A thing I noted in the last 3 days in Austria and Switzerland is that there are many Chinese people around, and I reasoned that it might due to the increased number of Chinese tourists who cannot speak English. And they do bring new ideas and use their connections to get more travel agencies to tie up with their place of work, like hotels and shopping complexes. And based on the small talk this morning, I confirmed that Chinese were good businessmen. The guys were chatting about how they get their Rolexes from here on heavy discount and go back home and sell them for a huge profit. On the other hand, I felt that doing business on travel makes them enjoy the travel a bit lesser and give more importance to the associated shopping.
I came on this European trip primarily for this day. This day started off beautifully, with overnight rain clearing up the sky. The roads were deserted as today was Christmas day, except for a few buses, in which almost everyone carries their pet dogs as well. I did spare a thought for all those people in the Service sectors, who need to do their job and wouldn’t be able to spend Christmas with their families, like our coach captain who has a lovely 3 year old daughter. We went to the Lion Monument, the symbol of the Swiss guard and took a few pictures. The sad looking lion is a symbol of faith and loyalty until the last breath. The tour manager told an elaborate story around this monument, but I was too busy using my camera to bother much. We even spotted an Indian restaurant Kanchi nearby, but as with everything else, it was closed.
Next up was my favorite part of the tour, the climb up Mount Titlis. We had seen a few pictures prior to booking the tour and it looked awesome. We went in the bus till the base and took a series of 3 cable cars to reach the top, the last of which is the first rotating cable car in the world. The view was simply stunning during the journey with the snow covered slopes forming the core of the spectacular scenery. Given that this was the main activity of today, we had more than 3 hours at the top, which was great. We were cursing a lack of snowfall during the trip, but on the top, it was snowing constantly. We could admire the beautiful structure of the snow flakes as they dropped onto our hands. We were covered with all the warm clothes we had, but we were a bit skeptical about the sports shoes that we had, which might get wet. So, we wore two pairs of woolen socks each, and it turned out to be a wise decision as our feet did not become too cold.
The top of Mt Titlis stands at 10000 feet and it recorded a temperature of -10 degrees Celsius today. That itself wouldn’t have been too bad, but for the strong wind at the top around 30 kmph. The first time we went out in the snow, it was too cold for me to bear, although I had myself covered from head to toe. We had a bit of an experience in the snowy conditions, but had to return back into the roof within 10 minutes. I was so freezing cold that I felt numb especially in my hands and face. I was guilty of trying to act smart and make a snow ball with my bare hands. I had also lost the feeling in my nose and it was more like a squishy lobe when I touched it. I couldn’t see my nose, but I could see my wife’s had turned all black. I have seen a lot of Discovery serials about people being caught out on the snow and Mt Everest treks and so on, but this was the real deal. What a first experience with snow. We then went for a hot lunch. We heard about an Indian restaurant up here, but that seemed to have closed this winter, so we had to make do with some French fries, salad, spaghetti and cappuccino/ shocolade. But I was sick of the constant spaghetti bash in my stomach, so I acted a bit rashly by overdoing the fries, which I had to waste. Switzerland costs a bomb and a simple lunch cost us around Fr 60, which is close to Rs 3000. I had a gulp when I realized that I was sorely running out of Swiss francs and our dinner was at stake.
Having a hot lunch (and it was searing hot) in my stomach and having had a taste of snow, literally, made us better prepared next time around. We had taken a plastic cover which enabled us to slide around in the snow easily, given us an exhilarating experience. The snow was so soft and powdery, and it spits in your face and just melts away seamlessly. It is not like rain which keeps dripping, but it just disappears without a trace once you are in warmer weather, leaving you a bit cold though. We had great fun throwing snow bombs, making snow man and playing around in the abundant snow. The brain reacts a bit slower in these conditions. Before I could comprehend what my wife said, the plastic cover she handed over to me just flew off, and off it went with the wind. I realized it a second later and gave chase, but the wind was just too strong, and it just flew away. Having given up on the precious plastic, we started trekking to the other end of the cliff. It was probably a kilometer long, and we thoroughly enjoyed the trek. In the far reaches of the peak, the snow was so soft that my leg went in almost knee deep. And like it happened with the glove yesterday, God sure didn’t want to disappoint us during this trip. I saw the plastic cover fluttering on the guard rails at the far end like a caged butterfly. I lifted it carefully and presented the trophy to my wife, who couldn’t be bothered less. But what a view we got at that point, with cliffs hanging around precariously. We stayed there for a few minutes before I felt my hands starting to get numb. Knowing that we had a long trek back, I turned around and realized to my shock that we could see not more than a few meters ahead, with thick fog eclipsing everything else. I thought I will feature in the next episode of “I shouldn’t be alive”, if I were to make it out of here :P We carefully mapped the path we had taken earlier and retraced the same path, trying to stay away from the guard poles along the way. We were surprised to see a few skiers starting to ski down slope just as we were coming back in that thick fog, but they would be more used to these conditions than we were. It was such a relief when we finally made it into the roof, and within a couple of minutes, I was back to normal again. We took a quick break and couldn’t resist a couple of other minor excursions out into the wild snowy peak. The snow shower became thicker, but our hearts melted away faster than the snow flakes at this experience.
We went to a photo shop below and were made to wear a traditional Swiss dress and pose with a yoodle. While collecting the framed photo, I was surprised to see Virender Sehwag and Nana Patekar staring at us there, from similar photos. Arghhh, if Sehwag can do it, so can I! We went down through the cable cars, but I began to miss the mountain already. Our perky single tour manager proudly announced that he had SMS-ed his ex-girl friend whom he claims is unhappily married. “Wishing you a Merry Christmas from 10000 feet above in Mt Titlis and wishing you were here with me.”
Having come down from the highs of the mountains around 4.30pm, we went for a walk around this small town. We had glimpses of the beautiful swan lake, a bridge built in 1333 and numerous buildings with distinctive architectures. The shops above the ground were all closed, but the weather was much better than yesterday, so it was pleasant walking around. A 5 minute walk from the hotel lies the railway station, which was bustling compared to the rest of the town which was aghast today. We found quite a few Indians wandering about, who might have been here on-site from one of the numerous Indian IT companies with Swiss clientele. I was impressed with an inter-city train departing Lucerne every 2 minutes. The sleeping coaches are single deckers while the seating coaches were double deckers. It was nostalgic for my wife who had spent the better part of this decade traveling between Chennai and Bangalore. We did find that all the shops in the railway station were functioning as normal, including supermarkets, shops and eateries. We did a quick roundup and found packed Bombay pulav in the supermarket and Indian vegetarian fried rice in an eatery run by Indians, which we promptly had for dinner.
Mount Titlis was indeed a truly wonderful Christmas present for everyone on this tour, especially for us who had never felt snow in our hands before. Good things never last, but then how many people were doing better things this Christmas? Off to a different country tomorrow after a good night’s sleep, knowing that I had a truly wonderful experience today. And that I didn’t run out of Swiss francs and compromise my dinner.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Europe Day 5 – Innsbruck and Lucerne
The breakfast at Salzburg was pretty good, especially the cake was yummy. Yoghurt seems to feature in the breakfast in Europe, at least in Italy and Austria so far, and I loved it along with the fruits on offer. We kicked off quite early in the morning having only one aim; to reach Lucerne in time for some shopping and dinner. We heard that the shops close there by 4pm with some shops open till 6pm, so it was a rush against time from the start.
We went to Innsbruck first, stopping briefly at Auto Grill for some hot chocolate (Shocolade in these parts). Innsbruck is a small town in Austria with a population of about 150k, named after the Inns river that flows through the town with a fabulous background of the Austrian Alps. Innsbruck immediately struck me as a more commercial town than Salzburg, with buses and trams, residential apartments and a very lively Christmas atmosphere. The small streets had been decorated very well by the residents, with various life-size dolls hanging alongside the houses. It was very different and an exciting experience.
The world famous crystal shop Swarovski is based out of Innsbruck with a factory nearby. It was a very rushed, but very enjoyable experience looking through their impressive collection. Once we were done with a flower and bird at Swarovski, we were on the road again towards Switzerland. The mountain ranges were whiter, with more snow capped mountains filling up my camera. I have taken more than a thousand pictures so far under 5 days, and it can only get bigger. Suddenly, I realized that I haven’t changed the time zone on my camera, ensuring that the pictures were embossed with the date as of Singapore, rendering all photos taken after 5pm to be the next date. I had realized this when I was at the Singapore airport, but then I totally misjudged my memory power, leading to this pathetic mistake.
By this time, the tour manager had established a rapport with the traveling party, and started rambling with his life story interlaced with humor and wit. He smartly injects his meaningless talks with points of note, history, geography, philosophy, art and music. I have a feeling that he might be worried about his customers being bored, but with a scenery as abound as the one outside, that’s the last thing to happen even on 6-7 hr journey between places. The Alps has countless tunnels, and some of it is quite long. Sometimes, it acts as a distraction to a photo shoot, but usually offers some breather between spectacular views, where we can try to doze off. Invariably the eyes open once the sun comes out of the other end. I couldn’t help admiring the hard work that should have gone into building these highways in these places.
We passed through into Switzerland at about 2.30pm, a new country and a new currency for the next two days. Liechtenstein is a small principality of about 160 sq km, which we passed within 10 minutes. Next up was the highway to Luzern, which is the German form of Lucerne. I have read a lot about this wonderful place, which is a 20 mins walk end to end and is the tourist capital of Switzerland, as three of the famous mountains are accessible from here, and it has a beautiful lake nicknamed the Swan Lake, which is full of, guess what, swans. Switzerland is not all snow as people expect. It is a very nice mix of green hillsides, snow capped mountains and beautiful lakes all blended into one. Unity in diversity also applies to its languages and religion, with German, French and Italian all widely spoken. We arrived at 3.30pm and were supposed to buy whatever we can by 6pm.
We went to Bucharer, which is the largest retailer of watches and jeweler in Switzerland, famous for its premium Rolex. Pressed for time, we threw in whatever we could get our hands on, and not shockingly raked up a huge bill. We then went out to find out a pitch dark sky at 4.10pm and the wind blowing extremely cold. We went to the next shop that was open and shopped around a bit more, and then got some bread to munch for dinner. We spotted a couple of Indian honeymooners shopping around as well. People were running here and there to find an open shop without much luck. Having not had lunch and exposed to an extreme cold, I was running a mild headache and desperately wanted to eat something. We went to the nearby McDonalds to hear that they have closed. I came back to the central square by the lake only to find that one of my gloves had disappeared. The cold weather took over and made my hands numb within a few minutes. Never underestimate the cold, never. I was shaking all over at 5pm. Dropping all the bags in the bus, I went back in search of the missing glove. I traced back a couple of shops we had gone into, but the people here are least interested in entertaining people after their closure time, even if the person is desperately searching for his glove without which he is certain to freeze to death :P With fervent prayers in my lips, I ran around to McDonalds when a guy came out. I went around to check on my glove and caught him just as he was about to throw the glove into the bin. God does exist in cold dark high corners of the world at 6pm! What an experience today was. Tomorrow is the highlight of my trip, going on top of a 10000 feet high snowy mountain. Can’t wait to get started, with my gloves on :)
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We went to Innsbruck first, stopping briefly at Auto Grill for some hot chocolate (Shocolade in these parts). Innsbruck is a small town in Austria with a population of about 150k, named after the Inns river that flows through the town with a fabulous background of the Austrian Alps. Innsbruck immediately struck me as a more commercial town than Salzburg, with buses and trams, residential apartments and a very lively Christmas atmosphere. The small streets had been decorated very well by the residents, with various life-size dolls hanging alongside the houses. It was very different and an exciting experience.
The world famous crystal shop Swarovski is based out of Innsbruck with a factory nearby. It was a very rushed, but very enjoyable experience looking through their impressive collection. Once we were done with a flower and bird at Swarovski, we were on the road again towards Switzerland. The mountain ranges were whiter, with more snow capped mountains filling up my camera. I have taken more than a thousand pictures so far under 5 days, and it can only get bigger. Suddenly, I realized that I haven’t changed the time zone on my camera, ensuring that the pictures were embossed with the date as of Singapore, rendering all photos taken after 5pm to be the next date. I had realized this when I was at the Singapore airport, but then I totally misjudged my memory power, leading to this pathetic mistake.
By this time, the tour manager had established a rapport with the traveling party, and started rambling with his life story interlaced with humor and wit. He smartly injects his meaningless talks with points of note, history, geography, philosophy, art and music. I have a feeling that he might be worried about his customers being bored, but with a scenery as abound as the one outside, that’s the last thing to happen even on 6-7 hr journey between places. The Alps has countless tunnels, and some of it is quite long. Sometimes, it acts as a distraction to a photo shoot, but usually offers some breather between spectacular views, where we can try to doze off. Invariably the eyes open once the sun comes out of the other end. I couldn’t help admiring the hard work that should have gone into building these highways in these places.
We passed through into Switzerland at about 2.30pm, a new country and a new currency for the next two days. Liechtenstein is a small principality of about 160 sq km, which we passed within 10 minutes. Next up was the highway to Luzern, which is the German form of Lucerne. I have read a lot about this wonderful place, which is a 20 mins walk end to end and is the tourist capital of Switzerland, as three of the famous mountains are accessible from here, and it has a beautiful lake nicknamed the Swan Lake, which is full of, guess what, swans. Switzerland is not all snow as people expect. It is a very nice mix of green hillsides, snow capped mountains and beautiful lakes all blended into one. Unity in diversity also applies to its languages and religion, with German, French and Italian all widely spoken. We arrived at 3.30pm and were supposed to buy whatever we can by 6pm.
We went to Bucharer, which is the largest retailer of watches and jeweler in Switzerland, famous for its premium Rolex. Pressed for time, we threw in whatever we could get our hands on, and not shockingly raked up a huge bill. We then went out to find out a pitch dark sky at 4.10pm and the wind blowing extremely cold. We went to the next shop that was open and shopped around a bit more, and then got some bread to munch for dinner. We spotted a couple of Indian honeymooners shopping around as well. People were running here and there to find an open shop without much luck. Having not had lunch and exposed to an extreme cold, I was running a mild headache and desperately wanted to eat something. We went to the nearby McDonalds to hear that they have closed. I came back to the central square by the lake only to find that one of my gloves had disappeared. The cold weather took over and made my hands numb within a few minutes. Never underestimate the cold, never. I was shaking all over at 5pm. Dropping all the bags in the bus, I went back in search of the missing glove. I traced back a couple of shops we had gone into, but the people here are least interested in entertaining people after their closure time, even if the person is desperately searching for his glove without which he is certain to freeze to death :P With fervent prayers in my lips, I ran around to McDonalds when a guy came out. I went around to check on my glove and caught him just as he was about to throw the glove into the bin. God does exist in cold dark high corners of the world at 6pm! What an experience today was. Tomorrow is the highlight of my trip, going on top of a 10000 feet high snowy mountain. Can’t wait to get started, with my gloves on :)
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Europe Day 4 – Salzburg
Looks like everyone’s heart was fluttering as we got rid of the SAD (seasonally afflicted disorder) syndrome to get ready an hour in advance! However, rules are not meant to be broken here, and we had to wait for the clock to strike 8.45am to start off. Bonjourno (good morning in Italian) to the captain and off we went. The climate was fantastic with a very pleasant 5 degrees. I was freezing in Rome at 9 degrees with all the winter clothes on a couple of days back, and I was just in my sweater today enjoying the weather. Yes, that’s how fast the body adapts! I still had my moisturizing cream and lip balm on, not to take any chances.
The journey today was through the Italian and Austrian alps, and was thoroughly memorable. They say life is measured by the moments that take your breath away, and we had plenty of those today during the transit. “Wow” came out involuntarily out of me, and by the time we passed the Austrian border, I was smiling so broadly that my neighbor said I wouldn’t want to leave this place. I didn’t, actually! What breathtaking views were bestowed upon us today. I was thanking God profusely to just feast my eyes on the natural beauty. My camera was hyperactive, but soon I realized it was fruitless. The camera is still not as powerful as the human eye, and it can only capture so much of the beauty. And compared to what I saw in front of me and what I saw on the screen, it was such a shame that I felt like deleting the picture immediately. Capturing the photo was almost like blemishing the dreamy landscapes all around me. Bliss is a state of mind where nothing else matters, and I was in pure bliss for the entire 7 hours. I did prefer the snow capped mountains of the Austrian Alps more, though! I could not believe both the world wars begun in such a serene country!
We stopped on the highway for lunch in the best location I have ever had my lunch in. What a view on offer. The Austrian food was another highlight. We have to pick whatever you want and pay according to the size of the plate. The garden salads came from the opposite slope! Rice, potatoes and vegetables were cooked in Austrian style, which was very different but equally nice. I thoroughly enjoyed the food and was smiling even broader than when I had come in. Much better than the grilled Italian eggplants! “Piatti Stupendo”. I did notice that the Austrian people were more stoic and composed than the emotional Italians. Most of them speak German, although they would hate you for life if you called them one. Italians are very fashionable people, with attention to the finer details of dressing, where you can pick any male or female to be a model. Austrians on the other hand are very serene people who are happy doing what they are doing. The Austrian gals seemed to have more natural beauty, possibly due to the low make up. They did not seem to be obsessed with the way they look, and came across as more homely. I just muttered “Danke” (Thank you) on my way out, and I would tell that they were pleased with that.
The emotional torture continued with more fabulous landscapes all along the way to Salzburg. We also caught a glimpse of quite a few cable cars and skiers on some of the gentle slopes. I would love to race down the slopes one day, but I knew it won’t happen on this trip, so was content with looking out of the window. We reached Salzburg just as the sun was going down at 4pm. Having walked through the famous Mirabell garden park, we crossed the river to catch a glimpse of the old castle that protected the great Austrian-Hungarian empire a few hundred years back. We also walked past the birthplace of Mozart and the various statues that adorn the place.
The beautiful Salzburg city was full on with Christmas celebrations with the town centre lit up and the old town church area full of Christmas stalls. The whole area had a very festive ambience, and we couldn’t help but be drawn in by the feelings. We roamed about the numerous stalls selling everything from Christmas tree decorations to artwork and winter wear, taking our time with each. We got a few mementoes and were frantically searching for the winter shoes that are waterproof. This was our last chance, as Swiss shops in Lucerne would be shut down during Christmas and we will be left out in the cold, literally. Just as we spotted the shop and the shoes we were looking for, we noticed that the shop has closed! Most of the shops here close by 6pm, so unfortunately, we were a bit too late. The shop keepers are least interested in going that extra minute for a potential customer, and that is how it is in this part of the world, even in a tourist town like Salzburg. We realized a lot of other tourists also got caught out by this timing issue.
We had our dinner at Restaurant Yuan, a Chinese restaurant with a decent ambience and dinner. But after yesterday’s gourmet meal, we were left a little disappointed, although we weren’t too hungry due to the late lunch. Having checked into the hotel quite early in preparation for a long day tomorrow, I caught up with my yesterday’s backlog to keep my tour diary up-to-date. Austria seems quite relaxed in terms of sexual content, with porn magazines on display in highway stops and erotic channels available on TV. With a lovely wife beside me, I did not dare take advantage of either: P
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The search has just begun !!!
The journey today was through the Italian and Austrian alps, and was thoroughly memorable. They say life is measured by the moments that take your breath away, and we had plenty of those today during the transit. “Wow” came out involuntarily out of me, and by the time we passed the Austrian border, I was smiling so broadly that my neighbor said I wouldn’t want to leave this place. I didn’t, actually! What breathtaking views were bestowed upon us today. I was thanking God profusely to just feast my eyes on the natural beauty. My camera was hyperactive, but soon I realized it was fruitless. The camera is still not as powerful as the human eye, and it can only capture so much of the beauty. And compared to what I saw in front of me and what I saw on the screen, it was such a shame that I felt like deleting the picture immediately. Capturing the photo was almost like blemishing the dreamy landscapes all around me. Bliss is a state of mind where nothing else matters, and I was in pure bliss for the entire 7 hours. I did prefer the snow capped mountains of the Austrian Alps more, though! I could not believe both the world wars begun in such a serene country!
We stopped on the highway for lunch in the best location I have ever had my lunch in. What a view on offer. The Austrian food was another highlight. We have to pick whatever you want and pay according to the size of the plate. The garden salads came from the opposite slope! Rice, potatoes and vegetables were cooked in Austrian style, which was very different but equally nice. I thoroughly enjoyed the food and was smiling even broader than when I had come in. Much better than the grilled Italian eggplants! “Piatti Stupendo”. I did notice that the Austrian people were more stoic and composed than the emotional Italians. Most of them speak German, although they would hate you for life if you called them one. Italians are very fashionable people, with attention to the finer details of dressing, where you can pick any male or female to be a model. Austrians on the other hand are very serene people who are happy doing what they are doing. The Austrian gals seemed to have more natural beauty, possibly due to the low make up. They did not seem to be obsessed with the way they look, and came across as more homely. I just muttered “Danke” (Thank you) on my way out, and I would tell that they were pleased with that.
The emotional torture continued with more fabulous landscapes all along the way to Salzburg. We also caught a glimpse of quite a few cable cars and skiers on some of the gentle slopes. I would love to race down the slopes one day, but I knew it won’t happen on this trip, so was content with looking out of the window. We reached Salzburg just as the sun was going down at 4pm. Having walked through the famous Mirabell garden park, we crossed the river to catch a glimpse of the old castle that protected the great Austrian-Hungarian empire a few hundred years back. We also walked past the birthplace of Mozart and the various statues that adorn the place.
The beautiful Salzburg city was full on with Christmas celebrations with the town centre lit up and the old town church area full of Christmas stalls. The whole area had a very festive ambience, and we couldn’t help but be drawn in by the feelings. We roamed about the numerous stalls selling everything from Christmas tree decorations to artwork and winter wear, taking our time with each. We got a few mementoes and were frantically searching for the winter shoes that are waterproof. This was our last chance, as Swiss shops in Lucerne would be shut down during Christmas and we will be left out in the cold, literally. Just as we spotted the shop and the shoes we were looking for, we noticed that the shop has closed! Most of the shops here close by 6pm, so unfortunately, we were a bit too late. The shop keepers are least interested in going that extra minute for a potential customer, and that is how it is in this part of the world, even in a tourist town like Salzburg. We realized a lot of other tourists also got caught out by this timing issue.
We had our dinner at Restaurant Yuan, a Chinese restaurant with a decent ambience and dinner. But after yesterday’s gourmet meal, we were left a little disappointed, although we weren’t too hungry due to the late lunch. Having checked into the hotel quite early in preparation for a long day tomorrow, I caught up with my yesterday’s backlog to keep my tour diary up-to-date. Austria seems quite relaxed in terms of sexual content, with porn magazines on display in highway stops and erotic channels available on TV. With a lovely wife beside me, I did not dare take advantage of either: P
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Europe Day 3 – Venice
The day started off with a stern warning from the tour leader to not mess with the tiny little string in the bathroom, which seems to invoke emergency help. The irony is that it’s so close to the shower that it can be triggered quite accidentally. The travel from Florence to Venice itself was something to remember. European drivers have a strict regulation on travel and rest times, and so we could only start by 8.45am due to the late night yesterday. We were on routine travel on the highway, and had a hot cappuccino along the way, ignorant that our first taste of winter travel awaited us. As it happened, one stretch of the road was snowed in, and there was a huge jam for a few miles. We had a long wait for about 2 hours, during which time some of us had the pleasure of relieving ourselves in the snow with a backdrop of the Alps. As the guide said its part of the experience! Lunch stop was a bit of a hassle as we did not know what vegetarian items are available. After a long fruitless scan of the menu, we decided to trust our eyes and spotted some pizzas. I realized by observation that the folks there do not understand English. My preparation of the European dictionary came in handy as I proudly blurted out “Avetti Piatti Vegetariano Pizza” (Do you have vegetarian food/ pizza?). Then it happened. The waiter talked for about half a minute in Italian at the end of which I had no idea what to say. With my wife threatening me not to make any fatal mistake, I did not know how to respond. Thankfully, the next guy in line helped with the translation. So, we settled down with a pizza margarita, which means tomatoes and cheese. It was very soft and creamy and by far the best pizza I have had in my life.
The Italian Alps offered very nice picturesque scenes, keeping the camera in constant action along the way. We finally reached Venice at around 3.30pm, along with a double decker train that pulled up into the railway station. Venice has captured the imagination of the world in more than one way over the years. It is supposed to be a very romantic place, and Shakespeare glorified it in his Merchant of Venice novel. Discovery channel has, in more than one occasion, classified this sinking city as a primary target of global warming. Venezia as the Italians call it is really a unique city, with its own culture and art. It is essentially some 116 islands interlinked through canals and numerous bridges. Mussolini’s smart-ass minister threw in a few industries to impress his general, thereby adding some carbon footprint to the otherwise green city. In fact, Venice is one of the eco-friendly cities of the world, with most of the travel through foot and gondolas.
We took a water taxi from the pier to St Marks square, from where we took in the breathtaking sights of the square and the cathedral. Venice’s cathedrals are classic, with different eras contributing different architectures to them. Surrounding St Marks, you can see gothic, neo-classical, renaissance and Roman Catholic architectures, each with its own distinctive features. It was drizzling when we reached it, so we had to use the umbrellas to get around. We were a bit lucky that it was low tide and so we boarded one of the gondolas to take a 45 min trip around the streets of Venice, pun intended.
The Venetians are quite laid back and know how to enjoy life. The gondolas are amazing things. Very narrow, very buoyant and very stylish just like the Italians themselves, they made sharp turns with the slightest twist of the one-sided paddle. Venetians are decreasing in number, with only about 60k people still left, which is quite obvious from the numerous dark alleys and ghost buildings. It’s such a shame to leave such a historic and unique city. However, life goes on with Christmas preparations in full swing, adding color to the vibrant city on water. Numerous tiny bridges connect buildings, making libraries and shops accessible by foot. A lot of houses and restaurants are just an inch above the high water mark, leaving me wondering the immense damage that is posed by rising water levels to this city.
We went to the original Murano glass factory, whose business is no less affected, with only two families still in this business. We had a short demonstration of glass blowing, which is a dying art in itself. The artist was fabulous and well known throughout the world. I had seen him on Discovery before, but to meet him in person and seeing his skills was exhilarating. We did get a couple of beautiful red and blue Murano glasses with our names engraved on it for posterity. Venetian red is unique, just like the city itself, so any article with that color is usually about 20% costlier than the other colors.
There was an hour to roam about after that, and we went helter skelter through the numerous zigzagging roads and bridges in search of a toilet. WC is the acronym for that, although I am yet to figure out what that stands for. After 15 mins of frantic searching through every corner with an arrow, we were about to give up and possibly burst out before we traced it. Euro 1.5 later, we were satisfied with our finished business and walked back through the alleys. Guys are generally good at directions while gals are pathetic, and Venice is a nice place to prove that theory correct!
We went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and stuffed ourselves with the best meal on the tour so far. No grilled eggplants and lots of Sichuan chilli that reminded me of my mother’s molaga podi (chilli powder)! It was a fantastic 9 course vegetarian meal, and I couldn’t have enough. I would have eaten all night long if the tour leader hadn’t dragged us into the bus to get to Hotel Antony before our rival group. The effort was worthwhile as we got the best room of the tour so far! I was so impressed by Venice that I started to write the day’s account when the computer battery died and my droopy eyes won over the excited heart. But I knew that the tour is just getting into the fabulous part of Austria and Switzerland where our experiences can only get better!
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The search has just begun !!!
The Italian Alps offered very nice picturesque scenes, keeping the camera in constant action along the way. We finally reached Venice at around 3.30pm, along with a double decker train that pulled up into the railway station. Venice has captured the imagination of the world in more than one way over the years. It is supposed to be a very romantic place, and Shakespeare glorified it in his Merchant of Venice novel. Discovery channel has, in more than one occasion, classified this sinking city as a primary target of global warming. Venezia as the Italians call it is really a unique city, with its own culture and art. It is essentially some 116 islands interlinked through canals and numerous bridges. Mussolini’s smart-ass minister threw in a few industries to impress his general, thereby adding some carbon footprint to the otherwise green city. In fact, Venice is one of the eco-friendly cities of the world, with most of the travel through foot and gondolas.
We took a water taxi from the pier to St Marks square, from where we took in the breathtaking sights of the square and the cathedral. Venice’s cathedrals are classic, with different eras contributing different architectures to them. Surrounding St Marks, you can see gothic, neo-classical, renaissance and Roman Catholic architectures, each with its own distinctive features. It was drizzling when we reached it, so we had to use the umbrellas to get around. We were a bit lucky that it was low tide and so we boarded one of the gondolas to take a 45 min trip around the streets of Venice, pun intended.
The Venetians are quite laid back and know how to enjoy life. The gondolas are amazing things. Very narrow, very buoyant and very stylish just like the Italians themselves, they made sharp turns with the slightest twist of the one-sided paddle. Venetians are decreasing in number, with only about 60k people still left, which is quite obvious from the numerous dark alleys and ghost buildings. It’s such a shame to leave such a historic and unique city. However, life goes on with Christmas preparations in full swing, adding color to the vibrant city on water. Numerous tiny bridges connect buildings, making libraries and shops accessible by foot. A lot of houses and restaurants are just an inch above the high water mark, leaving me wondering the immense damage that is posed by rising water levels to this city.
We went to the original Murano glass factory, whose business is no less affected, with only two families still in this business. We had a short demonstration of glass blowing, which is a dying art in itself. The artist was fabulous and well known throughout the world. I had seen him on Discovery before, but to meet him in person and seeing his skills was exhilarating. We did get a couple of beautiful red and blue Murano glasses with our names engraved on it for posterity. Venetian red is unique, just like the city itself, so any article with that color is usually about 20% costlier than the other colors.
There was an hour to roam about after that, and we went helter skelter through the numerous zigzagging roads and bridges in search of a toilet. WC is the acronym for that, although I am yet to figure out what that stands for. After 15 mins of frantic searching through every corner with an arrow, we were about to give up and possibly burst out before we traced it. Euro 1.5 later, we were satisfied with our finished business and walked back through the alleys. Guys are generally good at directions while gals are pathetic, and Venice is a nice place to prove that theory correct!
We went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and stuffed ourselves with the best meal on the tour so far. No grilled eggplants and lots of Sichuan chilli that reminded me of my mother’s molaga podi (chilli powder)! It was a fantastic 9 course vegetarian meal, and I couldn’t have enough. I would have eaten all night long if the tour leader hadn’t dragged us into the bus to get to Hotel Antony before our rival group. The effort was worthwhile as we got the best room of the tour so far! I was so impressed by Venice that I started to write the day’s account when the computer battery died and my droopy eyes won over the excited heart. But I knew that the tour is just getting into the fabulous part of Austria and Switzerland where our experiences can only get better!
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The search has just begun !!!
Europe Day 2 – Pisa and Florence
Having crossed 7 time zones and roamed about Rome, we were quickly off to sleep in the hotel on the outskirts. Early morning, we took one of the highways that connected Rome to Pisa. As they say, all roads lead to Rome, and it indeed true going by the traffic in and out of the city. We started off in bright sunshine and a couple of hours into the journey, it was all snowy landscapes. It was enchanting and dreamy to say the least. We did a halt in one of the expressway petrol stations, which doubles up as a food outlet. We have to exit through a shop selling chocolates, biscuits and the like, and are so enticing to buy. This we heard is the norm in Italy. We did get some chocolates to munch along the remainder of the journey to Pisa. The whole journey was a solid 5 hrs, but we did not mind.
We had to take the public bus to get to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was surprised to see a few blacks touting in Pisa with imitation goods like umbrellas and leather bags. We were forewarned about things to watch out for, including pick pockets, gypsies trying to mug you, as well as tout at popular tourist places. Since we were behind schedule, the plan was to have lunch first, followed by the tower itself. However, there was some issue with the place that the tour manager arranged, so we ended up at an ala-carte Italian restaurant nearby. We did spot Indian and Chinese restaurants as well near the Tower for those who are planning a trip there. We were three vegetarians in the group, so we ordered a pizza each. By the time the huge pizza turned up, it was too late to cancel. We could each eat only half the pizza in the allotted time before we had to rush to capture some hurried pictures of the leaning tower of Pisa.
The leaning tower of Pisa is a bell tower to a cathedral that is inclined at the 6 degree angle. The government banned tourists in 1990 once they realized it could topple over. They then used lead blocks as well as digging out some earth to stabilize it by 0.5 degrees. We heard that it was on the top of this leaning tower that Galileo used his telescope for his studies, before proposing to the church that earth orbits the sun and getting himself killed. But what’s more interesting is that the leaning tower of Pisa started leaning while it was built itself, with only 3 out of 8 stories having been completed! I was inspired that the ancient Romans never gave up.
Once Pisa was done with, we took a 2 hour trip to Florence, which was an ultra successful commercial hub built by Lorenzo the magnificent. Florence has a very rich culture detailing the innovative ideas executed by Lorenzo, including the introduction of the first Italian currency called Florin, trading in gold, establishing the working middle class with workers being employed by corporate rather than the church. This magnificent city also contains the biggest church in Italy outside the Vatican, has the first stock exchange and has a dedicated square for banks. This city was the 500 year old Wall Street and much more. The city itself derives its name from a flower, which is omnipresent here and still remains the symbol of pride. Lorenzo also developed key ties with other city states as it was the financial hub, helping him in times of war. He is said to have defeated Pisa and Venice. A big river Alba divides the city into two, which was used to separate the quiet residential and happening commercial parts. Bridges help connect the two parts for easy access. Work hard and play hard seems to have been the moto of this city.
We had a long walk by the river in the biting cold night, which was an experience in itself. We went for a stake dinner at La Casa, being entertained by classical Italian songs while we had our dinner. The dinner was the usual three course meal with Spaghetti with tomato sauce, grilled eggplant and desert. I was sick and tired of eggplant on Day 2 itself. By the time we reached hotel it was almost 10. It is no big deal back in Singapore, but here we were just dog tired and all we wanted was to get some valuable sleep.
Random Access
The search has just begun !!!
We had to take the public bus to get to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was surprised to see a few blacks touting in Pisa with imitation goods like umbrellas and leather bags. We were forewarned about things to watch out for, including pick pockets, gypsies trying to mug you, as well as tout at popular tourist places. Since we were behind schedule, the plan was to have lunch first, followed by the tower itself. However, there was some issue with the place that the tour manager arranged, so we ended up at an ala-carte Italian restaurant nearby. We did spot Indian and Chinese restaurants as well near the Tower for those who are planning a trip there. We were three vegetarians in the group, so we ordered a pizza each. By the time the huge pizza turned up, it was too late to cancel. We could each eat only half the pizza in the allotted time before we had to rush to capture some hurried pictures of the leaning tower of Pisa.
The leaning tower of Pisa is a bell tower to a cathedral that is inclined at the 6 degree angle. The government banned tourists in 1990 once they realized it could topple over. They then used lead blocks as well as digging out some earth to stabilize it by 0.5 degrees. We heard that it was on the top of this leaning tower that Galileo used his telescope for his studies, before proposing to the church that earth orbits the sun and getting himself killed. But what’s more interesting is that the leaning tower of Pisa started leaning while it was built itself, with only 3 out of 8 stories having been completed! I was inspired that the ancient Romans never gave up.
Once Pisa was done with, we took a 2 hour trip to Florence, which was an ultra successful commercial hub built by Lorenzo the magnificent. Florence has a very rich culture detailing the innovative ideas executed by Lorenzo, including the introduction of the first Italian currency called Florin, trading in gold, establishing the working middle class with workers being employed by corporate rather than the church. This magnificent city also contains the biggest church in Italy outside the Vatican, has the first stock exchange and has a dedicated square for banks. This city was the 500 year old Wall Street and much more. The city itself derives its name from a flower, which is omnipresent here and still remains the symbol of pride. Lorenzo also developed key ties with other city states as it was the financial hub, helping him in times of war. He is said to have defeated Pisa and Venice. A big river Alba divides the city into two, which was used to separate the quiet residential and happening commercial parts. Bridges help connect the two parts for easy access. Work hard and play hard seems to have been the moto of this city.
We had a long walk by the river in the biting cold night, which was an experience in itself. We went for a stake dinner at La Casa, being entertained by classical Italian songs while we had our dinner. The dinner was the usual three course meal with Spaghetti with tomato sauce, grilled eggplant and desert. I was sick and tired of eggplant on Day 2 itself. By the time we reached hotel it was almost 10. It is no big deal back in Singapore, but here we were just dog tired and all we wanted was to get some valuable sleep.
Random Access
The search has just begun !!!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Europe Day 1 – Amsterdam and Rome
We were both very excited about the Europe trip and here it was finally. The first day was kind of 2 days combined into one due to the time differences. It did not start off quite well though. On the way we realized our mistake of not getting any leather waterproof shoes as the others had done, but told ourselves that it was just a matter of time before we can get one in Italy. When we reached the airport, we heard the news that the flight was 1.5 hrs delayed and we could possibly miss the connecting flight from Amsterdam to Rome. That dampened our high spirits somewhat, and we had to find something to kill time. I did surf in some book shops, and found some saucy titles which I dared not buy.
Once we were onboard the aircraft, it was all exiting. I was so excited that I could hardly sleep. The first thing that struck me was the air hostesses, who resembled more the Air India variety rather than the Singapore Airlines variety that I was hoping for. Don’t know what the younger Dutch girls are up to. Made a mental note to check on this point later during my Amsterdam visit ;). But the service was definitely friendlier than Air India! It felt as if it was a cosmic game of hide and seek. Sun counted till 5 and gave us a 5 hour head start. However, the sun was soon catching us up and we were running within the shadows as fast as our big fat carbon footprint can carry us. Finally after 14 hrs, the sun caught us and we had to give up and land. 2 meals, 5 snacks, 2 Hollywood movies, 10 tries at solitaire, 100 tries to become a millionaire later, we ended up in Amsterdam.
I knew Amsterdam was predominantly white, but when I landed up, it was literal. A light snowfall of a few inches had given a white coating to the entire landscape and delayed countless flights, one of which was luckily our connecting flight. And I saw my first snow right when I landed. What more do I want :D Amsterdam airport is huge and it can only be felt. It took us a good 20 mins to get across the transfer area, with a bit of heckling happening with the duty passenger assistance officers.
The transfer to Rome was largely uneventful, except for the excellent in-flight service on this short 2 hour sector. The Dutch attendant was always smiling and very helpful. Smile does help to enhance how you are perceived. Once in Rome, the drama started. It so reminded of Chennai airport. The tour guide was nowhere to be seen even after 30 mins of collecting our bags and later learnt that 5 of the bags from our group are missing. I heard from the disgruntled passengers that the administrative staffs are as kind and helpful as the Chennai ones I heard. You can’t miss the sarcasm there! It was around 1pm, so we started sightseeing directly.
First up was Vatican city. This tiny city-state is probably smacked in the middle of Rome, so I don’t see the logic of it being a separate nation. The big central square is adorned with huge buildings made use of by the Pope and his staff. The quality of the buildings and St Peter’s church with all its beautiful sculptures by Michelangelo is a sight to contend. Walking back, we did get the first tingle as a sweep of the night chill hit us hard. Looking at the watch it was hard to believe it was only 5pm, given that it was dark and cold. Welcome to Europe during winter!
The freezing cold caught a few of us out, especially the poor souls who lost their bags and were without any warm clothes. We then went to a guided tour of the city of Rome. The Roman empire has done a tremendous job with their architecture. Every nook and corner is filled with historic buildings. The most infamous is The Colloseum, where tigers and humans were once the chief entertainers. We walked across to the Trevis fountain, which was fabulous. After a few snaps, we learnt that we need to throw one coin with your right hand over your left shoulder to wish for coming back to Rome, two coins to get married and three to divorce! Seems divorce was quite expensive even centuries back :P
We went to a Italian restaurant for dinner and got a taste of Italian vegetarian three course meal, namely spaghetti for starters, grilled eggplant and tomatoes for main course and Tiramisu for desert. It was different and the eggplant took a while to feel comfortable in my stomach, but what the heck, we are on a tour and need to experience different food. Whats the point coming all the way to Italy and searching for dosais and idlis?
Random Access
The search has just begun !!!
Once we were onboard the aircraft, it was all exiting. I was so excited that I could hardly sleep. The first thing that struck me was the air hostesses, who resembled more the Air India variety rather than the Singapore Airlines variety that I was hoping for. Don’t know what the younger Dutch girls are up to. Made a mental note to check on this point later during my Amsterdam visit ;). But the service was definitely friendlier than Air India! It felt as if it was a cosmic game of hide and seek. Sun counted till 5 and gave us a 5 hour head start. However, the sun was soon catching us up and we were running within the shadows as fast as our big fat carbon footprint can carry us. Finally after 14 hrs, the sun caught us and we had to give up and land. 2 meals, 5 snacks, 2 Hollywood movies, 10 tries at solitaire, 100 tries to become a millionaire later, we ended up in Amsterdam.
I knew Amsterdam was predominantly white, but when I landed up, it was literal. A light snowfall of a few inches had given a white coating to the entire landscape and delayed countless flights, one of which was luckily our connecting flight. And I saw my first snow right when I landed. What more do I want :D Amsterdam airport is huge and it can only be felt. It took us a good 20 mins to get across the transfer area, with a bit of heckling happening with the duty passenger assistance officers.
The transfer to Rome was largely uneventful, except for the excellent in-flight service on this short 2 hour sector. The Dutch attendant was always smiling and very helpful. Smile does help to enhance how you are perceived. Once in Rome, the drama started. It so reminded of Chennai airport. The tour guide was nowhere to be seen even after 30 mins of collecting our bags and later learnt that 5 of the bags from our group are missing. I heard from the disgruntled passengers that the administrative staffs are as kind and helpful as the Chennai ones I heard. You can’t miss the sarcasm there! It was around 1pm, so we started sightseeing directly.
First up was Vatican city. This tiny city-state is probably smacked in the middle of Rome, so I don’t see the logic of it being a separate nation. The big central square is adorned with huge buildings made use of by the Pope and his staff. The quality of the buildings and St Peter’s church with all its beautiful sculptures by Michelangelo is a sight to contend. Walking back, we did get the first tingle as a sweep of the night chill hit us hard. Looking at the watch it was hard to believe it was only 5pm, given that it was dark and cold. Welcome to Europe during winter!
The freezing cold caught a few of us out, especially the poor souls who lost their bags and were without any warm clothes. We then went to a guided tour of the city of Rome. The Roman empire has done a tremendous job with their architecture. Every nook and corner is filled with historic buildings. The most infamous is The Colloseum, where tigers and humans were once the chief entertainers. We walked across to the Trevis fountain, which was fabulous. After a few snaps, we learnt that we need to throw one coin with your right hand over your left shoulder to wish for coming back to Rome, two coins to get married and three to divorce! Seems divorce was quite expensive even centuries back :P
We went to a Italian restaurant for dinner and got a taste of Italian vegetarian three course meal, namely spaghetti for starters, grilled eggplant and tomatoes for main course and Tiramisu for desert. It was different and the eggplant took a while to feel comfortable in my stomach, but what the heck, we are on a tour and need to experience different food. Whats the point coming all the way to Italy and searching for dosais and idlis?
Random Access
The search has just begun !!!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Kingdom - Day 2
The first thought of the day was that it would be tough to match Day 1 in excitement. So, I was bracing myself for a less than spectacular day. Yesterday started with the awe and splendour of Angkor Wat and the rest of the day just flew by. Today, we started off with Tonle Sap lake, a good 45 mins drive in a car that was "flying" at 30kmph. And it was the fastest object on the roads by a long way!
The drive gave me a glimpse of a normal Cambodian lifestyle. Houses were raised on columns of wood to prevent flooding during monsoon (May-Oct). The high-rise roads had seafood restaurants along the way, with all having karoake, although none of the locals are interested. It is to please the tourists, many of whom are Koreans. I am glad to bee in a place where I could spot only 3 other Indians in a day apart from my family. All the houses have a small spirit house at the front, where people offer their morning prayers to bring good luck to people and businesses. Depending on the status, it could range from some form of house made out of flattened coke cans, or could be mini houses in themselves. Almost all the houses (whether fixed or floating) has a swing made of cloth, where people take a nap whenever they can. The average Cambodian travel in mopeds or a cheaper version of a tuk tuk, which can carry 10-12 pax to the markets once a week for about $1. They have their own wood houses, a small rice field, a fruit garden and possibly a cow. They earn just enough to lead a life and never have enough to even travel to the next province. They eat at home everyday and are mostly self-sufficient. Only the extremely rich get to travel abroad. The people say they are poor with a tinge of sadness but they never crib or cringe. There are hardly any beggars around. I think Cambodians are rich in their captivating smile, amazing service attitude and their positiveness radiates everywhere in this country. It was a humbling experience having interacted with about 20-30 people in these 2 days.
Coming back to the first attraction of the day, the Tonle Sap lake is the largest (man-made) lake in Cambodia and links to the capital Phnom Penh. The travel is about 5-6 hrs only during rainy season. A manmade river links the mainland to the lake. A trip in a boat costs $20 a head, but its well worth it. Its not a lake, but almost a village in the middle of a sea, complete with floating residents, school, hospital, church, mosque and environmental organisation. The last one was a misfit as there was more environment than men at this place. The fresh air hustling your face makes one forget everything else and immerse in the surroundings. The climate was hot, but the heat hardly mattered. Floating shop boats touted for business, but we bought our souvenirs from a floating restaurant-cum-fish/crocodile farm. It was awesome to see a Vietnamese christians and Cambodian muslims float alongside each other yet have distinctive features. The Vietnamese fishermen have funded a floating orphanage school when they scarcely manage to eek out a living themselves. Top that for social responsibility! When the rains come down, everyone moves inland to avoid the high waves. It was a great trip and an eye-opener, showcasing how people adapt to their harsh surroundings and co-exist.
After the lake, we had a trip to Ta Phrom temple. It was another wreck characterised by hugh trees encroaching the walls, which have buckled under the immense pressure. Big blocks of rock were everywhere, like in the other temples. I again wondered how these temples were torn apart, but it looks as if large boulders were thrown from the top to create this crazy mess! The temple itself was dedicated by King Jayavarman VII (hailed the greatest) to his mother, and was used in times of victory to celebrate. All these temples were in fact walled cities, with thousands occupying each. Cambodia was landmined heavily, and people who have been injured by the landmines have formed a musical troupe. You can see these groups in every temple. They play on whenever the visitors are in sight. They have their own CDs and their placards request you to buy the CDs, but their shoulders never droop, even if we ask them for a photo without dropping a single note. The people here have real character. I did get a musical instrument as a souvenir from a tout outside.
Next up was lunch at the roadside Khmer Family Restaurant. The food and the service were good. Then, we made a longish trip to Bantray Srei temple in the outskirts. It translates into temple for women, but there were sannadis for Garuda and Hanuman, apart from the many unknowns. The temple was remarkably intact, with only a few broken blocks. It has definitely stood the test of time. Our next stop was Preah Khan, which is the translation for Jayasri, the original Sanskrit name bestowed upon it. It was huge, second only to Angkor Wat, with 7 concentric squares (prahara). This was also a walled city and a palace dedicated to Jayavarman's father. It has a dedicated dancing hall and demarcated areas for Apsara dancers. The innermost square contains a Siva Linga and a stupa. We all felt like explorers, navigating our way through endless blocks of rock. It is for this reason that we declined tourist guides in a couple of temples. We took our time at each nook and corner which interested us, went our own way, even got lost and had to get help to get out, but it was immense fun this way.
After numerous temples, it was time to try something different. On the suggestion of our taxi driver, we skipped the National Museum containing 1000 Buddhas and relics for a trip to the Cambodian Cultural Village. This is a one-stop to see the evolution of the Khmer culture, the different sections of people and their traditions and get a closer look at their living style. We watched a couple of dance shows, which were simple and elegant. Coming from a place renouned for its complexity and diversity, I did get bored of them quickly. The park inside was huge and had replicas of the important landmarks around the country. It was worthwhile browsing through.
The final stop for the day was the market and souvenir shop. Our driver mistook our needs and took us to a posh Indian souvenir shop trading Indian items. These were the last thing we wanted from Cambodia, and after a quick cursory glance, we were off. Dinner was great as usual, I told them as much and they were pleased.
As the trip came to an end, I was really happy with the way everything went on this trip. Everyone was equally pleased, which was a bit strange, but was much better than I anticipated. The Kingdom, especially the ruins of Angkor, is definitely a must-see for anyone worth their USD. No Riels please :)
Random Access
The search has just begun !!!
The drive gave me a glimpse of a normal Cambodian lifestyle. Houses were raised on columns of wood to prevent flooding during monsoon (May-Oct). The high-rise roads had seafood restaurants along the way, with all having karoake, although none of the locals are interested. It is to please the tourists, many of whom are Koreans. I am glad to bee in a place where I could spot only 3 other Indians in a day apart from my family. All the houses have a small spirit house at the front, where people offer their morning prayers to bring good luck to people and businesses. Depending on the status, it could range from some form of house made out of flattened coke cans, or could be mini houses in themselves. Almost all the houses (whether fixed or floating) has a swing made of cloth, where people take a nap whenever they can. The average Cambodian travel in mopeds or a cheaper version of a tuk tuk, which can carry 10-12 pax to the markets once a week for about $1. They have their own wood houses, a small rice field, a fruit garden and possibly a cow. They earn just enough to lead a life and never have enough to even travel to the next province. They eat at home everyday and are mostly self-sufficient. Only the extremely rich get to travel abroad. The people say they are poor with a tinge of sadness but they never crib or cringe. There are hardly any beggars around. I think Cambodians are rich in their captivating smile, amazing service attitude and their positiveness radiates everywhere in this country. It was a humbling experience having interacted with about 20-30 people in these 2 days.
Coming back to the first attraction of the day, the Tonle Sap lake is the largest (man-made) lake in Cambodia and links to the capital Phnom Penh. The travel is about 5-6 hrs only during rainy season. A manmade river links the mainland to the lake. A trip in a boat costs $20 a head, but its well worth it. Its not a lake, but almost a village in the middle of a sea, complete with floating residents, school, hospital, church, mosque and environmental organisation. The last one was a misfit as there was more environment than men at this place. The fresh air hustling your face makes one forget everything else and immerse in the surroundings. The climate was hot, but the heat hardly mattered. Floating shop boats touted for business, but we bought our souvenirs from a floating restaurant-cum-fish/crocodile farm. It was awesome to see a Vietnamese christians and Cambodian muslims float alongside each other yet have distinctive features. The Vietnamese fishermen have funded a floating orphanage school when they scarcely manage to eek out a living themselves. Top that for social responsibility! When the rains come down, everyone moves inland to avoid the high waves. It was a great trip and an eye-opener, showcasing how people adapt to their harsh surroundings and co-exist.
After the lake, we had a trip to Ta Phrom temple. It was another wreck characterised by hugh trees encroaching the walls, which have buckled under the immense pressure. Big blocks of rock were everywhere, like in the other temples. I again wondered how these temples were torn apart, but it looks as if large boulders were thrown from the top to create this crazy mess! The temple itself was dedicated by King Jayavarman VII (hailed the greatest) to his mother, and was used in times of victory to celebrate. All these temples were in fact walled cities, with thousands occupying each. Cambodia was landmined heavily, and people who have been injured by the landmines have formed a musical troupe. You can see these groups in every temple. They play on whenever the visitors are in sight. They have their own CDs and their placards request you to buy the CDs, but their shoulders never droop, even if we ask them for a photo without dropping a single note. The people here have real character. I did get a musical instrument as a souvenir from a tout outside.
Next up was lunch at the roadside Khmer Family Restaurant. The food and the service were good. Then, we made a longish trip to Bantray Srei temple in the outskirts. It translates into temple for women, but there were sannadis for Garuda and Hanuman, apart from the many unknowns. The temple was remarkably intact, with only a few broken blocks. It has definitely stood the test of time. Our next stop was Preah Khan, which is the translation for Jayasri, the original Sanskrit name bestowed upon it. It was huge, second only to Angkor Wat, with 7 concentric squares (prahara). This was also a walled city and a palace dedicated to Jayavarman's father. It has a dedicated dancing hall and demarcated areas for Apsara dancers. The innermost square contains a Siva Linga and a stupa. We all felt like explorers, navigating our way through endless blocks of rock. It is for this reason that we declined tourist guides in a couple of temples. We took our time at each nook and corner which interested us, went our own way, even got lost and had to get help to get out, but it was immense fun this way.
After numerous temples, it was time to try something different. On the suggestion of our taxi driver, we skipped the National Museum containing 1000 Buddhas and relics for a trip to the Cambodian Cultural Village. This is a one-stop to see the evolution of the Khmer culture, the different sections of people and their traditions and get a closer look at their living style. We watched a couple of dance shows, which were simple and elegant. Coming from a place renouned for its complexity and diversity, I did get bored of them quickly. The park inside was huge and had replicas of the important landmarks around the country. It was worthwhile browsing through.
The final stop for the day was the market and souvenir shop. Our driver mistook our needs and took us to a posh Indian souvenir shop trading Indian items. These were the last thing we wanted from Cambodia, and after a quick cursory glance, we were off. Dinner was great as usual, I told them as much and they were pleased.
As the trip came to an end, I was really happy with the way everything went on this trip. Everyone was equally pleased, which was a bit strange, but was much better than I anticipated. The Kingdom, especially the ruins of Angkor, is definitely a must-see for anyone worth their USD. No Riels please :)
Random Access
The search has just begun !!!
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