Category: archive

This packed flower market is on one street and gets phenomenally busy.
It starts at around 8am on Sundays only and closes up around 1pm, so get
there early. Here you can buy everything from tiny cacti, bedding plants,
garden gnomes, terracotta pots to shrubs and palm trees. Close by there
are coffee shops, pubs, antiques shops, and restaurants so it is a great
place to browse on a Sunday, maybe buy some herbs and have lunch.

The market is in Columbia Road (between Gosset Street & the Royal
Oak pub), in Bethnal Green, E2. The nearest tube is Old Street tube/rail/
26, 48, 55 bus. Open 8am-1pm Sun; closed Mon-Sat.

Next month: Leadenhall Market

Day 1. Depart Europe via Frankfurt, Lufthansa flights are cheapest, then
overnight flight to Seoul.

Day 2. Land around noon at Incheon Airport. Take the Airport limousine
bus into downtown Seoul, about 90 mins. After checking in to your chosen
accommodation, Yeogwans are good value simple accommodation go for a walk
to help ward off the inevitable jetlag.

Day 3. To get a first impression of Seoul you can take a city tourist
bus that goes around the city, stopping atthe major sights and areas.
A day pass costs 5000 Won ( US$ 6 ). In the afternoon go to Namsen Park
and ascend the Seoul tower for a birds-eye view of the city and to help
get your bearings.

If you are not too tired in the evening go to Itaewan district, for the
nightclubs, bars and markets.

Day 4.Today you could start the day with a pleasure boat ride up the
Hangang river that bisects Seoul, then spend the afternoon exploring the
Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Palace is made up of dozens of buildings and
museums. If the weather is unkind Seoul has many museums including a Rail
Museum, a Folk Museum and even a Currency museum, hope to see the Euro
in there soon!

Day 5. A day to escape the city, especially if it’s a Tuesday when a
lot of the museums and public buildings are closed. Take an organised
trip 60 Km north to Panmunjon on the DMZ, Demilitarised Zone. This is
an area where the cold war continues. UN soldiers guard this border between
the two Korea’s. You cannot go to this area except in an organised group,
and you have to sign a disclaimer in case you get shot! The tour takes
in the Freedom bridge and third Tunnel. You visit camp Boniface and are
on the borderline between the two countries. An exciting and different
side trip.

Day 6. Time to leave Seoul. Take a bus from the Seoul Express Bus station
and head south for four hours to Gyeongju in the Southeast. Gyeongju is
an historic city containing the best-preserved relics from the Silla dynasty.
This afternoon visit the Stone Silla Cheomseongdae observatory, one of
the world’s oldest and Anapji pond in town or take a taxi and visit the
standing stone buddhas, or the Abalone shaped watercourse south of town.

Day 7. Today take the 40 minute bus ride to Bulguksa temple that lies
east of Gyeongju at the foot of Mount Tohamsen. It is one of South Korea’s
premier tourist attractions, so get there early to avoid the heat and
the crowds. It is listed as a world heritage sight and is Korea’s oldest
Buddhist temple, the complex is made up of over 60 buildings. Contained
within are numerous treasures from the Silla era.

Day 8. Another short trip today, as we take the bus to Gimhe airport
in Busan ( Aka Pusan). The flight to Chejudo Island will take only 50
minutes ( US$ 50). You can alternatively take a ferry from Busan to Cheju
that takes 11 hours overnight, often through rough seas. The difference
in cost amounts to only a few dollars so the flight is preferable. Mid
afternoon arrival in Jeju. Take a walk to the Mysteriously shaped Dragon
Head rock on the edge of town, or go to the Moksukwon road and see the
optical illusion of cars rolling uphill.

Day 9. Take the bus to the Manjang cave area on the east of the island
and explore the world’s longest volcanic lava tubes. Take the bus to Songsun
Peak, so called Sun rise peak. If you want to be there as the sun rises,
then you need to spend the previous evening in the nearby village. Walk
along the beach and if you are lucky you may come across the “Sea
women”. These ladies dive for pearls without the use of air tanks
and are able to hold their breath for two minutes.

Day 10 Early bus to Sankumburi crater, famed for it’s diverse flora.
Then head south to Sogwipo city, the islands second city, and a venue
for this years football World cup. To the west of the city take in Yakcheonsa
Temple, which is made completely of wood, then stroll the 400m to the
Jusanjolli rock formations.

Day 11 Depending on time and tides take the ferry to Mokpo on the mainland,
this trip takes 5 hours. It may be preferable to fly. You may have to
spend the night at Mokpo if the ferry is late.

Day 12 Train or bus to Jeonju, a popular town with temples and pagodas
in parks to the east of the city, including the so-called Two Horse head
Mountain, that has a picturesque Temple at the foot of the mountain.

Day 13. Train or bus back north to Seoul. Arrive early afternoon. Last
chance for souvenir shopping and wandering.

Day 14. Morning at leisure before transferring to Incheon airport for
the flight back to Europe. With the nine hour time difference, you land
the same day, but your body may not agree!

If you would like to contact Kevin, please e-mail him on: Kbrackley@yahoo.com

Imagine swapping your normal holiday for a surprise trip that could take
you anywhere in the world doing almost anything.

Holiday Swaps offers you the chance to make this year’s holiday
an unforgettable experience.

Are you a UK based group of friends or a family planning an adventurous
holiday this year? Holiday Swaps are especially looking for you if you
are planning a safari, trekking or conservation holiday.

If you have a good sense of humour, enjoy a challenge and would be prepared
to give up your planned holiday for something completely different, then
we’d like to hear from you.

Email: holiday.swaps@bbc.co.uk

Tel: (+44) 0117 974 7840 (24 hrs)

Address: Holiday Swaps, PO Box 791, Bristol, BS99 1DD, United Kingdom.

Easter would not be Easter without a quick diving trip. Last year the
Beetle went to the Red Sea on a live aboard, and this year, the Beetle
was at a loss to work out where to go. A Muslim country seemed like a
good idea because there would be fewer tourists going home to celebrate
Easter, but it had to be somewhere with good diving.

Oman came to mind as being an unusual destination with hopefully some
good diving opportunities. The Beetle contacted Trailfinders in the City,
in London, to enquire about availability, cost and timings of flights
to Oman. It seemed that there was quite a bit of availability, and the
price was not too bad, considering it was Easter. The next step was to
find a dive operation and a hotel.

A quick trawl on the net found a promising looking dive school that also
had accommodation, so the Beetle went back to Trailfinders to say that
she’d already be told of an Alitalia flight and read out the day and time.
The puzzled operative said, no, there are no Alitalia flights going to
Oman and quite honestly, it is all looking very busy, I can’t see the
flight you are referring to and I’m not sure we can get you there now.

The Beetle has been using Trailfinders for over 10 years and thought
this a little odd. Hang on a minute, just let me check something, the
operative said. He came back triumphant. Yes, we’ve got you going on a
flight to Amman, in Jordan! If the Beetle had booked the first time on
enquiring, she would have ended up in Amman and not Oman – a very
sobering thought!

The moral of the story is: no matter how experienced you think your travel
agent is, they are not mind readers, always state the name of the country,
even if you think it is obvious, like Paris, Texas, or Paris France, others
may not know!

Buenas dias de Buenos Aires, todo del mundi! Can’t believe how far I’ve
travelled and where I have been in the last four weeks! It seems no time
since I was sitting in Pucon, Chile and writing to you about all the things
I had done in Bolivia and here I am in Buenos Aires. The time has flown
and been full of highlights so I shall just have to be as concise as I
can or this email will be a book in itself.

After leaving Pucon, we had the trip from hell to get started on the
Carraterra Austral (Southern Highway) and the first really bad weather
of the trip. It poured! And blew! and the ferry was so many hours late
that we thought we would have to retrace out route and enter Argentina
near Bariloche (they told me later that this area was famous for its cherry
brandy chocolates – damn!) but at the last minute we caught the ferry.
Then got the next ferry which was also running late and spent the whole
night trying to find space to sleep in the truck, whilst on the ferry,
and then while our intrepid drivers drove through the night to make to
next planned camp at dawn. We put up our tents in the rain and crawled
into them and didn’t come out til noon.

There was a spectacular glacier nearby (which probably explained why
it was so cold!) and the rain continued. Next day was more of the same
but the rain held off for short periods and that included when we stopped
to set up camp beside a gorgeous lake, and the third day was a repeat
too with no let up at camp time. I was cooking that night and had the
privilege of sleeping on the truck but first I had to get everyone else
off, as no one wanted to go out in the rain. Last day on the highway and
the day was clear and bright and we could finally appreciate why our driver
was so keen to come this way. Stunning! Amazing! Beautiful! No words can
tell you how lovely it all was. Fields of lupins, wild llama, birds, cattle,
not very many people and even less traffic, blue skies and sunshine. Well
worth the three days of rain and perhaps appreciated even more because
of them.

We crossed into Argentina for a few days to visit the Patagonian area
of El Chalten and Calafate that are known for their mountains and proximity
to the Perito Moreno Glacier and Lago Argentino respectively. I went hiking
in El Chalten and managed a long days walking so my ankle must be all
but healed as it still aches when I am tired. And we took a tour out to
the glacier and it was thoroughly worth seeing. I took loads of pictures
so – you have been warned!

After this wee sojourn, I went back to Chile for the best part of a week
so that we could visit the National Park of Torres del Paine. It was spectacular,
glorious and any other superlative you can think of. I tried to do a hike
there that out leader claimed was ´not technically difficult´
but only got half way as he failed to qualify his statement with ´but
it’s all uphill¨. Great day though and I had a great picnic view when
I stopped to have my lunch.

After Torres, it was back in the truck and head further south for Tierra
del Fuego. By this time the days were very long and even though it was
cold at night, the days were sunlit and generally warm, so, eating at
10pm was not unusual. The mornings were cold and the early starts were
not always welcome but the scenery changed every mile so it was always
exciting to get further south. We took a ferry across the Magellan Straits
and onto Tierra del Fuego, crossed into Argentina half way across the
island and got to Ushaia with no trouble at all.

More camping and a boat trip around the harbour to see the wildlife
and the shores of this remote place. It is a pretty place, with multicoloured
houses and built around the bay at the foot of the mountains that ring
it. The weather there changes by the minute and is never the same for
long and the people I met were friendly and from all over Argentina. Because
of the unstable nature of the peso here, things were much cheaper than
a month ago so I did a bit of shopping. Great fun and not something I
have done a lot of this trip. Honest!

After all this it was time to head north and we got to Buenos Aires in
four days of very long drives with only a visit to a penguin colony as
distraction. The country could not have been more different to the Chile
Patagonia we were used to. The land was flat and no mountains or trees
to break up the horizon. The roads were generally good but like outback
Australian roads were long and straight and seemed to go on forever.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. BA was a welcome break and despite our concerns
for the ongoing political problems there, we encountered no violence except
what we saw on TV. A city tour, a group meal for two birthdays, a Tango
show and it was time to move on. I could have spent longer and would liked
to have visited Uruguay, but the need to move on and the lack of a visa
made that impossible. We left BA in sunshine but the rains soon caught
us. It cleared for the evening but at 5am the heavens opened and once
again, my being on the truck saved me from the fate of my co-travellers.
The tents fell over as the torrential downpour undermined the pegs and
soaked everything: soggy people, sleeping bags and possessions straggled
onto the truck. We skipped breakfast in an effort to out run the storm
and finally did so at about 2pm that day.

We got to Puerta Iguazu and stayed in cabanas as everything was too
wet to use. It took about a week before everything was thoroughly dry
as we have well and truly hit the tropics now and evening and morning
rain are the norm rather than the exception. The Iguazu Falls are spectacular
from both sides of the Brazil/Argentine border and I feel privileged to
have seen the big three: Niagara, Iguazu and Victoria. All amazing but
I have to give the honours to Victoria Falls. After Iguazu, it was time
to head for Rio. Another three long days driving to get to the town of
Paraty, where we all got to chill out a little (and clean the truck, our
clothes and repack and reorganise ready for the next leg of the journey).
And now we are in Rio. It”s hot. It”s humid and it”s Carnival!
Watch this space!

Thanks Jacqui and keep us posted! If anyone would like to contact Jacqui,
her e-mail is: jacquitrotter@yahoo.com

What have you seen on your travels? Drop a line to the Beetle!

Says Peter from California who wrote in to tell us about how he and his
partner, Leslie, traded vans and reaped the benefits of cheap travel.
“And we”d love to do it again! We put a letter to the Editor
in a caravan-owner”s magazine in England, saying we wanted to trade
our California van for theirs.

Four weeks before our 2-month trip, a nice gent from Norwich called to
say he”d consider it. After we traded references and information
about our vans and how they were outfitted, he welcomed us. We spent a
heavenly holiday travelling Britain, and then he and his wife came to
use our van to visit the great parks of the American west!

We saved thousands of dollars/pounds. Van trades are better than house
trades, because transportation is included and you”re not locked
in at one location! Campgrounds are very inexpensive and have nice showers
and laundry facilities.

We will soon have a new advertisement appearing in the Caravan Club Magazine–we”d
love to visit France for 2 months! Insurance is not a problem, as each
borrower gets their own to cover liability and collision.

In fact, if any of you fellow Globetrotters out there has a VW or other
van (fancy factory-outfitted vans are not necessary–we can sleep in a
bare tradesman”s van just fine), we”d love to trade with you.

Give me a call or an email: Peter Reimuller, Box 4, Point Arena, California,
95468; phone 1-(707)-882-2001; reimuller@mcn.org. And pack your bag–you”re
going to be in some wonderful places!

Sorry–April not available as we are taking our van to Indian Country
to visit the red-rock mesas and desert wildflowers.”

Atom Crater, a former work colleague of the Beetle has recently returned
from a work trip to Bangladesh. This month and next, we include some of
his observations.

Weather report: When we arrived it was very cool, below 20 during the
day and nippy in the evening. I made the great mistake of going out one
evening without a sweater and felt really cold. But it’s now warming up
– winter’s over. It’s still comfortable (mid 20s) but a brisk walk
during the day does make you sweat. But the evenings are now sweater-less.
The dry season will last until May.

Rickshaws: You simply can’t begin to describe Dhaka without mentioning
the rickshaws, which are everywhere, absolutely everywhere. I heard the
other day that there are 800,000 in this city of 10-13 million. They occupy
a large proportion of the city’s road space, moving like a swarm of brightly
decorated yellow and red insects. They irritate motor vehicle drivers
like hell, but are a very efficient, low cost, environmentally acceptable
(except for the choking passengers! see air pollution below) mode of transport
in a city that is absolutely flat. They manoeuvre with remarkable skill,
squeezing into impossible spaces, and operate their own informal tidal
flow system, riding when they choose against the traffic in order to avoid
congestion. As well as passengers, you see them transporting vegetables,
sacks of rice, bags of cement, building materials, timber, bamboo, filing
cabinets, furniture, And they’re not confined to cities and towns, but
are also the dominant form of transport in the rural areas.

Auto-rickshaws: And then there are the auto-rickshaws, which zip around
emitting a fierce crackling sound and pungent grey exhaust. The World
Bank has just published a report that blames them (along with buses and
trucks) as the principal source of the appalling air pollution.

Wheel brushes: The Flying Pigeon bicycles (made in China) have a cunning
feature: two small brushes are attached to the mudguard stays, front and
back, which clean the dust off the rim of the wheels as they turn, thus
keeping them sparkling clean. Is this a local adaptation or does it come
from China? Would it catch on UK?

Hooters: Another traffic impression (traffic – and t-jams in particular
– are a major fact of life here): drivers hoot continuously, their fingers
twitching in quasi-Pavlovian response to the fact that there’s something
in front of them, or approaching from the side, or coming too close behind,
or ….what the hell, let’s hoot anyway! As with many things, it’s
so reminiscent of Indonesia, where we had to teach Yayat, our driver,
to stop this habit before it drove us crazy.

More about Dhaka in April’s e-newsletter. If you would like to contact
Atom Crater, please e-mail the Beetle and she will pass on any e-mails:
Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk