Category Archives: archive

Bali in a nutshell by Shirley of London

This was our first trip to Bali and I have to say that the Balinese are in general the loveliest people, very gentle and welcoming.

Driving out there was a real experience though! It appears that the traffic laws (where there are any) don’t apply to the thousands of motor bikes on the road. It was common to have them coming at you in a one way street!

Prices are fantastic, it cost us about a fiver to tank up a big people carrier, they thought we were mad driving ourselves but once you get used to it and remember to use your horn as much as they do it’s not too bad.

Certainly a destination I’d recommend and will definitely be going back. Kuta is very touristy but get out of town and it’s a whole different world.

Bonfire Night and Guy Fawkes

Joanne is from Canada and works with the Beetle. She has not been in the UK very long. She had never been to a bonfire night!

We explained to her that on November 5th, 1605, the Catholic Guy Fawkes and some fellow conspirators, crept into the Houses of Parliament and stored lots of barrels of gunpowder in an attempt to blow up the houses of Parliament.

He and his associates were caught and taken away to the Tower of London and beheaded. Since this time, each year, on November 5th, the entire country celebrate the foiling of this event (I know, it seems strange!) by having a bonfire with an effigy of Guy Fawkes and we have huge organized and private firework displays.

The public firework displays are always stunning! One of the best ones in London is at Primrose Hill and starts at 7.30pm on the closest Saturday to 5th November.

Globetrotter Travel Award

Under 24? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we’ll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

MEETING NEWS

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

London:

Sebastian Hope gave us a delightful talk about fishing and the sea gypsies of South East Asia, peppering his talk with anecdotes of friendships he made on his various visits to South East Asia and glorious slides of azure seas and beautiful multicoloured tropical fish. Sebastian has written a book about his exploits called Outcasts of the Islands

After the break which included requests for information on places such as New Caledonia, Iguaçu, Cambodia, Mali and lots of other places too numerous to mention, Tim Burford gave us a talk centred on Romania’s wooden churches. He explained that although many are said to date from the middle ages, most are only a couple of centuries old. Tim went on to show modern Romanian architecture in Bucharest. Tim also explained Romania’s version of the Dracula story and advised us to visit soon as there are plans for a Dracula theme park.

On the 1st December, Jon Hornbuckle will be talking about Chile, Atacama Desert to the Land of Fire. Jon has spent the last eight years travelling world-wide in search of wildlife and cultural experience. Denise Heywood will be talking about Vietnam, descending the Land of the Ascending Dragon from Hanoi (a French Colonial city) travelling south through the great Cham Empire, to the Imperial city of Hue and Saigon, and ending at the Cambodian border – everything except the war!

For the month of December 2001, only, the London meeting will be held at 3pm at the Concert Artists Association, 20 Bedford Street, Covent Garden , the door is at the end of a long passageway next to the Springbok Bar. (This is the opposite side of Covent Garden to the Crown Court, our normal venue)

Other than in December 2001, all London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotter Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: http://www.globetrotters.co.uk

Travel Tips

Sort clothes together and put them in different coloured plastic bags – helps you to find your socks as opposed to your T-shirts and also keeps them clean and dry when your back pack is accidentally dropped in the river/sea or when it rains and it is stored on top of a bus.

Tibet from Tom

Tom from North Carolina wrote in to tell us about his time in Tibet: we (a small group of 8) had the usual difficulty with our visa delaying our entry to Tibet from Katmandu by a day even though this was planned and paid for in advance. We had to pay a second time and our original visa fee was eventually returned. Chinese officialdom also confiscated my Swiss army knife before I was allowed to board the airplane to Lahasa.

We toured the country in a small bus with Tibetan driver and Chinese guide both very pleasant. In addition to Lhasa, the capital, we also visited Shigatse and Gyantse, the next two largest cities, really small towns. This meant long rides (10 hours one day) travelling on dirt roads with no guard-rails but great scenery – neat farms, spectacular lakes, snow-capped mountains with steep drops and yaks.

We ate delicious food outside at a “one table” roadside place at very low prices. All the Tibetan people were very gracious and pleasant. At one lunch stop (two tables) while our food was being prepared we observed the ladies of the town in a Tug-of-war contest being cheered on by their men. The four ladies in our group were invited to participate.

Other than the scenery, the highlight of the visit was the Potala Palace in Lahasa where we spent an entire day climbing all types of steps and ladders to the thirteen levels of that seat of the Dalai Lamas. That is why Tom now has a bionic left knee.

Not to be Seen Dead In?

The CNN website cites Robert Young Pelton’s book The World’s Most Dangerous Places and say that the top 10 most dangerous countries are: Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Colombia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Southern Philippines, Algeria, Angola and South Africa.

Italian Food… Rome

Rob from New York (yes, he of hiking in Grand Canyon) recommends the L’Hosteria da Isidoro near the Coliseum in Rome. He says that you sit down and ask for the tastings and basically they just keep bringing trays of pasta to your table until you say uncle. The pasta and risottos are excellent and have a great variety. If your table can eat 15 of these trays, then you get your meal free. The most he has been able to eat is 9.

Want to tell us about your favourite coffee corner or watering hole? Then contact the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

MEETING NEWS

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Travelling up the Northern Californian Coast

Peggy from San Francisco wrote in to tell us about travelling in Northern California: it’s a terrific time and the crowds have vanished and the summer fog replaced by mild weather. A trip up the Northern California coast is a journey into forests of giant redwood trees and along a beautiful wild coast. Take a soothing walk through the Roosevelt Forest. This forest of 800+ year old giant redwoods is the largest remaining old-growth redwood forest and a truly magical place. A little further north you can hunt for agates, jasper and jadeite on Agate Beach in Patrick’s Point State Park. In Redwood National Park you may have eagles, osprey, hawks or ravens soaring just over your head and see Roosevelt elk from less than 15 feet away. A Native American museum tucked among the trees is just one of the hidden treasures of this area. The North Coast of California has many inns and, for the adventurous, there’s lots of public parks among the trees and along the coast for camping. This wild and lovely side of California is only a 4 to 6 hour drive north of San Francisco.

Peggy has kindly offered to give advice to anyone interested in exploring the North California Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. If you would like to take up Peggy’s offer, please contact her at: peggy.werner@gte.net

New York:

James Greenwood, a British 30-something, gave up his job and travelled the world by horse for 10 years! His journey brought him through South America, the Far East, Europe, and the Middle East. Part of journey was in Afghanistan where he spent 6 months. The NY Globetrotters loved James and his dynamic slide show! He was informative, entertaining and fun! James featured highlights of his trip, as well as a close look at the land and the people of Afghanistan. He even went so far as to explain what inspired him to take this trip (you’ll have to hear him speak to find out!) as well as interesting facts, i.e., how he found and cared for his horses, what he ate and some magical things that happened along the way. The meeting went so well (ran an hour past our scheduled time, because fellow Globies had so many questions for James!) that a small group, including James went on from the meeting to dinner and (quite a few) drinks that did not finish up til 3 am!

The November speaker is in the process of being organized.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.

Reader's Information/Fave Website

From Ben and Elfriede from Texas would like to share with us their experiences with the 5W Group that is HQ’d in England. They have just got back from a 2-month vacation in Europe. “We stayed primarily with members of “Women Welcome Women World Wide“. What a great way to travel and meet new people! If you’re doing genealogy research, they can usually direct you to the libraries, etc. All of our hosts provided excellent accommodations, food, and also advised us or showed us the best sights to see in their communities.

Usually husbands and/or children are welcome too. We highly recommend the 5-W Group. We stayed with couples that included a lawyer, a civil court judge, a criminal court judge, a home economics teacher, a deep sea diver, a professor of Russian literature whose husband is a professor of Russian history, a doctor of chemistry, a young couple who are both dentists, and also an owner of a travel agency. The 5-W Group sends a booklet listing the name, e-mail address, home address, phone#, age, profession, type of accommodations, religion, and interests (some of which include genealogy) of over 3,000 women world wide.”

Click here for information.

The Beetle say thanks a lot, Elfriede Ben – sounds like you had a great time! Has anyone got any other info and good experiences they would like to share? If so, contact the Beetle on: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

London.

Charlie Loram, the intrepid trekker/philosopher first visited India in 1992 and visits the Himalayas almost every year. Who else is so well qualified to talk about trekking in Ladakh and to talk about life and the people there. Charlie showed us some superb slides of the area, interspersed with maps of his routes and some of his own philosophy about eco-tourism and the quality of life. You can order a copy of Charlie’s book, Trekking in Ladakh (Trailblazer) online from www.trailblazer-guides.com.Fantastic, Charlie, and we look forward to seeing you again!

Just when you thought things could not continue on such a high, Paul Grogan took over the gauntlet in the second half and entertained us with some of the highs and lows of his adventures kayaking across Siberia with his babe magnet friend. Paul amazed us using slide and video footage (well done to Webmaster Paul!) starting with his moments of getting stuck in mud on the way to the source of the river Amur, flat calm days, sinister watch towers, political bureaucracy, gorgeous girls (!) and getting sozzled on a Chinese boat and waking up finding a very nasty plastic watch strapped to his wrist in exchange for his nice one! Brill!

Next, in London on 3rd November, Tim Burford will look at the varying styles of architecture in his talk on the Castles and Churches of Romania. Tim is a regular at the various London travel shows (along with the Beetle) and has impeccable guide book writing credentials and is author of both Bradt’s Hiking Guide to Romania and the Rough Guide to Romania.

Sebastian Hope will be talking about the Sea Gypsies of South East Asia, finding and travelling with the maritime nomads travelling the coasts of Borneo, Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Sulu Archipelago before returning to Sabah to search for Sarani a sea-gypsy chief and his friend. Another author, he has written Outcasts of the Islands about the sea gypsies of SE Asia published b by HarperCollins.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotter Info.line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

Globetrotter Travel Award

Under 24? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we’ll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Ontario:

As soon as we get information on the annual barbecue we will let you know what happened! For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

Travel Tips

Mike from the UK says: if you’re desperate for a toilet and can’t find a handy McDonalds, the more luxurious hotels always have toilets in their lobbies – walk straight past reception and you should find them 🙂

Texas:

True to her word, Christina in Texas held a slide show on a weird and wacky take on Americana over the ages at the New Braunfels Public Library. Thanks to Jon and Beth for sharing their great slides and stories. A magnificent 12 people attended and to start the theme, Christina organized a door prize of a “classic” US Travel Atlas. Trish has loved Globetrotters for 9 years, and won, so congratulations to Trish! The show was thoroughly enjoyed by all – and all that was missing was the popcorn!

Funny Signs Again!

Shirley from Kent in the UK saw the following in Bali:

If you have any loose baboons in your pocket, you might want to visit the “monkey exchange” for something smaller! Also, did you know in Bali you can have “antiques made to order”?

Janelle from Roseville, MN saw in a street in Hong Kong at a tailors shop?;…”ladies, have fits upstairs.”

Dee from the UK was in Japan when she saw a vending machine selling cans of “Sweat”. Although it was hot, and the cans were cold – she decided not to buy one!