In ancient times Sumatra was known by the Sanskrit names of Swarnadwīpa (Island of Gold) and Swarnabhūmi (Land of Gold), due to the gold deposits of the island's highland. I think this description is also relevant to describe travelling in Sumatra.
Sumatra is the greenest place I have ever visited, from the rice fields to the coffee plantations, rainforests in the mountains and argiculture rich land around Lake Toba in the middle of Sumatra. With very little tourists, a language barrier and narrow windy rough roads, I felt like I was on an adventure again. I chilled out on Lake Toba, relaxed on the island of Pulau Weh, I climbed to the highest point on Sumatra, the 3,800m volcano Kerinci and hanged out with a local classic Vespa club in Bukittinggi. The Sumatrans are friendly, generous and a happy bunch of people.
1,000 years on, Sumatra can still be described as an island of gold.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tsunami
There seems to be a recent pattern of visiting sites of human suffering but my visit to Aceh province in Northern Sumatra was to go diving around the north western most point of Indonesia, the island of Pulau Weh.
In Banda Aceh I visited the new Tsunami museum, the video and photos of the destruction of the town was beyond anything I have seen on the news at the time. The earth quake caused everyone to leave buildings and gather in the streets, then all of a sudden the water surge washed in around the buildings. Thousands of lives would have been saved if people had moved to the top of the buildings.
I drove down the west coast, the area of the greatest destruction and the coastline has been changed forever. What I saw was dead palm tree lagoons and new housing estates built on flattened hill tops. The rugged coastline, where the mountains meet the Indian Ocean, has been changed forever and so the lives of the people. One thing is unchanged, it is a beautiful part of the world.
In Banda Aceh I visited the new Tsunami museum, the video and photos of the destruction of the town was beyond anything I have seen on the news at the time. The earth quake caused everyone to leave buildings and gather in the streets, then all of a sudden the water surge washed in around the buildings. Thousands of lives would have been saved if people had moved to the top of the buildings.
I drove down the west coast, the area of the greatest destruction and the coastline has been changed forever. What I saw was dead palm tree lagoons and new housing estates built on flattened hill tops. The rugged coastline, where the mountains meet the Indian Ocean, has been changed forever and so the lives of the people. One thing is unchanged, it is a beautiful part of the world.
Malaysia - nothing exciting
On my way to the Malaysian border, the only thing I knew about Malaysia before this visit was that in 1993 the Australian PM, Paul Keating called the Malaysian PM, Mahathir bin Mohamad, recalcitrant. Would Malaysia be tough travelling?
I left Malaysia with an impression that could not be further from recalcitrant. I easily crossed the border within an hour and drove and fantastic roads down to Penang. In Georgetown there was free wifi throughout the city, very cheap 95 octane fuel was available and everyone spoke English.
Malaysia is recognized as a newly industrialized country, it has a GDP ranking of 48th in the world and 2nd in Southeast Asia. The head of state is an elected Monarch, the parliamentary system is based on the Westminster system and the road system around the country is excellent, especially in the capital. The country is rich in natural resources including agriculture, forestry, mining and the Straits of Malacca enable easy access to global trade, but there is no adventure to be found here.
I left Malaysia with an impression that could not be further from recalcitrant. I easily crossed the border within an hour and drove and fantastic roads down to Penang. In Georgetown there was free wifi throughout the city, very cheap 95 octane fuel was available and everyone spoke English.
Malaysia is recognized as a newly industrialized country, it has a GDP ranking of 48th in the world and 2nd in Southeast Asia. The head of state is an elected Monarch, the parliamentary system is based on the Westminster system and the road system around the country is excellent, especially in the capital. The country is rich in natural resources including agriculture, forestry, mining and the Straits of Malacca enable easy access to global trade, but there is no adventure to be found here.
Malaysia – Is Oil Palm all the future?
I spent 3 weeks in Malaysia and connected a loop around the peninsula from Penang, the British East India company trading colony. I crossed mountain ranges, drove along beautiful beaches on the east coast and trekked in the rainforests but I was never far from Palm Tree Plantations.
Malaysia is the second largest producer of Palm Oil after Indonesia. Approximately 12% of Malaysia is planted with Palm Oil trees which produce 18 million tonnes of Palm Oil. I never realised the multitude of use, from cooking oil to biodiesel.
Palm Oil is rich in Carotenoids and people with diets rich in carotenoids, such as fruits and vegetables, are healthier and have lower mortality – interesting to know but I won’t start eating margarine! Malaysia is leading the world with legislation requiring diesel to contain 5% palm oil but Greenpeace claim that the clearing of rainforests and burning of peat bogs will do more harm to the global environment than the cleaner emissions from bio-diesel. Time will tell if replacing rainforests with Palm Oil plantations is the best decision long term.
Malaysia is the second largest producer of Palm Oil after Indonesia. Approximately 12% of Malaysia is planted with Palm Oil trees which produce 18 million tonnes of Palm Oil. I never realised the multitude of use, from cooking oil to biodiesel.
Palm Oil is rich in Carotenoids and people with diets rich in carotenoids, such as fruits and vegetables, are healthier and have lower mortality – interesting to know but I won’t start eating margarine! Malaysia is leading the world with legislation requiring diesel to contain 5% palm oil but Greenpeace claim that the clearing of rainforests and burning of peat bogs will do more harm to the global environment than the cleaner emissions from bio-diesel. Time will tell if replacing rainforests with Palm Oil plantations is the best decision long term.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Thailand – a nation divided
To understand the recent ‘Red Shirt’ protest’s that lasted approximately 2 months, you need to go back to the 1997 constitution, understand the rise of the Bangkok’s middle class and political history.
In 1997 a new Constitution was put in place which brought it up to a similar standard as Developed countries. This meant both houses of parliament were elected, a reduction of police authority, independent government agencies were established, (like the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Court, the Office of the Auditor-General), electoral reform to stop vote buying were some of the major changes. These changes were seen by some as enabling government to be too strong and stable.
There is a divide between the new Bangkok middle class and the poor Northern farming class. In 2001 Thaksin was elected as Prime Minister and his grassroots economic policies helped reduce poverty and provided universal health care, making him hugely popular in rural Thailand. Thaksin became seen, by the ‘Yellow Shirts (new Bangkok middle class)’ as an Autocrat, with conflicts of interest, anti-Royal comments and a political rift with a senior Monk. Loud anti-Thaksin support came from a media moghul, prominent socialists, scholars and 'royalists' and factions within the Thai Military. In September 2006 the General Election was not required because of a Military coup a month earlier.
The military drafted a new constitution, which a majority approved in a national referendum in 2007 but Northern Thailand voted against the new constitution. The new constitution watered down many independent bodies but provided clearer lines on corruption. In December 2007, Thaksin’s party, with minor party support, formed a coalition government. This was seen as vindicating Thaksin against the military coup.
The new government, the ‘PPP’, vowed to amend the 2007 constitution prompting the ‘Yellow Shirts’ to resume protests, culminating in the shutdown of the Bangkok International Airport in 2008. Then the ‘Constitutional Court’ dissolved the PPP party due to corruption, a new coalition government was formed with a majority from the Democrat Party (Yellow Shirts) but the ‘Red Shirts’ were not happy with how the coalition was formed and started to protest again.
The Thai constitution has the King as head of state, where the King appoints an 18-member privy council who perform policy around the monarchy but with half the council formerly involved with the Military there is innuendo that the council plays a pivotal role behind scenes of Thai politics.
At the end of the day, all the people I had spoken too (the middle class in Bangkok) have less regard for politics and more interest in the King’s comments … so similar to the Middle East, maybe Western Democracy, anti-corruption legislation and a check and balances constitution is not for everyone but the Northern Thai’s will put their hand up to disagree.
In 1997 a new Constitution was put in place which brought it up to a similar standard as Developed countries. This meant both houses of parliament were elected, a reduction of police authority, independent government agencies were established, (like the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Court, the Office of the Auditor-General), electoral reform to stop vote buying were some of the major changes. These changes were seen by some as enabling government to be too strong and stable.
There is a divide between the new Bangkok middle class and the poor Northern farming class. In 2001 Thaksin was elected as Prime Minister and his grassroots economic policies helped reduce poverty and provided universal health care, making him hugely popular in rural Thailand. Thaksin became seen, by the ‘Yellow Shirts (new Bangkok middle class)’ as an Autocrat, with conflicts of interest, anti-Royal comments and a political rift with a senior Monk. Loud anti-Thaksin support came from a media moghul, prominent socialists, scholars and 'royalists' and factions within the Thai Military. In September 2006 the General Election was not required because of a Military coup a month earlier.
The military drafted a new constitution, which a majority approved in a national referendum in 2007 but Northern Thailand voted against the new constitution. The new constitution watered down many independent bodies but provided clearer lines on corruption. In December 2007, Thaksin’s party, with minor party support, formed a coalition government. This was seen as vindicating Thaksin against the military coup.
The new government, the ‘PPP’, vowed to amend the 2007 constitution prompting the ‘Yellow Shirts’ to resume protests, culminating in the shutdown of the Bangkok International Airport in 2008. Then the ‘Constitutional Court’ dissolved the PPP party due to corruption, a new coalition government was formed with a majority from the Democrat Party (Yellow Shirts) but the ‘Red Shirts’ were not happy with how the coalition was formed and started to protest again.
The Thai constitution has the King as head of state, where the King appoints an 18-member privy council who perform policy around the monarchy but with half the council formerly involved with the Military there is innuendo that the council plays a pivotal role behind scenes of Thai politics.
At the end of the day, all the people I had spoken too (the middle class in Bangkok) have less regard for politics and more interest in the King’s comments … so similar to the Middle East, maybe Western Democracy, anti-corruption legislation and a check and balances constitution is not for everyone but the Northern Thai’s will put their hand up to disagree.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thai Islands are suffocating
The only way to describe the islands is the way I saw them… ‘They are oversubscribed and the locals don’t care about their environment!!’. I dived at the premier dive island, Ko Tao, great fish but the coral is dead or dying and way too many people around to let it re-grow. Next, on a tourist tour of the islands around Krabi, the boat dropped the anchor on the coral while the tourists swam around fish eating bread thrown from the tour staff.
I spoke to the tour leader about the coral destruction from the boat anchor when we were on onshore… his reply was ‘The boat captain is in charge of that, I can’t help’. The boat captain did not speak English, so later I went to the national park headquarters to make a compliant, no one spoke English. This is a continuing theme in developing countries.
I spoke to the tour leader about the coral destruction from the boat anchor when we were on onshore… his reply was ‘The boat captain is in charge of that, I can’t help’. The boat captain did not speak English, so later I went to the national park headquarters to make a compliant, no one spoke English. This is a continuing theme in developing countries.
A railway made from death
I visited the Hellfire Pass Museum on the site of the longest and deepest excavation on the 415km railway built by the Japanese during WWII. The British surveyed a railway route in the early 20th century and decided it would be too difficult to complete. The railway was built in 16 months with 250,000 Asian laborers and 61,000 POWs – British, Australian and Dutch of which 16,000 died working on the railway. Approximately 90,000 Asian laborers also died but the Japanese did not count them.
The way the POWs were treated, reading the stories of survival and cruelty, once again I was disappointed how people can treat each other and it reminded me of negative comments, about the Japanese, from my Grandparents. Simple things like the Red Cross assistance packs were stored in a warehouse and not given to the POWs.
The way the POWs were treated, reading the stories of survival and cruelty, once again I was disappointed how people can treat each other and it reminded me of negative comments, about the Japanese, from my Grandparents. Simple things like the Red Cross assistance packs were stored in a warehouse and not given to the POWs.
Cambodia – moving on
How can a country/community move on from the Khmer Rouge period when approximately a quarter of the population died. The persecutors and persecuted now live side by side peacefully, but still try to find an the answer to who is responsible – everyone says ‘I was following orders’. With only one person convicted, ‘Duch’, and another four under judicial investigation as part of the ‘Cambodia Tribunal’ a key part of the process to reconcile the past. Questions are still asked why more of the Khmer Rouge have not been prosecuted, since 30 years has pasted. In 1997, Cambodia established a Khmer Rouge Trial Task Force to create a legal and judicial structure to try the remaining leaders but with limited funding available, foreign donor countries have had to assist.
My question is ‘At what point is standing up against the momentum of death more important than following orders because of the safety of your family or yourself?’ Easy to ask but much harder to answer.
Today, the Cambodian children visit S-21 and Killing field memorials so they can understand the horrific past and hope it will never happen again.
My question is ‘At what point is standing up against the momentum of death more important than following orders because of the safety of your family or yourself?’ Easy to ask but much harder to answer.
Today, the Cambodian children visit S-21 and Killing field memorials so they can understand the horrific past and hope it will never happen again.
Angkor Wat – Ancient urban sprawl
After 4 days of driving around the former Khmer Empires capital, I covered only about two thirds of the sites. The former Khmer capital is believed to have covered up to 3,000 sq km during its peak in the 12th century. The city and surrounding area supported half a million people and it has now been suggested that deforestation, over population, topsoil erosion could have contributed to the population's sudden disappearance. Did I just see that in Laos?
The only parts left now are the decorative and ceremonial sites, which are amazingly well preserved, and you can see the outline of old irrigation channels, dams and fortification walls. My favorite site was Beng Mealea with the forest grown over the top and with only a few tourists and staff around, I was able to climb all over the site – like a kid exploring his first adventure playground.
The only parts left now are the decorative and ceremonial sites, which are amazingly well preserved, and you can see the outline of old irrigation channels, dams and fortification walls. My favorite site was Beng Mealea with the forest grown over the top and with only a few tourists and staff around, I was able to climb all over the site – like a kid exploring his first adventure playground.
Killing fields
As a teenager I read several John Pilnger books and watched his documentaries and followed the Australian peace keepers in Cambodia, so I am interested to see the memorials and museums.
I visited the S-21 prison where 17,000 people passed through form 1975 to 1979 – there are only 12 known survivors. I was prepared for horrific stories and walking through the prison and reading the stories of survivors, guards and events, I left with tears in my eyes. How can people be so brutal to one another in the 1970s and not question their part?
Individuals spent approximately 3 months in the prison and were tortured into false confessions. The academics, doctors, teachers, students, factory workers, monks, engineers were the first group imprisoned and later the Khmer Party’s paranoia turned on its self. The methods of torture included water boarding, beatings, electric shock and hot metal instruments, female prisoners raped and suffocation with plastic bags were part of their repertoire. The explanation of the guards about their part was they were too scared to speak up and afraid of what could happen to their families.
During the 4 year period of the Khmer Rouge up to 2.2 million people died – war with Vietnam, starvation or as prisoners – from a total of 7 million. The new ideals of removing technology and starting at Year Zero meant the country could not produce enough food to feed everyone. I remember the Vietnamese were given international condemnation for fighting the Khmer Rouge – at least one country did something!
I visited the S-21 prison where 17,000 people passed through form 1975 to 1979 – there are only 12 known survivors. I was prepared for horrific stories and walking through the prison and reading the stories of survivors, guards and events, I left with tears in my eyes. How can people be so brutal to one another in the 1970s and not question their part?
Individuals spent approximately 3 months in the prison and were tortured into false confessions. The academics, doctors, teachers, students, factory workers, monks, engineers were the first group imprisoned and later the Khmer Party’s paranoia turned on its self. The methods of torture included water boarding, beatings, electric shock and hot metal instruments, female prisoners raped and suffocation with plastic bags were part of their repertoire. The explanation of the guards about their part was they were too scared to speak up and afraid of what could happen to their families.
During the 4 year period of the Khmer Rouge up to 2.2 million people died – war with Vietnam, starvation or as prisoners – from a total of 7 million. The new ideals of removing technology and starting at Year Zero meant the country could not produce enough food to feed everyone. I remember the Vietnamese were given international condemnation for fighting the Khmer Rouge – at least one country did something!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Loss in Laos
I was so disappointed arriving in Laos, there are many new roads mainly dirt which the locals use the opportunity to grab land, burn forest and claim it as theirs. I can’t blame the people because you always need to find a way to feed your family. One of the pledges of the Copenhagen Accord, see below, is for Developed countries to pledge 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries. This is also a similar issue for Northern Thailand, Burma, South China and Cambodia.
One point of the accord that is specifically applicable to Laos:
Recognises "the crucial role of reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation and the need to enhance removals of greenhouse gas emission by forests", and the need to establish a mechanism to enable the mobilization of financial resources from developed countries to help achieve this.
The air pollution, natural beauty and tourist destinations are diminishing so quickly I would not recommend anyone visit Laos, relative to other countries. The Copenhagen Accord implementation to assist and fund the setup of National departments to manage and protect the forests and provide a assistance to the local people can’t happen quick enough.
One point of the accord that is specifically applicable to Laos:
Recognises "the crucial role of reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation and the need to enhance removals of greenhouse gas emission by forests", and the need to establish a mechanism to enable the mobilization of financial resources from developed countries to help achieve this.
The air pollution, natural beauty and tourist destinations are diminishing so quickly I would not recommend anyone visit Laos, relative to other countries. The Copenhagen Accord implementation to assist and fund the setup of National departments to manage and protect the forests and provide a assistance to the local people can’t happen quick enough.
Coffee on the Plateau
I drove from the capital of Laos, Vientiane, south down to the Bolaven Plateau, almost the Cambodian border. As I drove up onto the plateau the temperature dropped 6 degrees as I climb to 1300m, a massive relief when in my riding gear. The French successfully established coffee plantations here in the 1930s and now produce up to 20,000 tonnes a year with a 80% Robusta and 20% Arabica. The Ho Chi Minh Trail passes through the plateau and the US carpet bomb the whole area, there are still huge numbers of UXO (unexploded ordnance).
I met a Dutch guy in Paksong who roasts and sells coffee. There is a specialty coffee which is made when weasels eat the coffee berries, unable to digest the nut inside the coffee bean ends up in their dung. The dung is then collected, washed, the bean is extracted and processed. It may sound a little gross but produced a very nice cup of coffee with delicate fruit flavours.
I met a Dutch guy in Paksong who roasts and sells coffee. There is a specialty coffee which is made when weasels eat the coffee berries, unable to digest the nut inside the coffee bean ends up in their dung. The dung is then collected, washed, the bean is extracted and processed. It may sound a little gross but produced a very nice cup of coffee with delicate fruit flavours.
French Influence
There is only so much rice one can eat, similar to my feeling about kebabs after three months. So when visiting the former French colonial cities of Luang Prabang and Vientiane I splashed out on French Restaurants and wine. I now realize I really do miss the finer points of life!
As in the Portuguese and British colonial buildings in India, the architecture of the French colonial buildings in Laos gave you an insight into a period of recent history. I could imagine the lifestyle as a French land owner over 60 years ago in Luang Prabang.
As in the Portuguese and British colonial buildings in India, the architecture of the French colonial buildings in Laos gave you an insight into a period of recent history. I could imagine the lifestyle as a French land owner over 60 years ago in Luang Prabang.
Pathet Lao Headquarters
I drove from Western Laos over to the eastern town of Vieng Xai, on the Vietnam border. The road was a pleasure to ride, single lane though jungle, across ridges and winding over mountains. Many small road side villages have been built as the local move out of isolated jungle villages.
Vieng Xai was used as the base for the Pathet Lao, who was the communist group that fought the Royalist Government from the 1950s. The Pathet Lao were supported by the North Vietnamese, Chinese and Russians, which caught them in a proxy war between the Cold War superpowers. In 1964 the US started dropping bombs on Lao with 2 million tonnes dropped on Lao over nine years – 10 tonnes per km2. To protect them from the US bombardment the Pathet Lao lived in limestone caves. Up to 23,000 people lived in the caves, which contained a hospital, a school, Pathet Lao offices, bakeries, shops and even a theatre.
Onto Laos
I spent a week driving around awesome motorbike roads of North West Thailand, fantastic surface, cambered corners and big hills with 1263 corners spread over about 1000kms. It was hot, really bad pollution and fewer tourists on the north east circuit.
Which brought me onto the main tourist loop for backpackers and kids on gap year - North from Bangkok to the Laos border at Huay Xai then down to Luang Prabang, onto the capital, Vientiane. Then down to a Thousand Islands on the Cambodian border, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Ankor Wat then back to Bangkok. It was so different from the Middle East and India but also great to meet other travellers.
Which brought me onto the main tourist loop for backpackers and kids on gap year - North from Bangkok to the Laos border at Huay Xai then down to Luang Prabang, onto the capital, Vientiane. Then down to a Thousand Islands on the Cambodian border, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Ankor Wat then back to Bangkok. It was so different from the Middle East and India but also great to meet other travellers.
A sign of Insanity
It was an easy decision to take 18 months off work and travel home but missing an intellectual challenge I have decided to enroll in a Masters of IT by internet correspondence. I should easily be able to fit two subjects a semester with my travels? Currently five weeks into the semester, I better buy the text books and get studying!!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Thailand – underdeveloped or developed country?
Landing at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport, freeways into central Bangkok, internet access everywhere, clean streets, modern buildings, expresso, I could not help but thing I had stepped into a different world. Since leaving Europe 8 months ago I had experience small pockets of modern western environments. As I drove north with up to 5 lane freeways with new Toyota 4x4s, I could not help but think I was in the developed world.
In Chiang Mai, I went for a beer with a Director of an NGO I had met earlier on my travels and he has concluded in 3-5 years time, Thailand will not require NGOs on the ground. I left Thailand thinking it is closer to developed than developing.
In Chiang Mai, I went for a beer with a Director of an NGO I had met earlier on my travels and he has concluded in 3-5 years time, Thailand will not require NGOs on the ground. I left Thailand thinking it is closer to developed than developing.
Myanmar
Myanmar is not just an obstacle for the foreign diplomats and the United Nations but also for something just as important – Overlanding. There are 3 choices:1. Drive around through China – expensive.
2. By sea from India to Thailand – long process.
3. Fly from Kathmandu to Bangkok – quickest option and my choice.
India – a land of contrasts
Travelling from the north to the south, seeing the difference between the rich and poor areas, India is a land of major contrasts that make it interesting, frustrating and a place I won’t forget. Below are some of the contrasts that I experienced during my 10,000kms:
Cold in the North to Hot, Humid weather in the South
I wore all my clothes on the drive to Delhi from Katmandu while under a blanket of smog. In the south the sun burnt through a thin layer of smog and made for hot days.
Mountains to beaches
I did not get into Kashmir, Indian Himalaya, but relaxed and explored the coasts of Kerala and Goa. Beautiful landscapes of palm trees down to the green waters in Kerala and the beaches of Goa. Each place I stayed was a traditional fishing village turned into a backpacker resort.
Mumbai – the haves and have nots
I visited a few nice restaurants, drank some Indian wine (more work required) and enjoyed a few western luxuries. I visited the biggest slum in South East Asia, where people lived in fox holes and Western work place healthy and safety would have shutdown the whole slum, but I came away positive about human ingenuity. The slums had education, healthcare and vibrant energy while rural Indians battled against drought, famine and access to education and health care.
Conglomerates to an individual
A visit to India sees every man, women and child using all means to make a rupee. Anyone that has demonstrated success has had their ideas copied by everyone around them. This is in contrast to the conglomerate Tata Group who comprises of 114companies, from steel , cars to tea and water. Tata had revenue of US$70 billion in 2009… a little more than the average man, woman and child on the streets.
Socialism to democracy
India is the largest democracy in the world but there is socialist populism in the southern states of India. Southern India is the economic, agricultural and industrial power house of India with the highest literacy rate and university educated individuals but have a leniency towards socialism. Part of the reason for high education and regional economic power is the colonial rulers occupied the south of India, yet Socialist parties dominate the political landscape.
Rules to practicality – motorbikes on the freeway
We need rules to ensure there is order in society but they need to be sensible. On many freeways in India motorbikes are not allowed, makes sense when they only travel 30km/h. The rule should be under 150cc no freeway. I got past one set of officials to drive travel 80km along a 120km section where the alternatives limited – 5 officials flagged me down after the several individual officials on the side of the road I ignored.
Religious openness to closed communities and untouchables over 10% of the population
The former Portuguese town of Fort Cochi or French town of Puducherry are opposites of the Muslim and Hindu communities in the North of India where communities are isolated in a different world. In Fort Cochi Christian women are emancipated but in the north Hindu and Muslim women are veiled and are second class citizens. I visited a rural community near Jodhpur where women attended only the equivalent of junior school, married below 18 years of age and were veiled. Gandhi spent a majority of his time to remove the idea and segregation of the underclass but still today the hierarchy of Indian society sets your path in life.
Culturally unique – constant staring and no personnel space
On my travels to date, I have to conclude that Indians on a whole are culturally unique for three reasons, staring, personal space and sharing.
Staring - the most amazing part is the staring. The unflinching, frozen state where people do not flinch when I say ‘Hello’, wave and even jump up and down.
Personnel space – stopping in remote places, men would gather around, jostling to get forward to the bike. Sometimes I was getting pushed away or onto the bike...similar to a Bollywood star stopped at a truck stop.
Touching - The expectation that my bike is the same as any bike where they can sit, touch and borrow for a ride goes against my culture where you do not touch other people’s property. A Norwegian biker referred to it as touching ones wife... but the language barrier lost the menaing.
Cold in the North to Hot, Humid weather in the South
I wore all my clothes on the drive to Delhi from Katmandu while under a blanket of smog. In the south the sun burnt through a thin layer of smog and made for hot days.
Mountains to beaches
I did not get into Kashmir, Indian Himalaya, but relaxed and explored the coasts of Kerala and Goa. Beautiful landscapes of palm trees down to the green waters in Kerala and the beaches of Goa. Each place I stayed was a traditional fishing village turned into a backpacker resort.
Mumbai – the haves and have nots
I visited a few nice restaurants, drank some Indian wine (more work required) and enjoyed a few western luxuries. I visited the biggest slum in South East Asia, where people lived in fox holes and Western work place healthy and safety would have shutdown the whole slum, but I came away positive about human ingenuity. The slums had education, healthcare and vibrant energy while rural Indians battled against drought, famine and access to education and health care.
Conglomerates to an individual
A visit to India sees every man, women and child using all means to make a rupee. Anyone that has demonstrated success has had their ideas copied by everyone around them. This is in contrast to the conglomerate Tata Group who comprises of 114companies, from steel , cars to tea and water. Tata had revenue of US$70 billion in 2009… a little more than the average man, woman and child on the streets.
Socialism to democracy
India is the largest democracy in the world but there is socialist populism in the southern states of India. Southern India is the economic, agricultural and industrial power house of India with the highest literacy rate and university educated individuals but have a leniency towards socialism. Part of the reason for high education and regional economic power is the colonial rulers occupied the south of India, yet Socialist parties dominate the political landscape.
Rules to practicality – motorbikes on the freeway
We need rules to ensure there is order in society but they need to be sensible. On many freeways in India motorbikes are not allowed, makes sense when they only travel 30km/h. The rule should be under 150cc no freeway. I got past one set of officials to drive travel 80km along a 120km section where the alternatives limited – 5 officials flagged me down after the several individual officials on the side of the road I ignored.
Religious openness to closed communities and untouchables over 10% of the population
The former Portuguese town of Fort Cochi or French town of Puducherry are opposites of the Muslim and Hindu communities in the North of India where communities are isolated in a different world. In Fort Cochi Christian women are emancipated but in the north Hindu and Muslim women are veiled and are second class citizens. I visited a rural community near Jodhpur where women attended only the equivalent of junior school, married below 18 years of age and were veiled. Gandhi spent a majority of his time to remove the idea and segregation of the underclass but still today the hierarchy of Indian society sets your path in life.
Culturally unique – constant staring and no personnel space
On my travels to date, I have to conclude that Indians on a whole are culturally unique for three reasons, staring, personal space and sharing.
Staring - the most amazing part is the staring. The unflinching, frozen state where people do not flinch when I say ‘Hello’, wave and even jump up and down.
Personnel space – stopping in remote places, men would gather around, jostling to get forward to the bike. Sometimes I was getting pushed away or onto the bike...similar to a Bollywood star stopped at a truck stop.
Touching - The expectation that my bike is the same as any bike where they can sit, touch and borrow for a ride goes against my culture where you do not touch other people’s property. A Norwegian biker referred to it as touching ones wife... but the language barrier lost the menaing.
Lost in Translation
Often I have met people who are keen to jump on the back of the bike but timings have never worked out. I meet Yvonne climbing a pass out of the Everest valley, both on the way to India in 2010. After a month in India we met up in Mumbai with the plan to drive 4,000km to Kathmandu – easy for me but you never know how the reaction of riding on the back, bumps, rough roads, heat and dirt would put most people off the idea.
After several days exploring Mumbai, we headed north, to Gurujat, several hours in the freeway car parks of Mumbai and several more on the freeway north. Yvonne quickly learned that the BMW only has one speed, fast, and enjoyed riding on the back. The busiest road in India varied from single lane road works, dual lane freeway and to a car only European freeway (which we got ¾ of the way along before being forced off, but that is another story).
Rajasthan, the state between Delhi and Pakistan, home of Mughal forts, Rajput Kings, Mosques, deserts and the busiest tourist state in India. We did the standard tourist stuff, visited the Mughal forts, learnt about the history, walked the markets and then moved onto the next town.
Travelling with Yvonne was filled with constant miss-interpretations, requests to ‘please repeat’ or ‘please talk slower’, and general miss-communications caused by my slang. My quick, intelligent wit was lost on her, the Aussie sarcasm received with confused looks so we were left to talk about the weather.
The bike performed fantastic, overtaking with incredible speed, much to the horror of Yvonne. Travelling with Yvonne was enjoyable after 10 months alone but for a long trip, the only way is for everyone to have their own bike. The experience of motorbike travelling has converted another and Yvonne learnt to ride the bike and is keen to get her licence back in Germany.
After several days exploring Mumbai, we headed north, to Gurujat, several hours in the freeway car parks of Mumbai and several more on the freeway north. Yvonne quickly learned that the BMW only has one speed, fast, and enjoyed riding on the back. The busiest road in India varied from single lane road works, dual lane freeway and to a car only European freeway (which we got ¾ of the way along before being forced off, but that is another story).
Rajasthan, the state between Delhi and Pakistan, home of Mughal forts, Rajput Kings, Mosques, deserts and the busiest tourist state in India. We did the standard tourist stuff, visited the Mughal forts, learnt about the history, walked the markets and then moved onto the next town.
Travelling with Yvonne was filled with constant miss-interpretations, requests to ‘please repeat’ or ‘please talk slower’, and general miss-communications caused by my slang. My quick, intelligent wit was lost on her, the Aussie sarcasm received with confused looks so we were left to talk about the weather.
The bike performed fantastic, overtaking with incredible speed, much to the horror of Yvonne. Travelling with Yvonne was enjoyable after 10 months alone but for a long trip, the only way is for everyone to have their own bike. The experience of motorbike travelling has converted another and Yvonne learnt to ride the bike and is keen to get her licence back in Germany.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Driving in India
Crossing Paths
One of the unexpected pleasures of driving half way around the world is meeting the same people in different countries as we each follow our own path. I have meet Dutch riding bicycles to Melbourne, people driving 4x4s around the world and backpackers flying, busing and training their way on a similar path to me. It’s great to hear each person’s experience of a town, country and culture - amazing it can be so different. The best part is developing a friendship over time instead of meeting people once over dinner or a beer – which can be like ground hog day…. the same conversation.
South India – a different world
On my Christmas break all warm clothes were left behind because now only hot days and warms nights were ahead of me. In northern India I was forced to wear all my clothes to stay warm, so I was excited to step off the train into warm weather. Bangalore is a modern city with footpaths, booze shops and wi-fi cafes…just what I like.
I drove south down the center of India through old British hill stations, tiger reserves, national parks and winding roads with little traffic, fantastic riding conditions. I was reminded how unfit, inflexible and a little fat I am after a few yoga classes and made the resolution to continue yoga for my duration in India, but a yoga classroom was never to be seen again. Instead I visited two western beach resorts, one in Kerala and one in Goa, where I swam for 30min every morning, explored the coastal towns and read my books, I was super chilled after this week.
I drove south down the center of India through old British hill stations, tiger reserves, national parks and winding roads with little traffic, fantastic riding conditions. I was reminded how unfit, inflexible and a little fat I am after a few yoga classes and made the resolution to continue yoga for my duration in India, but a yoga classroom was never to be seen again. Instead I visited two western beach resorts, one in Kerala and one in Goa, where I swam for 30min every morning, explored the coastal towns and read my books, I was super chilled after this week.
Gurus
Arriving in Bangalore, I contacted a friend and former colleague, Suresh, from my last contract in London. It was good to meet his family, learn about South Indian culture and drive around the technology parks, which make Bangalore the I.T. outsourcing capital of India.Suresh’s son attends the free Sai Baba School about 140 km north of Bangalore. After learning about the ashram from the Russians, I had to take up Suresh’s offer to visit with his family on Sunday. The ashram is a living city, 15 tower blocks of dormitories, hospital, restaurants, supermarkets and cafes. It has a real buzz with thousands of people visiting for the day or staying for months. I estimated about a tenth of the people there were western which explains 114 Sai Baba centers around the world.
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others. This explains the description of him from his devotees as an avatar, godman, spiritual teacher and miracle worker. It was explained to me that in Hinduism a god can take many forms, this would explain the many Guru's in India.
The Sai Baba’s organisation has made a big contribution to people around the Ashram, with free health care in modern state of the art hospitals. I was impressed with the ashram setup, generosity of devotees and the benefits provided to ordinary Indians but being a devotee is not for me.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
New mode of transport
To save some time, wear and tear on the bike and petrol cost on my wallet we jumped on the train for a 40 hour ride from New Delhi to Bangalore. I went for the premier way to ride, 2 AC sleeper, which means 2 bunks in a compartment with air-conditioning. I was lucky enough to share the compartment with 3 Russian ladies on their way to spend a month at Sai Baba Ashram (but that’s another story). Only one lady spoke a little English….so a quiet 40 hours for me.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Down into smoggy India
It was a surreal experience to ride down off the Himalayan foothills, where the horizon changed from mountains and blue sky to a line of grey smog and blue sky. At times the visablity was less than 50 meters, slow going but then this is a crowded part of the world and my average speed to way lower than usual.
I then drove down to Varansi, Khajuraho, Taj Mahal and onto New Delhi. The whole time I have been under a layer smog and with the cold air from the Himalayas creating fog, this meant the sun only appeared for a few hours a day.
Maoists – red is ruining the country!
No matter how you classify wealth, Nepal ends up at the bottom, ie: GDP 163 out of 181 and per capita 55% leave on under US $2 per day. A small number who interact with tourists do well and the majority has a tough life, similar to many countries I have visited so far! Unfortunately for Nepal, they have no products or resources that the world desires and their major income earner is tourism. Tourism is good but it is hard to distribute the wealth in a cash economy, affected by civil war and political uncertainty. The Transparency International 2009 corruption ranking for Nepal was 143 out of 180 countries.
Summarizing a complex issue, in May 2008 a new government was elected, a coalition between the Maoists (37%) and Unified Marxist-Leninist (17%)(you would assume the same ideals to be one party), with the Nepali Congress (18%) heading the opposition. The 3 main parties follow the UN negotiated peace agreement and agreed to write a new constitution within 2 years and after the abolition of the monarchy. The UN monitors the peace accord to ensure all parties stick to the deal. There were a few problems so the Maoists’ resigned from the government over 12 months ago. On a regular basis (twice a month between 1 and 3 days), the Maoists shutdown the country, block the roads with stones, logs and people. Then threaten violence to people who use the roads or businesses that are open for trade. Foreigners are exempt and I did drive several times through road blocks with some angry shouting and waving of red flags.
The Maoists are new to democracy and are learning on the job (they are use to pulling the trigger if someone disagrees) and democracy is all about compromise (Barak Obama will agree).
On a similar wave length, parts of the Islamic world educate the illiterate with an extremist view. In Nepal the Maoists tell the illiterate to ‘follow me and life will improve’ and very successfully people follow, who are un-educated from the country side, on mass to the major towns to block the roads and shutdown the country. When making a living depends on time open for trading, this impacts the majority and affects the earning power of individuals and governments, who need all the help they can get. The result of these strikes means everyone is poorer; country people are more frustrated with no change to their living standard, city people dislike being held to ransom by the Maoists and everyone is disillusioned with the Politian’s.
Is there an answer…yes...Maoists need to open their eyes and live in the real world, sure political agreement is difficult , change takes time but shutting down the country and stirring up the uneducated from the countryside is detrimental to Nepal and its people going forward.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Did I make the right decision?
I had always planned to go overland from London to Melbourne, once my time inLondon was complete. I loved the freedom my scooter provided in London so a motorcycle was the obvious choice, but after 3 months, temperatures upto 45C, constant attention from locals and meeting 4x4 overlanders with fridges, I had second thoughts.
Now in Nepal, about half way and the harder countries behind me, I have no regrets and still love to ride my bike. You may have noticed a few photos of the bike, that’s because I am in love with it. Many people have said you don’t need 1200cc for overlanding and they are right but bloody hell its fun to have 105HP (77KW) of power on a 300kg bike!!!
Taking a year off and travelling overland, the hours of riding has enabled me to do heaps of thinking, reflection and plans for the future. The bike has enabled me to meet and talk too locals and backpack travelling means I have met lots of great people and characters. The time has reinforced how fortunate I am!!!
So far so good, looking forward to travelling in South East Asia over the next 8 months.
Safari in the Jungle
On the plains at the bottom of the mountains, called the Terai, is the Chitwan National Park. It was here in the colonial days that the British came to shoot Rhinos, Tigers and Elephants. My guide was armed with a stick and the plan was to spend the day tracking down the animals in the park. First came a warning, if a Rhino charges, run in a zig zag and drop a piece of clothing. If a tiger attacks, look directly into the eyes and walk backwards slowly and for elephants... run for your life.The two guides, two Kiwis, an Irish lass and myself crossed the river by dugout canoe at 7am in search big game. By lunch time we had spotted, monkeys, spotted deer, crocodiles, plenty of birds, butterfly’s and lots of Rhino’s poo.
Our guide was super confident, he has spotted Rhinos for the last 27 days and knows all the secret places to look. By 2pm we started making our way back and I doubted we would see a Rhino. Tigers are nocturnal and there are very few wild elephants left, the highlight was to be the Rhinos (3.5 tonnes which can move at 25km/h). The day ended with no spotting of a Rhino but it was a fantastic experience walking through the forest.
Lu
ck was with us the next day on the elephant safari, spotted three Rhinos in the first 5 minutes!
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