out the houses, churches at the top of each hill and walk down again. There´s a flat bit near the sea with main shops - a mixture of very good if tawdry buildings and the frankly nondescript. I found the overall effect absolutely charming - a bit like Liverpool before they started to modernise it. People smile at you a lot. Hundreds of dogs, most in good condition allowed to roam, but most choose to just lie in the middle of pavements - and the surprise is, people walk round 'em without complaint. Most people prefer the modern seaside town of Vina del Mar next door (where rich Santiaguinos keep weekend apartments) 'cos there's a beach and a casino, but I was happy to drive in and out. The old railway has been modernised and electrified and opened 3 mths ago as Metro Valparaiso (but they are 'proper' 2-coach EMU. I managed to get a short ride back from my walk to where the car was parked. Got to go now for the flight to Tahiti - it´s 3.30 pm and hot & sunny.
Thu 16th:
Bonjour, ici Tahiti: Well, we're in the French speaking part of the Pacific. Flight from Santiago was uneventful but over 11 hours! We left (late) about Santiago time in 767 and they served a reasonable lunch/dinner. We landed at Easter Island at dusk, first overflying the island (saw the coastline but didn't identify any 'maui' (the statues). They let the transits off the aircraft so I have set foot on the island though not gone through immigration. There's a rather basic holding area with gift stalls and quite a nice garden outside you can wander in. Some passengers left here, others joined so soon we were away and they served a reasonable dinner (but I didn't have much of it - oh, the bread roll was stale). I slept awhile on both legs of the journey, correcting my watch to Tahiti time. We landed just before 11 pm local and whistled through immigration (they have lanes for 'EU passports' and 'others'). Then we waited about 10 minutes for 7 bags to appear then another 10 minutes before others appeared! Once I'd located mine, it was into the arrivals hall - a bit more leisurely than other places. Each tour company has a white board on wheels and they list on it the passengers they're meeting: good scheme and I found my man. We're feeding many mouths - I booked it through Wexas who booked it with Pacific Destinationz who booked it with the tour company who actually met me who booked the actual service provider! About 25 min drive to Radisson Hotel. Dark, so I didn't see much but round here it's modern. Travelling makes you realise how reinforced concrete has changed our world. The majority of buildings are now a mesh of horizontal and vertical reinforced beams with suitable infill, usually cast in situ. Practical but rarely aesthetically attractive. The Radisson is doubtless the same but the finishes adaopted are to a good standard. There's a central cluster of buildings in pseudo 'Tahitian Village' style then seven agressively modern accommodation blocks, each with four floors of six rooms per floor. The room decor is modern and stylish (and, for once, I don't mean that in a perjorative sense). Very impressive but showing some signs of wear and tear. The room I have has a bedroom area with a huge bed, TV, seating area, wardrobes. Bath/shower, handbasin and w/c form an annexe with no actual separating door. Large patio door leading onto a generously sized balcony forms one wall of the bedroom. The balconies face the sea which is perhaps 100 yds away across the hotel gardens and huge outdoor swimming pool. I can hear the breakers crashing on the beach. The gate to the beach is closed at night and it's not really regarded as a swimming beach so I contented myself with a midnight dip in the pool. (Note to Ruan: Room was booked for Mr & Mrs Ford. No arrangements made for late checkout, standard time is 11 am. I have paid 42 USD for late checkout which is 7 pm but have agreed 9 pm. If I'd wanted the room for the extra 2 hours 'till I'm actually picked up, charge would have been 4 times as much. Is this what you expected or has it gone slightly wrong?) Well, it's nearly 2.30 am now so I'll get some rest before my day trip to the adjacent island Moorea tomorrow.
My photographs of French Polynesia are
here.
Thu 16th:
Picked up at 8 am today in heavy rain and taken to the ferry terminal in Papeete. Traffic terrible, just like home! Booked on a 'super cat' for fast ferry crossing of about 20 km to the island of Moorea. Meet Polynesian guide and he picks up a group of 3 Japanese plus a translator (Japanese guy who visited on holiday and decided to stay - a few people do that). My guide is also driver of people carrier so I end up in front with him, rest in the back. The Japanese group were actually nice but had very little English (more than my Japanese). Moorea is small - pop around 15,000. It's also very lush and very beautiful with wooded volcanic mountains inland, narrow coastal strip, lagoon with white sand. The sort of thing you imagine for a tropical island. I was very taken. After a bit the rain eased and the sun came out. We stopped at the fruit juice factory (where they also make 25% liqueurs) then at the jam factory, but there was no great pressure. Moorea is very laid-back. Successful types in Papeete often move to Moorea and commute to work on the super cat ferry. Eventually end up at the re-created Polynesian village. I know, I know, but this one was done a restrained manner and, again, no pressure. We were booked to have lunch here. I had salad (very salty but good) fish (lumps of well-cooked fish in a creamy sauce with tiny potatoes and boiled rice: very good) and coconut ice cream with chocolate cake (excellent). Then they put on a show with 3 boy & 3 girl dancers, music by a trio. My guide is ukelele player and M/C and choreographer. Also he's related to almost everyone we meet. After lunch I walk on the beach and paddle. Normally, the lagoon is calm and shallow, the water clear. By standing still, the small fishes (2 to 4 inches long) would swin close, going between my legs a few times or bumping into my leg! Quite fascinating. Then, we completed our circumnavigation of the island (60 km coast road). All very relaxing. Then back to the dock for the super cat back to Papeete, picked up and returned to the Radisson. Later this evening, I'm being taken to the airport for my flight to Sydney, change, then to Melbourne. Not seen much of Tahiti but definitely decided I prefer the quieter islands like Moorea.
Fri 17th:
It looks as if not all addressees got the message I sent from the ship a few days ago, because of the way their software handled addresses, so I'm sending you a copy now. Apologies if you already got it. (Thanks Ann, for the copy). FOLLOWS A MESSAGE FROM M/N SANTA CRUZ FAX REPLIES TO: 00874 373 5059 11 SHIP'S PHONE 00874 373 5059 10 E-MAIL Replies to:
santa.cruz@cruisemail.com Please, indicate guest's name and cabin PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE AS THE PASSENGER DOES NOT WISH TO BE CHARGED FOR INCOMING EMAIL. Friday: rise at 5am, breakfast with 4 others, picked up by Edwin & driver in 4x4 & to airport on main road which has bendy trolleybuses already running. Bus stops are proper enlosed shelters with raised access platforms and platform edge doors which open when a bus is alongside. X-ray checked baggage, get boarding pass, through metal detector & x-ray hand luggage to departure area. One guy from tour operator is to fly with us. But incoming flight is late - departure announced 45 late. At this moment, ladies loo in departure area is closed for repairs to lights so a party of women (including me) have to go back through security to the other loo & then come back in again! Eventually, the 727 arrives (the tri-jet) and, after the arrivals have walked across to the terminal, we make our way to aircraft. Flight full, about 45 min to Guayaquil (pop 2.8m) on the coast. We stay on while pass get off and on and we take fuel. It's raining. 90 min flight to Baltra in Galapagos, 600 miles West. Plastic lunchbox ith quite a good meal (hot mushrooms in sauce with toato & brown bread, yoghurt, bread roll, pineapple jam, small white choc bar. We use most of the runway at Baltra on Santa Cruz island: now sunny. People get off & now we're no more than 2/3 full for 20m flight to San Cristobal. On landing, pay 100 USD entry tax & passport check. 'Santa Cruz' passengers directed to bus (checked baggage taken direct to ship). 5 min drive through small concrete-built town to tiny dock where 4 'Zodiac 5' inflatables wait for passengers (about 14 of us) and luggage. Don lifejackets and cross to 'Santa Cruz'waiting in harbour. Transfer to stairs lowered on port side then check in and crew show cabin location. My master suite (1 of 2) is port side aft with a balcony looking aft - very nice. Then to lunch. People divide onto tables informally - I join a post-grad living in Sydney originally from Basingstoke, a Swedish midwife and her 20-ish daughter Sophie. Ministrone, buffet main course (surprise, I have fish which is excellent) then strawberries and cream. Luggage has now been placed in rooms. Then we have briefing in lounge for afternoon's activities. Snorkelling (for those who do), beach or a boat ride. I go to beach. We're only allowed to walk on sandy area: rules are very strict to preserve the uniqueness of the flora & fauna. In the excitement of going ashore, forgot to take my bag so when it rains get very wet, but it's not cold 'cos we're just on Equator. Sealions basking all over - I nearly fall over one! (you're supposed to keep 2 or 3 m clear and not touch). Bulls can be 200kg. If you stand still, curious but indifferent sealions tend to surround you as they come and go between the sea and beach basking. Get in Zodiac for return. Driver has to idle for a while waiting for sea to calm around the rocks and when he does gun the engine it's quite a ride, the boat flexing and continuous tinkling sound as the corrugated aluminium floor lining also flexes! Rest until the evening talk 'The ECO Moment'. There are 6 qualified naturalists who lead parties on the various shore visits. Cocktails in the lounge including crew introductions by the Dutch cruise director - Captain, Number 2, Radio man, 6 naturalists (one designated chief), barman. There are around 82 guests (capacity 90) from 12 countries. Then to dinner where our lunch-time group are joined by a landscape designer from Seattle with his teacher wife. Then to bed, tired, with the patio door to the balcony open. Awake and it's raining again! Half past midnight we start to move to the island of Espanola (Hood). Engines are twin Sulzer 1620 BHP with a fair bit of noise and vibration. Glad I had the suite - I'd defintely get cabin fever in, for example, an inside cabin with no window! After a few hours cruising we anchor at Punta Suarez, near to other, smaller craft about 300m from shore. Particularly when anchored, the ship tends to roll, giving people an inebriated gait. I can't yet describe the feeling of being so near to wildlife but it is very special.
I've not checked these websites, but they may inform:-
www.metropolitan_touring.com
www.ecuadorable.com (may be same as above)
www.galapagos.org
www.elino.noaa.gov/
www.law.emory.edu/PI/GALAPAGOS/Index.html
www.galapagos-ch.org
www.gct.org.
And Sunday is International Darwin Day! Seems approriate to be here on his birthday. Tie dilation: It's not yet a week since I left home - it seems much longer (in a good way). Saturday: rise at 6, breakfast at 7, Zodiac at 8 to the island for an accompanied walk over lava stone. Rain threatens but never happens - it's a super day. The fauna teems - sealions everywhere, technicolour crabs and lizards, numerous birds. Each guide takes a party of about 12 on a 2K walk over eroded lava rocks. Details will have to wait but it's amazing. Zodiac back to ship. Boat drill at noon. Talk on geology of the islands in lounge. Lunch (fish soup then a buffet where I sampled various things, figs for dessert. We've moved since morning so we now Zodiac to an amazing sealion beach at Gardner Bay. A sealion comes up behind me - I discover their whiskers are hard, like quills. Another comes up and gently 'bites' my leg, not to hurt. It's sometimes difficult to avoid contact. All too soon, take the Zodiac from the beach and rendezvous at sea with a Glass Bottomed Boat to see the fish. At one point, the sea 'boils' with a school of fish. After 30 mins, rendezvous and transfer to Zodiac for a high speed run back to the ship. Collapse. Took ages to type this so I hope it gets through! If anyone wants to reply, do it as the message header above instructs to the ship's e-mail, but I suggest before end of Sunday your time 'cos I leave the boat Monday morning our time.
Incidentally, shortly the ship will have normal internet via satellite but, at present, we have this indirect system I'm using.
Sat 18th: G’day!:
Well, I'm starting to feel tired now. The flight didn't leave Tahiti till 2 am and there was a fair time difference with Oz (apart from 'losing' a day crossing the date line). The Air Tahiti Nui service was quite good & the equipment was a very cleam A340. Arrived Sydney about 7.45 am today (Saturday). But getting through immigration, clearing all the luggage through customs, re-checking the luggage and transferring by bus to the domestic terminal all took its toll. Then when the flight landed, the car for me was not apparent. I made some enquiries, tried to phone a contact number without success then, feeling very bleary, opted for a taxi. As I arrived at the hotel, the driver who'd been sent for me phoned to say he couldn't find me. Haven't found out yet what really happened. Hotel announce they won't have a room ready for an hour! It's all good news! Decide to go out while I wait - find subway station within 2 minutes so buy ticket and travel to Flinders Street Station then walk back to hotel looking at sights. Although there are many modern buildings, a lot of decent older buildings remain and I find the place very interesting. Get room - it's very satisfactory (see www.thewindsor.com.au). Then off again by train to South Yarra to see what the 'burbs are like. Then catch a tram to St Kilda to see Port Philip Bay. There's Luna Park - an old fashioned amusement park based on Coney Island - and a decent beach. The docks are on the opposite side of the bay and the QE2 appears to be docked. Then catch a different tram back to city (walking the last bit). One more foray by train to Williamstown, on the side with the docks. Williamstown is an upmarket residential area with a number of preserved old buildings called Nelson's Terrace. Back to hotel & now very tired (keep nodding off sending this msg). Need to be up tomorrow, I've a 1-day trip involved which includes a steam train ride on 'Puffing Billy' (not my idea, honestly). Think their web is www.pbr.org.au. I'll have to check out before the trip. All being well, tomorrow evening I fly to Perth.
My photographs of my Easter Island Transit are
here.
My photographs of Melbourne are
here.
My photographs of Melbourne's local railways are
here.
Sun 19th:
Boy, I was tired last night. But sleep and a light breakfast and I was fit again. Today was a coach trip. Not exactly my usual style, but it worked out well. Picked up at 8, others already on board, then 1/2 mile to their central depot where we're sorted into our final coach leaving at 8.40. Drive out to Dadenong where there's forests of huge eucalyptus and many birds. Picnic of Billy Tea (just Australian tea made in a Billy can but excellent), crackers with Vegemite (worse than Marmite, if you can believe) and Australian chocolate & coconut cake. Excellent driver. Then, continue to the Puffing Billy preserved railway. 2 ft 6 in gauge built 1900 (I think as a tourist line) about 18km (I think - we only went on part of it - swizz) and heavily graded in parts at 1 in 40. I'd e-mailed the railway a couple of days ago & had a nice reply confirming a footplate ride should be possible. Their biggest engine is a Manchester-built Garrett, and that was on the train, so I had an excellent (if short) ride. Everybody very friendly. Coach then descended into the Yarra Valley which is wine growing country so we stopped at one for lunch. The've just finished the harvest, and there's celebrations this weekend equivalent to a UK beer festival where each winery opens its doors (for money) and people go on a 'winery crawl'. Then we went to a wildlife centre and were conducted around by a volunteer. In two hours there, I saw lots of animals and birds I've not seen before. Three things that come to mind were the dingos (on a lead part of the time, like pets, so people could stroke 'em), the duck billed platypus and the demonstration of birds of prey. All very professional and interesting. Then about a 1 hr 30 min drive back to city where the tour bus was going to drop off at each hotel in turn. Since I was going to be last, I decided to drop off at Richmond Station for a last train trip back to Flinders Street then tram ride back to hotel. I wish British cities were as easy to get around as Melbourne. I'm now back at the hotel waiting for transport to the airport 'cos this evening I fly to Perth. Incidentally, I was talking to a very interesting ex-politician, Tom Uren, this morning. I'll 'Google' him. Hope things are well with all of you.
My photographs on the 'Puffing Billy' trip are
here.
My pictures of Healesville and the Wine Country are
here.
Mon Feb 20th:
Well, just as I'm sending last e-mail, transport arrives. Uneventful trip West to Perth (nice business lounge in Melbourne Airport). Surprise - no car in Perth. Contact 'em - they met an earlier flight! So it's do-it-yourself time again (I think there may be a moral here) but the hotel is expecting me. Big, modern hotel but well-located 'downtown'. Reasonable room has (partial) river view. Sleep well, very decent cooked breakfast, picked up for the Rottnest trip. With the other hotel pickups, takes longer to get to the ferry terminal than it 'ud take to walk. Then onto a small 'Cat' for the trip down the Swan River. This becomes very wide in parts, with residential development most of the way on either side of crumbling limestone cliffs. And more moored sea-going pleasure craft than I thought had been built. The Australian dream, it seems. Get off at the dock in Fremantle & shortly board a 'Big Cat' for the 18 km crossing to Rottnest Island ('Rats Nest' named after the quokkas which the Dutch explorer thought were big rats. The island is now Government owned and run and is the 'playground' for Perth. Many tourists, some daytrippers, some staying in holiday accommodation. No private cars - buses and cycles. The cycle hire shop stocks 2,000 bicycles! The small town can get busy with trippers. I walked inland, past a number of salt lakes. They originally exported salt from Rottnest. It was used for a prison & over 300 Aboriginals died here. There was a miltitary presence because of its strategic position on the approaches to Fremantle which was maintained in WWI & WW2. After lunch at the hotel, go on a 2-hr bus trip round the island. Meet the quokkas. They're marsupials about the size of a cat, a bit like a squirrel with a big rat tail. Although they live wild, they're used to man. I was charmed that when I kneeled to take a photo the quokka came over and let me stroke him with no concerns ('though I'm told they can bite). Returned to Fremantle on big cat but then walked in the city. University town, lots of bookshops and street after street of little-changed 1900 streets. Extremely important and, of course, I loved it. Also earlier buildings like fort and prison in local limestone. Then walked to the station & caught the local electric service back to Perth (overhead a.c., 2-car EMU, narrow gauge - surprised to see dual gauge in parts - what's that about?) There a some 1900s buildings in Perth but the overall effect is of a modern city with lots of tall buildings. Tomorrow morning start a long journey - more follows.
My pictures of Perth:
hereMy pictures of Freemantle and Rottnest:
here.
My pictures of Perth's railways:
here.
Mon Feb 20th:
Last night, when I asked the hotel about using the internet, they checked & found they were 'down'. They directed me to a convenience store over the road. Perfectly normal store except, just inside the door, 4 booths equipped with computers, webcam headset with mic & phones plus a common printer! By the time I got there, it was almost 10.30 pm so I didn't have long before the place shut. But I managed to get my e-mail out (and the connection was FAST). This morning, early breakfast then a walk around part of the city. It's a spacious city with broad streets & pavements and, towards the river, gardens. All the ferries leave from 5 piers in this area near the futuristic Swan Bell Tower (which is supposed to hold the bells from, I think, St. Clement Danes in London. Dunno why). There's decent Government buildings (British Legacy) and some turn of the century shops and a nice Post Office but it's mainly shopping malls & tall blocks. I went to the station & decided to check out the commuter line to Whitfords.
[railspeak on]
The freeway North to the 'burbs, put in around 20 years ago, left a central margin for a railway which was put in about 10 years ago. It's NG, overhead electrified, left hand running but with facing & trailing crossovers periodically presumably to cope with single line working. Signalling is 3-aspect route signalling (route indicators are both line-of-lights & theatre type). There are some signals for the reverse direction but they are sparse & I couldn't work out the pattern. FB welded rail with fairly massive built-up crossings at points. I observed some sort of automatic train control around Perth, but not a system I know. On this line, stock is 3-car EMU (Bombardier EDI), also seen in multiple. Each station is individually architect designed in fairly-inoffensive modern style. I experienced a fast, comfortable ride. Ticket barriers are strange. Alongside the conventional automatic barriers, there's always an open gate! If you have a ticket 'loaded' with cash, you 'tag in' and 'tag out' to deduct the correct fare. But machines also sell paper tickets for 1,2,3 or 4 zones which give you 2 hours to complete your journey. As far as I can see, the open gates are for users of paper tickets.
[railspeak off]
By the time I was back in Perth, the shops were open, so I browsed a bookshop & transferred one of my camera memory cards to CD so I could re-use the card. Rather oddly, the machine to do this was on the pavement outside the shop (tho' there was an awning). Back to hotel, check out, car to airport, check in (very painless) via security to departure area (including check of hand luggage by wiping a sample cloth over the bags & my watch strap and then checking sample cloth in an ion analyser which identifies explosives - all carried out with great politeness). Perth was growing on me because the people are just so friendly & polite. In fact, that's my experience throughout Australia & I will think on this trip with great fondness for the people I've met. Currently in the excellent Quantas lounge at Perth awaiting the Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. The lounges do help to take the stress out of passing through airports and, with internet access at most places, the time can be put to good use. There's something of a conflict between trying to paint a picture for you and actually spending time gaining these experiences so, as you may have noticed, when under pressure I resort to 'then I did this, then I did this' but I hope that some of my observations have been of interest. I transit Hong Kong, with luck spending time in the lounge, then Cathay again to Delhi. I should be met 'cos then I transfer to the domestic airport for the short flight to Udaipur, where I should be met again & transferred to the hotel. I daren't think about how long this leg will be! A couple of nights plus an evening in India & then it's back home. I just can't believe how much I've seen since I left. I left with a bad cold, headaches and was actually sick on the first flight. But things have steadily improved & I'm fine now. Temperatures yesterday & today of 39 Celsius help! Be back soon!
Tue 21st:
"The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley" as Rabbie wrote. Well, boarded the Cathay Pacific A330 at Perth on schedule. Thought it was a bit warm. No air conditioning. That wasn't the main problem but (eventually) the captain said the engineers were working on an electrical fault. After an hour, he announced 'fixed', just as a major thunderstorm hit - torrential rain. Apparently, Health & Safety dictates ground crew cannot go out in thunderstorms so we could not push back. Sat for another hour until storm passed over. The flight was excellent. Individual TV screens & 20 video channels (some a/c have an extra 6 channels). The video equipment is adjacent to one of the galley areas 2 columns each with 10 rugged video tape players. Above this, 3 dual hard disc players (presumably for those extra channels, but not working on my flight). The problem was, we arrived Hong Kong 22:30 whereas my flight to Delhi was due to depart 22:20 and it did, although the cabin attendants thought they'd hold the departure. This has messed up all the remaining arrangements & I still don't know how it will work out. Cathay gave me a voucher for a room at the Regent Airport Hotel, plus a boarding card for Cathay's flight to Singapore (!) the next morning & a voucher to get me on the Singapore - Delhi in the afternoon. All my arrangements were made through Wexas so I rang their emergency number and left a message (not very reassuring, leaving a message). It's a huge hotel. The room was OK but I'd checked most of my luggage through to Delhi so I'd not much with me. By this time it was midnight, but I went down to use the internet (expensive!) to leave details at Wexas. Having done that, I rang the ordinary Wexas number and managed to get Ruan just as she was leaving for the day. Slept well but not long & got up 0545 to catch the Airport Express train to Hong Kong. Still dark when I started but light when I got off about 26 mins later on Hong Kong Island. To me, Hong Kong means the Star Ferry so I walked to the ferry and spent 2.2 HK dollars on an upper deck crossing to Kowloon. Dunno why I complained about Perth's tall buildings. They're a pimple compared with Hong Kong Island! Got off, doubled back onto the lower deck of the same ferry (cost 1.7 HKD) and returned to the Island and went back on the train. I think it's the first time I've been on that train in daylight. First, you go past miles of containers stacked high surrounded by a forest of container cranes. Hong Kong is one of the top world ports and most of it's on reclaimed land. Then past tower block after tower block of flats. Then across a number of interconnected mountainous islands where the mountains have been hacked away to give a channel for the railway & highway, through a new town & finally to the huge new airport on reclaimed land. Check out of hotel, check onto flight. Another pleasant Cathay flight to Singapore, this time on a 777. The 777 has a belly camera looking forward. For take off & landing, they put the picture on the big screen in the cabin. Not very high-res but spooky. Catering & service excellent. Arrived Singapore on time. The airport is huge - I walked an awful long way just to get to the right transfer desk & I'm now awaiting boarding on an Air India flight to Delhi. The rather basic SATS Lounge I'm using charges for internet (ah, for those Quantas lounges) but, at least you know what's happened. I don't know what happens next, but this may delay my return by 1 or 2 days. I'll let you know when I know.
Wed 22nd:
Thanks for your replies. Just an update to let you know I've safely made it to Delhi.The Air India A310 was a bit long in the tooth & basic (6 audio channels no video) and the meals lacked the flair of, say, Cathay, but the food was quite tasty & the staff very friendly. Arrived on time, baggage arrived safely, cleared immigration & customs promptly. Met in the arrivals hall by the agent, whisked to Le Meridien. Modern, French, large. I've a very good room so I should recharge myself 'cos I'm being picked up at 4 am on the 23rd to fly to Udaipur where I spend 1 night in the Lake Palace Hotel & looking around Udaipur before flying back to Delhi & staying at the Imperial. Still not sure of my exact return date now. Will advise later.
Thu 23rd:
Set the alarm for 3 am & got up feeling surprisingly well. A little after 4 I was taken to the airport for the 737 flight to Udaipur. 'Breakfast' comprised bread roll, butter and a cup of tea or coffee. However, it was delicous. I arrived on time, met up with guide, safely retrieved the hold baggage & set off by car for hotel. Udaipur ... There should follow a detailed description of the hotel which took me a hour to type, which I saved in draft twice and then sent. But, because the system had somehow 'dropped' me both the sent email and the saved drafts have disappeared ... I am booked to return on Tuesday 28th February now, arriving at the same time as originally.
Fri 24th:
I was met at the airport, taken to the city, often called the most romantic city in India. It was founded by Maharana (king) Udai Singh in 1567 after a holy man told him the site would bring good fortune. Modern Udaipur has a population of around 1/2 million and is clean (relatively) and pollution-free. Last year the 3 artificial lakes dried up - a disaster for tourism - but after the monsoon, levels are almost normal. The City Palace overlooking Lake Pichola is the 2nd largest palace in India. It's now a museum, hotel & home of the current Maharana. On the lake, two white marble palaces appear to float, Jag Mandir & Jag Niwas (now the Lake Palace Hotel, built 1746). The car delivered me to the first 'reception' on land side with turbanned, uniformed staff. Then conducted (under a protective unbrella, to the launch for the crossing of a 1/4 mile or so to the hotel itself. There's a fleet of fibreglass launches (for 8-10 passengers) with pull-start outboards shuttling back & forth. The launch delivers you to a landing stage for a short walk (under another umbrella) to the reception proper. I was being upgraded, they said. Soon I was being conducted across an outside courtyard, marbled like the whole hotel, past a marble fountain to the Kamal Mahal (lotus palace) suite. The massive wooden door leads to a small lobby (about 5 x 4 feet) with a traditional portrait of an Indian princess. Thence to an entrance hall with a carved marble-topped table flanked by 2 decorated 'silver' chairs (actually wooden chairs covered with worked silver sheet). There's also a carved cupboard carrying a white marble lion about 12 inches tall and a wooden stand with a bronze peacock. On to the bedroom (about 22 x 22 ft) with an Indian carpet about 15 x 12 feet.There's a large wooden bed with a canopy and side curtains, bedside tables, large carved desk for writing with a large traditional painting in a 6 x 4 ft frame above, smaller desk with mirror and hair drier and a cupboard with minibar surmounted by a huge plasma TV. There are two settees facing one another across a round table. Four rooms lead off the bedroom. The dressing room (9 x 9 ft) is reached through a heavy pair of doors (2 in thick with 1.5 in mouldings on either side and traditional brass pull-rings & horizontal bolt.This room has a bay window (about 5 x 3 ft bay) overlooking the lake. The room is decorated with freizes of mosaic stone lotus flowers set in mortar. The sides of the entrance to the bay are embellished with 7 miniature paintings on either side. Next is the dining room, similar size, similar mosaic but the ceiling also carries mosaic designs. There are two bay windows at right angles to one another. One bay is decorated with 3 miniatures on either side. The bathroom has a raised bath in a marble surround, 2 washbasins, WC, bidet and corner shower stall of generous proportions. The walls are also marble. Finally, there is a lounge (about 18 x 7 feet) flooded with light from four windows with 2 settees, two Carved wooden tables and a smaller plasma TV. I felt instantly at home & was reluctant to leave the suite, with spectacular views across the lake. I turned off the aircon and opened the windows (which was fine 'till it was dark, when rather a lot of insects came into the dining area, but I trapped 'em in there with a window open so they could escape & they'd mostly gone by morning). I'm in the room before 9 am, which is just as well 'cos I'm on the private city tour (taking in the main temple, City Palace Museum, Gardens and various craft shops where you're invited to make purchases (I did). At teatime, go on a private boat trip around the lake, taking in Jag Mandir. People find the sunsets very spectacular & camp out in all sorts of locations to watch. I felt very fortunate to return to my suite with numerous windows overlooking two directions giving good views of the sunset. I am enchanted by the place. Well, that's all for now, I'll update you next time - I'm now at the Imperial in Delhi.
Sat 25th:
Well, you'll gather I was quite impressed by the Lake Palace Hotel. Following morning I got up early and caught to launch just after sun-up, very late at about 7.30. I walked around the old town. India is just so different - so many sights to take in. I got lost but eventually sorted myself out (note to self, must get a compass or GPS - checking the sun's position seems to have too much error! At 8.30 got waylaid by another painting co-operative, but the miniature paintings they produce are fascinating. Then back to hotel for breakfast then checkout and by road to the Monsoon Palace on a very tall hill a few miles away from the town. The whole area is now a nature reserve (the maharana gave the semi-ruined palace to the state 50 years ago). Absolutely stunning views. Saw plenty of monkeys stripping all the leaves of trees. Then back to hotel for a final drink & to the airport for the afternoon Jet Airways flight to Delhi. Security was a real pain but the flight (in business class this time) was fine. Met in Delhi & transferred to the Imperial (
http://theimperialindia.com). Real end-of-the-raj stuff in generally Art Deco style. I've a comfortable suite & sleep well. Breakfast on the terrace today (Saturday) then picked up to visit the Red Fort in Old Delhi. The crush of people & animals & traffic in Old Delhi is almost overwhelming, fortunately, I've been here once before so I had an idea what to expect but it's still an assault on the senses. Red Fort features some beautiful marble buildings & a very interesting museum of 400-year old artefacts. I'm having memory card troubles again, so we stopped off at a camera shop to get an additional card. Don't think shop, think a couple of small counters in a few square feet full of dusty and in some cases damaged cameras. But, they quickly phoned a man who had what I wanted & 'the boy' was despatched with my money to get it. Within 5 minutes, he was back with the right thing! Then, we moved on to the railway museum. Absolutely teeming with school parties, all in uniform, all quite disciplined, all anxious to say 'hello'. So then I got hot and sticky climbing on & off dead engines for photographic purposes. Then back to the hotel (with the madatory stop at a huge handicraft store at Safterjung). After a shower & a bite to eat on the terrace, I walked to nearby Jantar Mantar, an incredible astronomical observatory built hundreds of years ago on the grand scale in brick! These weird constructions, because of their size, give incredible accuracies. Then I walked to the nearest Metro station. Since I was here last, Delhi has 3 operating Metro lines, not yet commissioned over their ultimate length. This being India the stations aren't quite finished (loose or missing pavers on platforms, missing handrails on stairs) but the trains seem to work quite well. By now around 8 pm and return to hotel to wait for the boss from the tour company who is bringing the tickets for the side tour I decided to add. Can you guess where? I'll tell you later.
Sun 26th:
Shimla (sometimes, but I'm assured incorrectly, written Simla) was adopted as a Hill Station by the British to get away from the oppressive heat of summer in Delhi. I'd always wanted to visit so yesterday Krishan of the local agent delivered the paperwork (he and the agency he works for have been most attentive and deserve full marks). It is all arranged, he said, describing a car from Kalka to Shimla. Oh dear, I said, I wanted to go on the narrow gauge train. It will be a long day for you if you go by train, he replied then, like a conjurer, produced a one-way rail ticket he'd already obtained! So Sunday, I rose at 5.45, breakfasted and was taken to New Delhi station to catch the 7.40 Shatabdi (express) to Kalka, arriving 11.40. Leaving Delhi, you see the really poor conditions - refuse everywhere, insubstantial home-made tents. The lack of privacy in these conditions would be shocking to us but they appear to see it as normal. It's hard not to dwell on our affluence and their poverty, but this contrast is not new. In India, the ruling families enjoyed a standard of living which makes our lifestyles seem impoverished. Anyhow, they served tea leaving Delhi, later a hot snack & later another cup of tea. On arrival at Kalka, walked to the narrow gauge platforms where a big diesel headed 6 or 7 coaches. Seating is all pre-allocated & I was in a coach with some stuffy English tourists. The trip was unbelievable but, at 5 hours for 60 miles, not exactly fast. The line was built by the British around 1900 with steam haulage. It rained hard then dried up but became cold (I'm now in training for my return to the UK - bbrrrr!) Eventually arrived Shimla & met & transferred to the Cecil Hotel for 1 night. Guide look me for a walk through the already-dark town. Because of the hills, it's reminiscent of a Cornish fishing village, particularly since most buildings were designed in the British style. Dinner at the hotel and so to bed. Tomorrow return the Delhi hotel (http://theimperialindia.com) then set off back to UK.
Tue 28th Feb:
Shimla is a beautiful place - I can quite see why the British adopted it. Monday, after breakfast took a walk around the town then, by car, visited two Hindu temples & the Vice-Regal Lodge (a virtual palace built by the British & now used for post-grad research by the University. After another short walk in the town, by car back to Kalka, criss-crossing the amazing railway I'd come up on. Caught the 17:30 Shatabdi to Delhi, arriving just before 10pm. Met by driver, guide & Krishan & back to the Imperial. Pack, shower, rest for 40 mins then off to the airport at 12.45 am. Check-in fine but horrendous battle getting through immigration & security. Straight onto the BA 747-400 (upper deck, rear-facing seat) for uneventful journey back to Heathrow. Nearly 1 hr delay on baggage but all arrived safely eventually; then driven back to Brewood & straight into work about 10.45am. This trip exceeded my expectations in lots of ways - it will take some time to sort out my thoughts on this wonderful experience.
Christmas this year was a little quieter but I managed to catch up with a number of friends (photos at Family and Friends). We had some severe rainstorms and fierce winds but, once the wind dropped, it wasn't cold.
