Cape Reinga

One of the places that I wnated to visit most in New Zealand was Cape Reinga. Its not quite the most northerly point but it is one of the most important. Cape Reinga is where the Maori believe that the departed souls of the dead begin their journey to the underworld. It goes something like this....

When the soul is sentinent enough to realise that it may be departed, it makes its way to Cape Reinga. On the mountainside there are 2 springs. To drink from one means going onward to the next world. To take from the other means going back to humanity. The spirit must choose and decide which way to go. If they decide they wish to go to the next world, they must drink and then make their way down the path to where the oceans collide. Then they must find the tree on the cliffside. This tree is sacred and only Maoris may go anywhere near it. The roots form rough steps and the soul must make its way down them and be precariously balanced over the rough sea. Then with a great leap and joyousness of spirit, the soul begins its long and arduous journey to the next world.....

The Creation of New Zealand

One day the great Maori warrior, Maui, was out fishing in his waka (canoe) when he caught a giant fish. It thrashed and tried desparately to escape but Maui was strong and hung on, knowing that the fish could feed his family for a long time. But their strength was equally matched and neither could win. The battel went on for so long that they turned into stone. Maui's waka became the South Island of NZ, the anchor for his waka becam Stewart Island and the fish became the North Island. The places where the fish had struggled and beaten Maui with its tail became the mountains and volcanoes of the South Island, which is why its so rugged and mountainous.

Being in New Zealand

Things I like about being in New Zealand:

Being able to walk around at midday in a T shirt. Even though its officially winter.
Being able to look up at midnight and see the stars- and sometimes the Milky Way- without any pollution from lights or other electricity sources.
Being able to smile and say hello to strangers and not have them think that you are crazy/perv/maddo/strange.
Being able to drive for 8 hours and see only 10 cars.
Being able to stop and get out and walk around and be in the country side even though you are on the State Highway- because they are all in the mountains and country side.
Being able to feed the ducks.
Being able to walk sown any street at midnight and not fear for your life/wallet/virginity (ahem!)
Being able to stare into space with your thoughts and not have the locals think you are crazy/perv/maddo/strange.
Being able to be in the rainforest but still admire the awesome glacier- because the live companionably side by side.
Being able to find serviced petrol stations. And occasionally a serviced grocery store (I kid you not!)

Actually....just being.

Fleeting impressions of New Zealand

Photos from top- Queenstown from the bungy platform, me at Abel Tasman National Park and the Remarkables mountain range.

I keep thinking of things while I'm driving or doing something else and thinking Oh I must put that into my blog. Of course by the time I get here I've forgotten all about it and waste valuable compter time scratching my head and trying to remember what it was. So I'm just going to put down a few of my impressions of New Zealand while I recall them. These are in no particular order....

The people. Amazing. Friendly. Helpful. Welcoming. At first we had a few problems with the camper van and folks just broke their necks trying to assist us. Lovely.

The scenery. Awesome. Breathtaking. Loads of mountains and hills and lakes, not to mention the most beautiful coast lines I have ever seen. And the funny thing is that you don't get tired of it, you just get progressively drunker on it.

The peace. So many areas are small with small or no population. So when you turn off your engine all you can here are the birds singing and the waterfall running. Wonderful and soothing for the soul.

The driving. There's been a whole lot of it and sometimes I get tired but in reality it gives me time to think and assess my life and try to figure out what I'm doing next.

Having a friend to share it with. I am so used to travelling on my own that it took my a while to adjust to having Hannah there with me. But for some things its wonderful to Ooohhh and Aahhh over them with someone! Waiheke Island, Auckland, Rotorua- it also helped that she is another LOTR geek so interests in common!

These things deserve a whole entry of their own so I'll just briefly mention them:

Swimming with real wild dolphins at Akaroa. The Hector dolphin is the smallest and rarest fo dolphins so it was a real priviledge to have these intelligent and friendly creatures come up to me and say hello. Really puts life in perspective.

And of course the bungy jump. AWESOME thrill and never been so terrified in all my life. Talk about putting life in perspective!!

The last mention goes to Sarah and John, a couple from Auckland that I met while on a wine tour in Blenheim. We chatted for the few hours that we knew each other and on leaving they provided me with John's business card and their home phone number. Also with strict instructions to call them if I was in Auckland and stuck in any way- from needing bailed out from jail to needing a bed for the night. See what I mean about the people.....

Amazing Australia

So although I was in Aus for 3 months I never did get around to blogging anything about it. There are a number of reasons for this but I think it was most likely that I wasn't working and felt I had nothing to say. Also I felt as though I was living there instead of travelling there so it was a different vibe althogether.

Australis is certainly one of my favourite places so far. The people are friendly and welcoming and ready to assist you in any way that they can. Its beautiful- and, of course, its hot which is high on my list of priorites!

I visited Tasmania, Alice Springs, Sydney and lived in Melbourne. For a city, Mel is very laid back and relaxed and I loved the atmosphere there. Alice was small and not very exciting but of course I was really there to be picked up for my camping safari to Uluru which was the height of cool. I have had an interest in this genuine monolith (the only one in the world!) for some time so it was fascinating to really see it and hear more about its history and the importance it represents in Aboriginal history.

Sydney was quite pretty and I liked being there but I was glad that I was only there for three days. It doesn't have much depth to it and its heavily based around the tourists.

Tasmania was beautiful and amazing. I loved Launceston in the north which is tiny and has a real country town feel to it- very few people live there so its not surprising! Hobart is in the south and that was interesting but not terribly exciting. I also visited the stunning and gorgeous east coast in particular Freycinet National Park, which is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen.

But a lot of my time was spent at the gym and just hanging out and appreciating all the things that you don't get to have when you are constantly on the move (you know- a real kitchen, a shower that you don't have to share with dozens of others, playing a cd or watching a movie whenever you feel like it!) I love travelling but it was good to catch my breath, take stock of what I'm doing and just appreciate standing still for a while. I made good friends, stayed with lovely people and was very sad to leave this land behind.

One small comment that I must make is, of course ,regarding the aboriginal people. These folks are in a real sad state. Especially in places like Alice and the more remote regions its not uncommon to see very drunk and drugged up Aboriginies. They have high unemployment, high drug use, high alcoholism, low education- all the worst social problems. For me the saddest thing was seing a proud and beautiful tribe of people reduced to squalour and it all being our fault (as in the white person's) Remants of the Stolen Generation are still around and the effects resonate to this day. The government has only now begun to recognise that much assistance is needed and is now beginning to give land and so on back to various tribes- but there is a strong sense of too little, too late. There is also still an element of Aboriginals being a bit pissed off that white people are still trying to tell them what to do- albeit in a well meaning manner. My feeling is that they need to be given help and support to solve their own problems. White people have no clear idea of the difficulties faced by black people- so of course it makes perfect sense for white people to make it all better- NOT! I could go on in this vein for days as it is a subject very close to my heart. However, I won't. I will say that the Prime Minister of Australia has recently made a very public apology to Aboriginal people for the way that they have been treated. Maybe this will start the healing process and the long road to recovery for this "Lost People".

We can only hope.

Talking Thai

So I never did get around to posting any blog re my time in Thailand which is shameful given that I was there for so long and was stuck for days in Bangkok. Here it is now though...

Spent 2 days in Bangkok first of all and was not impressed. Perhaps my perception was coloured by my reading about it and thinking about it before I went. I don't know. All I know is that I found it to be big and noisy and dirty, with not that many exciting things to do really. Very disappointing. I also found the people of Bangkok to be different to other Asians. Not so friendly or helpful although it should be noted that this is a generalisation in the extreme!

Moved on to Chiang Mai and the Thailand experience immediately got better. Chiang Mai is an ancient city in the north of Thailand, and is populated heavily by hill tribes who live very peacefully and with only the basic amenities available to them. It's beautiful and not so noisy as Bangkok although its nearly as big. I had some fun there - did some volunteer work with elephants, did a 5 hour zipline course which was amazing fun and met some very cool people there. I also visited the hill tribes and did a days trekking in the mountains- which nearly killed me by the way! The guesthouse that I stayed in was cheap and clean and comfortable and the people who ran it were simply lovely. The only bad thing about Chiang Mai is that it is where I parted ways with Mido which was the right thing to do but made me very sad, so I have some upsetting memories of the place. Otherwise all good.

From Chiang Mai I moved on to Koh Chang, one of the little islands that is situated in the west coast. It has only 5000 inhabitants. I would recommend that it be visited as soon as possible though as it will soon become the Benidorm of Thailand. For the moment however, its got the right amount of amenites and conveniencies without being painfully touristy. The waters are crystal clear, the sand is white and the people are warm and friendly. Beautiful. Also did 2 days volunteer work here- with the Koh Chang Animal Foundation. Run by American Lisa McAlonie, it provides treatment and assistance for the islands small animal population. She also does surgery etc for the islands pets and if the owners cant afford to pay then she doesnt charge them. Lisa is a little bit crazy and I think if I stayed any longer she would make me crazy too! But she is warm and good hearted and I enjoyed the experience.

I stayed in Koh Chang for 6 days then headed back to Bangkok to discover that the airport was shut with protesters at the doors and no flights were taking off. So I had the joy of wasting 5 days in Bangkok- trust me, it was no joy!! But it did give me time to relax a bit and take stock of where I was and what I was doing. 10 months away from home already and it only feels like 5 minutes. Time really does fly by....

Travelling has opened my eyes not only to the differences in the world but also to the similarities. People are just people, no matter where you are in the world. They get up in the morning and try to get through the day, some with a smile on their face and some with a scowl. They have the same trials and difficulties, they have the same joys and celebrations and the same heartbreaks. I remember going to a funeral in Tanzania and although the customs were different, the widow was still a widow and the children had still lost their father. The adults in Kenya were battling Aids with some of the same perspicacity and courage that can be seen at times in Britain. When you suffer a loss or a struggle, you think that you have the toughest of everybody and that no one could understand what you are going through. Travelling has shown me that is not the case and the world is filled with folks just trying to get by. Not to mention the fact that there is a McDonalds on every street corner no matter where you are in the world and that there was a KFC in Cambodia- perhaps not such favourable comparisons. I'll leave it for you to judge, dear Reader.

Till next time.

The Khmer Rouge

This is the second time that I have attempted to complete this blog entry- damn Asian internet connection.....!

I wanted to make sure that I remembered as many details as possible regarding the Khmer Rouge as they are such an important part of Cambodian history. So here are all that I can freely recall...

The Khmer Rouge first started to become a problem in Cambodia around the late 60's/ early 70's, although local knowledge suggests that they were around for a lot longer than that. They were led by the dictator Pol Pot, who can only be likened to Hitler in his mad quest for power and world domination. Pol Pot believed that all those who consisted of the old regime in Cambodia- that is, those who were in charge before his demented takeover- should be removed and gotten rid of. He apparently believed that they were responsible for the difficulties in Cambodia, although in all honesty he was not interested in making life better for those poorer members of the public.

Pol Pot created 2 particular areas where he was able to rid Cambodia of the "filth" that consituted the old regime. One was Choeung Ek, more commonly known as the killing fields and the other was Tuol Sleng.

Choeung Ek was in the countryside and this was where most of the killings took place, so that members of the public would not be aware of what was going on. People would be arrested- sometimes for crimes such as wearing glasses- and taken to Choeng Ek. Here they were made to carry out very intense manual labour, working in the fields nearby, in order to provide good food for the guards. (Said guards were often their former friends and neighbours). The prisoners were often beaten, they got little or nothing in the way of food and they were often tortured. Men, women and children. The Rouge had many different ways of carrying out torture on their victims, but one of the favourites was to hold the head of the prisoner in a barrel of water until they became unconscious. They would then be revived by a flame being held to their face or feet, and the torture would begin again. The Rouge were not really looking for any information or anything that the prisoner could give them. They simply delighted in causing pain and distress to others. According to survivor accounts. the worst times would be in the middle of the night. Sometimes they would hear new trucks arriving, loaded with new prisoners. If the new people did not do as they were told they were simply shot on the spot. At other times the prisoners would be sleeping and the guards would enter the room, seizing anyone that took their fancy and dragging them out. The remaining prisoners would then hold their breath waiting for the terrible sound of the gunshots that would tell them that their fellow was dead. 17,000 corpses have been found thus far in the killing fields and the excavation is not yet complete. Many of the corpses found were those of children. No one seems able to say what crimes these kids had committed that led to their death in such terrible ways. The skulls and clothing of many of the victims are on display at Choeung Ek.

Tuol Sleng was a school until the Rouge took it over during their reign. It was then used as a holding prison for those who were not taken in to the country for whatever reason. The prisoners there were also starved beaten and tortured in many ways. When left in the cells they were chained constantly to the wall. The cells were made from brick and were tiny. They had to be used by the prisoners as a sleeping place- they are not big enough to lie down in-, as an eating place and as a toilet. The conditions were horrific. Tuol Sleng became particularly famous as it was where the Rouge held their final 14 prisoners, just beofre the Vietnamese broke into Cambodia and liberated it. The final 14 were found dead, having died in the most terrible of fashions. They were clearly starved and their bodies were found on the floors of their cells, having been eviscerated while they were still alive. The bodies included 4 women and 2 children under 5 years. Tuol Sleng is now a museum open to the public as is Choeung Ek and the final 14 have been laid to rest there.

Perhaps the most distressing element about this episode in Cambodia's past is that no one has been held to account for it. A war criminal trial is about to begin but in many cases it it too late. Pol Pot himself died in the late 90's- one can only hope that his death was neither peaceful or painless- and so have many of the other large names in this dreadful part of very recent history. They will never be held to account for the deaths that they caused (some estimate as many as 3 million). And the families of those who died will never have the satisfaction or closure of knowing that murderers have been brought to justice.