by Karen Rubin, Travel
Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
The steep gravel road to the Circle View Guest Ranch proves too much as I slip and slide with my hybrid bike and I wind up walking the bike a short distance (only one of us managed to ride it), at the end of our 28 mile ride through the Badlands National Park, South Dakota on this first day of our six-day Wilderness Voyageurs bike tour. The guest ranch, set on a mesa surrounded by 3,000 acres, with beautiful views, is delightful. I drop my bags in my room, wonderfully decorated in a Western motif, and go out just in time to see 11-year old Katie Kruse feeding chickens and her brother, 10-year old Jacob, being chased by an aggressive calf anxious to get at the bottle he is using to feed it.
A stay on a guest ranch in South Dakota, just
beyond the entrance to Badlands National Park and adjacent to Indian lands, is
an unexpected bonus experience of our six-day “Mickelson Trail and the Badlands”
bike tour of South Dakota.
Philip
Kruse was born and raised on the ranch and opened it to guests in 2000 to give
visitors “a glimpse into life on a real, family run cattle ranch.” It is very
much all of that.
Katie shows me
where 17 eggs have been “hidden” by the hens to prevent them from being taken
by the farmer so they can hatch. The secret nest had been hidden by high grass
and only revealed when the grass was cut. The hen had apparently walked off to
get some water, revealing the eggs. Katie lifts up one of the eggs – I can
still feel the warmth.
“Sometimes they
hide an egg in a tree and abandon it. Sometimes you will see one chicken with
10 chicks following. They sneak in to lay eggs that won’t be collected.” On the
other hand, the hens that do hatch the chicks aren’t necessarily maternal.
“They don’t show the young ones where the water is.”
I am
amazed to contemplate the strategy and teamwork that these hens, which we
assume are just dumb creatures, to create a collective nest, hide it from the
farmer, and designate one of the hens to sit on it.
Now
the farmer uses his wits to outwit the hens. “We don’t want the chickens to
hatch their own because we will not have control over whether they have
roosters or infertile chickens. So in the night when they sleep, we will steal
an egg and replace it with a hatched chick so she will think it is hers.”
There’s
a pecking order, she tells me. The older, bigger hens sleep on top; younger
ones on the floor. She says that young chicks lay one
egg a day; older ones lay fewer and fewer, maybe one in two or three days.
“Here,
we don’t kill the hen when gets old but another lady butchers them – after she
chops off the head, they can still run around for 5 minutes – she has machine
that spins to take off feathers.”
I
watch how aggressive the calf is chasing after Jacob who is trying to bottle
feed it. The calf was born prematurely and would have been abandoned by its
mother. There are a slew of chicks and peacocks all about, as well. And burros.
We
enjoy a sensational dinner prepared by Amy Kruse, served family style along
long tables inside and outside on the porch. Tonight’s menu is Mexican tacos,
prepared with such fresh ingredients including cherry tomatoes from the garden
as sweet as candy.
The
next morning before
breakfast, I walk out to see if the hen is sitting on the nest. Sure enough. But
as I walk back, my head in my notepad, I look up to see a crowd of kids
frantically gesticulating at me and yelling, pointing to my right. As I move,
they stop, so I keep moving in that direction. I assume they are directing me to
watch them feed the chickens. No, they are warning me not to walk up the path
because there is a rattlesnake that had been discovered by their dog. “That’s why we wear cowboy boots,” 10-year old Jacob tells
me. “Rattlesnakes can’t bite through.”
Later
at breakfast, Philip Kruse, shows me his jar two-thirds filled with rattlesnake
rattles (they are only about an inch long and quarter inch wide)
collected over two generations on the ranch.
The
breakfast that Amy Kruse prepares is a triumph: fresh eggs from the farm (of
course), whole wheat blueberry pancakes, tater tots with bacon, white chocolate
and raspberry scones (sensational), granola made of sour cherry, pistachios,
vanilla yogurt.
We
get to experience much of what the Circle View Guest Ranch offers – free wifi,
beautifully appointed rooms, seeing the various animals, feeding chickens,
including burros, enjoying scrumptious breakfast (included) and dinner, access
to the guest kitchen, and the game room. But we don’t have the time to really
experience all it offers longer staying guests: horseback rides, bon fires,
hunting rocks and fossils, and exploring the 3,000 acres. There are also cabins
including an original 1880 Homestead cabin.
It’s just the second day of our six-day
“Mickelson Trail and the Badlands” bike tour. We pile into the van and are
shuttledfrom Badlands National Park to the George S. Mickelson
Trail. Over the course of our trip, we will ride the whole 109 miles of the
rail-trail. Today, instead of starting at mile “0” in Edgemont and riding
uphill to Custer, we start at the Harbach Park Trailhead in Custer (mile 44.5)
and bike mostly down a slope to Edgemont (mile 0), where we are picked up and
shuttled back to Custer for the night.
Such
different landscape today from biking the Badlands – we ride through a pine
forest with the smell of pine.
Scenes along the Mickelson Trail, South Dakota (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.comScenes along the Mickelson Trail, South Dakota (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.comScenes along the Mickelson Trail, South Dakota (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Minnekahta,
where we have an amazing lunch that our guide, James Oerding, pulls out of the van and sets up under a lean-to (28 miles
into the ride) at the rest stop, is just off the highway that looks just like
the country road in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, “North by Northwest” –
that famous scene of Cary Grant running from the crop duster that is trying to
kill him. There is even the same sound of silence broken by the wind and growing scream of a
truck as it comes out of the distance and barrels down road. There is that long
view of the road disappearing into the horizon, white clouds in blue sky, hay
bales in the fields on either side (in the movie, they were corn fields).
Surreal. I still wonder if this is the very location where Hitchcock filmed
that scene.
The Mickelson Trail is wonderfully maintained – mostly crushed limestone – with rest facilities and water cisterns along the way and great signage. On this first day, we are immersed in ranch land with broad vistas, dramatic cloud formations, hay bales, cows.
From Edgemont, we are shuttled back to
Custer, a pleasant, modest Western town, with art of decorated bison on many
corners. We will be here for two nights at the Holiday Inn Express. Tonight we
are on our own for dinner, but tomorrow we will be hosted at a fine-dining
restaurant.
The next morning, Day 3 of our trip, we ride out from the hotel directly onto the Mickelson Trail at Harbach Park Trailhead (thankfully, our guide, John Buehlhorn, has caught me again going onto a wrong spur and bringing me back to the trail).
We
are now in the Black Hills National Forest – a lot of trees with black bark,
which I presume gives the forest its name.
From Custer, we bike along the Mickelson Trail, 8 miles up a gentle grade (one of the advantages of a rail trail versus a road which can have much steeper slopes and corkscrew turns), with lovely scenery, beautiful rock formations, grassy plain and pine trees, when all of a sudden, the Crazy Horse Memorial comes into view. I am entranced by it when John, the Wilderness Voyageurs guide, again catches me missing the turnoff for us to ride to the Memorial for our visit. (Biking up the very steep hill proves the most challenging part of the day, and I am delighted with myself that I make it.)
Visiting
the Crazy Horse Memorial is a revelation.
Wilderness Voyageurs started out as a
rafting adventures company 50 years ago, but has developed into a wide-ranging
outdoors company with an extensive catalog of biking, rafting, fishing and outdoor adventures throughout the US and
even Cuba, many guided and self-guided bike itineraries built around rail
trails like the Eric Canal in New York, Great Allegheny Passage in
Pennsylvania, and Katy Trail in Missouri.
There are still a few spots left on
Wilderness Voyageurs’Quintessential
West Cuba Bike Tour departing onMarch 21 (yes, Americans
can still visit Cuba).
by Karen Rubin, Travel Features
Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
I
find myself mere feet from a swarm of buffalo (or more accurately, bison). I am
walking my bike and have wisely chosen to walk between two cars that are
essentially stopped as the herd crosses a road in Custer State Park, in the
Black Hills of South Dakota. From this vantage point, though, I can shoot
photos from the left hill and the right field and feel reasonably protected
even though there is really nothing between me and them.
This
is the second encounter today with this herd – the first came as our small
group biked from the enchanted Sylvan Lake to our lunch stop in Custer State
Park at the new Visitors Center. The herd had parked itself right on the field
outside the center, as if orchestrated by our tour operator, Wilderness
Voyageurs. (I am told this isn’t necessarily a regular thing, but was a
fortuitous occurrence on this day). It is only just one thrilling experience in
an incomparable day, in an incomparable six-days of biking through South
Dakota’s Badlands and Black Hills.
In
the days before, we biked through Badlands National Park, completely surprised
and enthralled by the stark scenery – essentially an ocean floor that had risen
up as the Rocky Mountains formed. I had never realized that the Badlands is a
gold mine of fossils from about 65 million years ago and from 35 million years
ago (with a curious gap of 30 million years) – a transition period from
dinosaurs (which went extinct around 65 million years ago) and mammals. Some
600,000 specimens have already been excavated just from this area, supplying
every major museum and paleontology laboratory in the world. On this day, in the
Visitors Center, we walk into an astonishingly fine Paleontology lab to watch
two paleontologists painstakingly chipping away ever so carefully to release
fossilized bones from rock.
The
fossils are so plentiful – and more are being exposed with erosion – that
fossil-hunting should be added to the list of activities that visitors to the
Badlands National Park can enjoy. There is an entire “heroes” wall filled with
photos of visitors who have made their own fossil finds just this year alone,
alerting the paleontologists to their location. One of those visitors from
years ago – he is a legend – was a photographer who happened on a couple of
fossils; when the paleontologists came, thinking it was an afternoon’s worth of
digging, they found a tennis-court sized bone field that so far has yielded
19,000 specimens over 15 years of excavation.
Each
day of biking through the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, the
landscapes change so dramatically, along with such variety of visual and
experience, from nature and natural wonders to heritage to history.
Over the course of the six days of riding, we bike the entire 109-mile long Mickelson Rail Trail (one of Rail-to-Trails Conservancy’s “Hall of Fame” award-winning trails), taking us through ranch land and towns, ending at the historic town of Deadwood (but not all at once – the Wilderness Voyageurs guides have broken up the rides so we get the best ride and the best itinerary); we ride through Badlands National Park and Custer State Park, with the stunning scenery of the Needles Highway, and ride the Wildlife Loop giving us close encounters with herds of buffalo (actually bison).
A buffalo has the right of way outside my cabin at Blue Bell Lodge in Custer State Park (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The lodgings are also distinctive: after the Badlands ride, we stay at a guest house on a ranch, and after our ride through Custer State Park, we overnight in luxurious log cabins at the Blue Bell Lodge. The attractions are epic: we hop off the Mickelson trail to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial (who knew it wasn’t finished, but that decades after the death of sculptor Korczak Ziokowski who designed and carved the head, two more generations have worked on it and it will likely take decades more to finish); and finish our tour at Mount Rushmore National Monument (who knew that famous sculpture of the presidents Washington, Jefferson, TR Roosevelt and Lincoln also was not finished but never will be?).
Coming upon the Crazy Horse Memorial as we ride along the Mickelson Trail, South Dakota (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
I
love that the focus is not on racing from point A to B as fast as possible, but
that our bikes are our vehicles to explore, to discover, to immerse, to revel
in this glorious landscape and history – the bikes become an endorphin-making
machine, filling you with exultant feelings. “This is your vacation,” our
guide, James Oerding says more than once. I am so glad that most of the rides
do not depend upon us all ending up at the van for a shuttle ride, so I don’t have
that nagging feeling of holding up other people by stopping for photos or
listening to a ranger talk, watching a film or looking at an exhibit.
That
attitude, “This is your vacation,” follows into how they carefully the route is
constructed for the best possible ride and experience. So we don’t do the
Mickelson Trail end to end. We start in the middle and go in one direction,
then on another day, are shuttled back to that middle starting point to go in
the other direction.
The
group – small enough so we all fit in one van – is absolutely delightful. After
a dozen bike tours, I have found there is a certain self-selection process that
goes into choosing a bike tour – bikers (and especially bikers on trips that
involve camping) are welcoming, open, interested, congenial, love and respect
nature and heritage.
The six-day bike tour is spectacular in every way, and once again confirms why bike trips are my favorite form of travel: the pace you travel is ideal to really see things (even stop when you want to more closely observe or explore), but fast enough to provide unending interest. The scenery is certifiably spectacular – the idyllic setting on Sylvan Lake, the stone spires of the Needles, the tunnels cut through stone, the expanse of trees that become prairie. Then there is the wildlife – especially as you ride the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park. Plus there is that element of physical challenge that gets the endorphins going (not to mention the pure fresh air, scented with pine and the altitude).
Not to mention the delightful places Wilderness Voyageurs organizes for us to stay – Circle View Guest Ranch and the cabin at the Blue Bell Lodge were so fantastic (more on that later), the excellent food – breakfast at the lodgings, lunch as satisfying as any gourmet feast, usually served from the back of the van on a table under a lean-to, with ingredients fresh from the farmer’s market or store, wonderfully prepared sandwiches and wraps on request, and dinners at the guides’ favorite restaurants (they sure know how to pick ‘em).
The
guides on our trip – James Oerding and John Buehlhorn – are not only
experienced and skilled, but take care of us like Father Hens (rescuing me on
that dark night at the lodge when a buffalo was on the path back from the
restaurant to my cabin). And then there are the companions you travel with – on
this trip, there were three couples and three single women from all over the
country, who contribute immeasurably to the pleasure of the experience.
Each day brings its own highlights and surprises – such variety and diversity in the experience and the visuals on top of the normal adventures of biking and travel. Biking is its own experience – you are in your own head, in control of your own transportation. Wilderness Voyageurs, a company I became familiar with as the tour operator for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Sojourns on the Great Allegheny Passage (the company is headquartered in Ohiopyle, PA, on the trail) operates the bike tour in an ideal way – we ride at our own pace; the second guide serves as “sweeper” hanging back with the last rider (most often me!). Neither John nor James ever push me along or discourage me from stopping, exploring, taking photos.
We have cue sheets and a Garmin that show us the route, and can download an app that talks the directions (though there aren’t a lot of turns – I still manage to go off route three times). (This style of guided bike tour is not always the case; I recently was on a bike tour with one guide who we had to follow, no cue sheets or directions and plenty of turns; we all had to ride together at the pace of the slowest rider, and if I wanted a photo, I had to ask for the whole group to stop).They also provide wonderful meals including a few dinners at restaurants where we order off the menu. Guided bike tours are not cheap, but there is excellent value in Wilderness Voyageurs’ tour price.
This is a part of the country I have never been before. And frankly, it is ideal for anyone – especially international visitors – who yearn to immerse themselves in America’s mythic Western past. The combination of nature, open country, historic and heritage attractions that go so deeply into America’s psyche, is unbeatable. And on top of that is the endorphin-rush you get from biking.
A key part of the tour is riding the 109-mile long Mickelson Trail, one of 30 rail-trails to have been named to the Hall of Fame by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
Also known as “The Big Mick,” The
George S. Mickelson Trail (originally named the Black Hills Burlington Northern
Heritage Trail), was dedicated in 1998 in memory of the late South Dakota
governor who acted in strong support of transforming the former rail line into
a multi-use trail.
The trail follows the historic
Deadwood to Edgemont Burlington Northern rail line that passes through the
Black Hills and was abandoned in 1983. After strong activism by locals and
Governor Mickelson, the first six miles of trail was opened in 1991. Another
decade under Governor Jacklow and the trail was completed in 1998 with the help
of the US Forest Service, SD Department of Transportation, SD Department of
Corrections, the National Guard, SD Department of Game, Fish and Parks, the
Friends of the Mickelson Trail and hundreds of volunteers.
There
is a strong link between the very existence of this trail and the railroads,
and the Crazy Horse Memorial which we will visit, which pays homage to the
indigenous peoples who lived here.
I am reminded that the railroads through these Black Hills can be traced back to 1874, when the infamous Lt. Colonel George A. Custer discovered gold as part of an exploration team. This discovery caused an explosion of miners hoping to strike it rich. Within a few years, many other towns were founded and quickly grew. But what led to the development of railroads, was not the need to transport the gold itself, but to move people and supplies.
Along the trail, we see some mining shafts and go through the towns that developed with the railroads, and will even stay in a casino hotel in Deadwood that was re-created from a slime plant (slime is the waste left when they use cyanide to decompose rock to release the gold), that was part of the Homestake Mine, the largest and deepest gold mine; it produced the most gold and was longest in operation, from 1885 to as recently as 2001.
The trail, largely crushed limestone and gravel and beautifully maintained with rest stops and water cisterns, offers wonderful diversity in landscapes as well as attractions. It travels along creeks, across open valleys, and through forests besides ranches; we ride over 100 bridges and through four tunnels. (See more at www.traillink.com/trail/george-s-mickelson-trail)
Over the course of our trip, we will
ride the full 109 miles of the trail, but Wilderness Voyageurs has broken it up
in such a way as to intersperse attractions and, in a word, make it easier.
The
Wilderness Voyageurs Badlands trip starts in Rapid City where I cleverly
organize my trip to arrive the day before, staying at the famous, historic Alex
Johnson Hotel (famous on its own, but made eternally famous for the part it
played in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, “North by Northwest” – an
autographed caricature of Hitchcock is behind the front desk).
Indeed, the Alex Johnson Hotel is a major attraction in itself (it’s red and white sign atop the building is iconic symbol of the city) – the hotel even provides a walking tour. (Hotel Alex Johnson Rapid City, Curio Collection by Hilton, 523 Sixth Street,Rapid City SD 57701, 605-342-1210, alexjohnson.com.)
The
next morning, our guides pick us up with the van at our hotels, and we drive 55
miles down the highway (following what seems like hundreds of Corvettes who
have gathered in Rapid City for a convention) to Badlands National Park, for
our first day’s ride and the start of our Badlands adventure. But first, we
stop at Wall, a literal hole-in-the-wall town that rose up to serve the
Westward-bound settlers. On this spot, a drug store opened – more of a general
store – and this quaint Western-looking town has become a must-see tourist
stop. Delightful. I keep seeing a sign for a museum but can’t find it before it
is time to get back to the group.
Wilderness Voyageurs started out as a
rafting adventures company 50 years ago, but has developed into a wide-ranging
outdoors company with an extensive catalog of biking, rafting, fishing and outdoor adventures throughout the US and
even Cuba, many guided and self-guided bike itineraries built around rail
trails like the Eric Canal in New York, Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania,
and Katy Trail in Missouri.
There are still a few spots left on Wilderness Voyageurs’Quintessential West Cuba Bike Tour departing on March 21.
Bill Chalmers, the “ringmaster” and
CEO (Chief Experience Officer) of the Global Scavenger Hunt, launches us our
biggest, most ambitious and difficult leg of the 23-day, around-the-world
mystery tour: a Par 6, in which our challenge is to get from Marrakesh through
four countries – Morocco, Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal with scavenges in each
to win points – in five days, meeting at 11:30 am in Porto, Portugal, when we
will fly out to New York, our final destination and the final and decisive leg
of the competition to be crowned “World’s Best Traveler”.
“Now
for your final exam, when all the skills you have learned come together while
your situational awareness is peaking and the Travel IQ ready for action,”
Chalmers tells us as we gather together in the lobby of the Savoy Le Grand in
Marrakesh, Morocco. “The Big multi-country adventure of the Par 6 North
Africa/Iberian Peninsula leg.
“There
are over 150 scavenges with 19 Bonuses, 3 Team Challenges and a whole lotta
good eating; six exciting days of buses, trains, ferries, camels, trams, bikes
and funiculars; four diverse country stops over 1,400 km (870 miles) lay
between here in Marrakesh and there in Porto. Oh yea, did I mention May Day!?”
Teams
are handled $300 to cover their best-guess transportation costs and told we are
required to secure our own lodgings for three nights (we are given an allowance
of $200 per team per night) “all depending on your risk/reward course of
action. We will see you Friday at 11:30AM in the lobby of our Porto, Portugal
hotel. Good luck to everyone, be safe, be smart.”
Chalmers allows these rule changes for this climatic leg:
1) Teaming up allowed, but only in Morocco!
2) Car rentals allowed, but only once, and only within one single country where
the rental must be both picked-up & returned.
3) Use of smartphones allowed.
4) Airbnb & Uber allowed.
There
are some 150 scavenges in this leg (a challenge is to figure which ones to do
for points and logistics), including mandatory ones like #51 (“Within the
bowels of Fes el-Bali, visit the Baab Bou Jeloud gate”). It is also mandatory
to complete at least one scavenge in all four primary countries: Morocco,
Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal. Other mandatory challenges have to do with
eating, since food is such a window to culture and tradition, and also brings
people together.
There
are scavenges that earn bonuses. In Morocco: either camp out in the desert one
night or stay in traditional riad; venture to the Atlas mountains to visit
Berber villages, Ait Souka/Kasbah Dutoubkal, or Aghmat/Oureka; visit the blue
city of Chefchaouen; visit Volubilis to see something old & Roman; visit
nearby sacred village Moulay Idriss.
We have arrived at Savoy Le Grand – a massive modern resort-style hotel with multiple pools, sandwiched between a major modern mall and a casino, about a half-mile from the gate to Marrakesh’s Old City – at midnight local time, about 2 am for us having come from Athens. Bill recognizes the need for a break so essentially gives us the morning off, so we can meet at 11:30 am in the lobby to launch us on the challenge he has termed “our final exam.”
The hotel is a bit garish (it makes me think of the Concord in the Catskills) but actually quite nice. Still, Bill actually apologizes that he couldn’t get us into something more “authentic”. Because of the wedding between British actor Idris Elba and model Sabrina Dhowre (former Miss Vancouver), they had to research over 50 properties before they could get us into Savoy Le Grand Hotel for two nights.
My teammate, Margo, and I are not
competing so have the advantage of being able to get advice from the concierge and
use hotels.com to book hotels in the places we want to overnight. Even so, it
takes from noon to about 5:30 pm to work out an outline for how we will cover
the distance – set up the first train ticket from Marrakesh to Fez (we give the
concierge the money to buy the ticket) and book hotels in Fez and Gibraltar
(another team has gotten names for a traditional riad in Fez and a hotel in
Gibraltar which three teams decide to book).
Margo decides to spend an extra day
in Porto, Portugal, but I set my sights on Seville, and organize a hotel there
and a flight from Seville to Porto (which wouldn’t be allowed if I were
competing), so we will travel together from Marrakesh to Fez to Gibraltar and
then travel independently until Porto (if we were competing, we would have to
do everything as a team).
By 5:30 pm, I still haven’t figured
out how to get from Fez to Gibraltar and Gibraltar to Seville, but I am
frustrated and angry not actually seeing Marrakesh, and drop everything so we
go into the Old City. The other two teams which are following much the same
itinerary are content to just wing it once we get to Fez.
Right at the gate to the old city is the famous, five-star La Mamounia Palace hotel – a hotel since 1923, but with a history that extends back to the 12th century. Its magnificent gardens were a wedding gift to Prince Al Mamoun in the 18th century.
Margo and I walk to the famous Koutoubia Grand Mosque that so dominates the city (It turns out that everything we do could earn scavenge points). The largest mosque in Marrakesh, the Koutoubia is not only its spiritual center but an architectural trend-setter. that was adopted in buildings in Spain (Giralda of Seville) and Rabat (Hassan Tower), which were built in the same period.
The mosque is ornamented with curved windows, a band of ceramic inlay, pointed merlons, and decorative arches; it has a large plaza with gardens, and is floodlit at night. The minaret tower, standing 253 feet high, has a spire and orbs. The mosque was completed under the reign of the Berber Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184 to 1199).
Founded in 1062, Marrakesh was once the capital of a vast trading empire that stretched from Toledo to Senegal. You get a sense of this at Marrakesh’s main square, Jemaa el Fna, which I learn, was once a medieval trading square where public executions took place (why it is called the Assembly of the Dead).
As soon as we enter the massive square, there is a cacophony of sounds, a blur of motion and color. And activity – snake charmers, acrobats, henna artists, musicians, Berbers (who demand money for photo even if you only look at them), merchants hawking every kind of item – snake-oil salesman selling men’s fertility.
There
are scores of “restaurants” – stalls, really, with long tables under canvas
like picnics, with their representatives with numbered signs identifying their
location, recruiting new customers – when one sits down, they serenade in
triumph.
The
souks radiate off the square with tiny alleyways.
Before it gets too dark, we make our way through the souks to find the Mellah, the Jewish Quarter and the synagogue (which happens also to be one of the scavenges).
We weave through the maze – asking people who point us in a direction (just as we are supposed to do under the Global Scavenger Hunt) – a kindly fellow leaves his stall to lead us down narrow alleyway to Laazama Synagogue, which is still a functioning synagogue but also serves as the city’s Jewish Museum.
After Jews were expelled from Spain by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in 1492, Rabbi Yitzhag Daloya came to Marrakesh. He became president of the court and head of the “deportee” community in Marrakesh and founded the “Tzlat Laazama,” Synagogue of Deportees”, shortly after his arrival.
But the Moroccan Jewish community is much older than the Spanish Inquisition– dating back to King Solomon and the Roman period. Marrakesh was founded in 1062 by Joseph Ibn Tasifin, ruler of the Halmorabidim, who allowed Jewish settlement in the city. The Jewish community was “renewed” in 1269, headed by Rabbi Yahuda Jian, originally from southern Spain. The Atlas Jews remained the majority of the community even after the Jews from Spain and Portugal settled in Marrakesh.
The
situation changed in the 16th century when Marrakesh became a major
center for Marranos (secret Jews) who wished to practice Judaism openly.
Spanish and Portuguese Marrakesh Jews lived in their own neighborhoods until
all local Jews, some 35,000, were collected by order of the King, in 1557, and
resettled in the Mellah (a walled community). In the 19th century,
the population increased in the Mellah after refugees from the Atlas Mountains
arrived, becoming the largest Jewish community in Morocco. At one time, there
were 40 synagogues here.
The
synagogue is beautifully decorated with tile, a courtyard ringed with study
rooms, a music room, living quarters. There is a video about history of Jewish
community in Marrakesh. The photos on the walls are interesting – the faces of
the Moroccan Jews are indistinguishable from the Arab Moroccans.
Moroccan
Jews have also left the country – the Moroccan Jewish Diaspora counts more than
1 million members in four corners of the world, “a diaspora that continues to
cultivate ties to their homeland, Morocco.” Indeed, we come upon a woman with
her sister-in-law and mother who left Marrakesh first for Casablanca and now
lives in Paris; her brother is still a member of the synagogue’s leadership –
she shows us his chair. Her grandfather is buried in the nearby Jewish
cemetery.
From the synagogue, we walk to the Jewish cemetery, Beth Mo’ed Le’kol Chai, which should have been closed, but the guard lets us in.
Founded
in 1537, the cemetery spans 52 hectares and is the largest Jewish burial site
in Morocco, with some 20,000 tombs including tombs of 60 “saints” and devotees
who taught Torah to the communities of Marrakesh and throughout Morocco.
The
arrangement of the graves is “unique” to the city of Marrakesh. There is a
children’s section, where 7000 children who died of Typhus are buried; a
separate men’s section and a woman’s section while around the perimeter are
graves of the pious, the judges and scholars of the city who are believed to
provide protection for all those buried.
Margo
hails a taxi to head back to the hotel, and I walk back to the main square
through the markets (the tricky part is less about getting lost than avoiding
the scooters that speed through the narrow alleyways), and get the real flavor
of this exotic place and dusk turns to darkness and the neon-colored lights
come on.
Here you can see a huge variety of Moroccan craftsmen and
tradesmen, organized by profession, under a roof of reeds, hawking leather
goods, fabrics, kettles, pottery. The Dyers’ Souk, has colorful skeins of wool
hanging out to dry on its walls, while the Blacksmiths’ Souk (souk Haddadine)
displays a wide variety of metalwork.
Back in the bustling Jemaa el Fnasquare, I see a crowd of men gathered around one fellow with a lizard, selling a miracle cure. When I ask a fellow what it is about, he grins and I get the idea. No different than the snake-oil salesmen of old.
It’s
dinner time, neon lights have come on, and I go to the section of the
square where there are dozens of outdoor
restaurants. Guys wave a placard with their stall number which are their ID and
do a sales pitch (“Remember #1, Remember 35”, “Air-Conditioned!” they say with
a grin). Then when you stop, fellows come by and sing to draw in customers. It
is all very good natured. I find a stall to have dinner – seated on a bench
with others who have come here from around the world and local neighborhoods.
It
should be noted that Marrakesh has bike share, bike lanes, pedestrian
crossings, is clean, with lots of police and auxiliary, striking new buildings,
and the people are very helpful and hospitable.
Marrakesh, a thousand-year old city,has just been designated African Capital of Culture 2020, a a showcase of today’s urban Africa, highlighting the diversity of African culture.
The
next day we are up at 4:30 am, breakfast is delivered at 5 am, and we take a
five-minute cab ride to a gorgeous train station, to catch the 6 am train, riding in a first-class
compartment for a wonderful 6 ½ hour trip to Fez.
The Global Scavenger Hunt is an annual travel program that has been operated for the past 15 years by Bill and Pamela Chalmers, GreatEscape Adventures, 310-281-7809, GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
Bill Chalmers, the organizer for the past 15 years and inventor of the Global Scavenger Hunt, “a blind date with the world,” notes the rare backtracking to Bangkok from Myanmar. “Oddly, we had to fly slightly east to further our westward global trajectory…Myanmar is still hard to get into and out of with limited connections to mostly its regional neighbors…especially Bangkok and Singapore. Today we chose Bangkok as a more interesting layover in our exit strategy. Thus we a have fun 8-Hour Layover Challenge…but I am getting ahead of myself.”
We scurry about the Bangkok airport, finding a place to check our luggage for the precious few hours, finding an information counter with a map and information about how to get downtown (we discover a rail link into the city).
Besides figuring out the logistics of Bangkok without any prior preparation (because that is the essence of the Global Scavenger Hunt, an around-the-world mystery tour to determine “World’s Best Travelers”), our visit is complicated by preparations for the coronation of the new King.
Also, my teammate Margo has her own scavenger hunt going: she is trying to find chips from Harley Davidson Motorcycle dealers in every place we go. Her hunt brings us to one of Bangkok’s major urban shopping malls – every luxury and brand name in the world is represented. Harley is on a floor with Jaguar and other luxury cars. It is an amazing opportunity to view local life of Bangkok on a Sunday. (The movie, “Crazy Rich Asians,” immediately flashes in my mind.)
Margo goes off to do sightseeing by the Hop On/Off Bus; I am determined to take a water taxi. But I learn that the city has already closed off river access to the major attractions and sites that are along the river, including the Palace, and there is, in fact, a giant security cordon from the Grand Palace (later I learn that the Palace was open to visitors earlier and we just missed it). But the water taxi along the canal is still operating.
I go walking (in the intense heat) toward where I can pick up the water taxi. The time is ticking away and I have to calculate the amount of time to get back to the airport in time for our flight to Abu Dhabi. I pass interesting places, like the “Anti-Money Laundering Office”.
It is fun to ride the water taxi and I take it to a place close to the Grand Palace where there is an important temple, the Golden Mount (Wat Saket). A very nice fellow coming off the water taxi points me in a direction to the Democracy Monument. I learn that it was commissioned in 1939 to commemorate the 1932 Siamese coup d’etat which led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in the Kingdom of Siam. Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram saw the monument as the center of a new Westernized Bangkok, akin to the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs d’Elysees in Paris.
I see literally thousands of police, military, and what appear to be volunteers in colored shirts, the streets decorated for a parade (the administration building is nearby)– but no people on the streets waiting for a parade. The coronation is taking place in just a couple of weeks time. I assume that they are doing a rehearsal.
I contemplate hiring a little jitney taxi to take me close to the Grand Palace, but looking at the time and calculating how long it would take to backtrack to the airport, I just head back to the water taxi, walk through a broad shopping boulevard (big portraits of the King and Queen), to the train to the airport.
This moment in history, in fact, becomes the theme for my Bangkok visit.
At the end of it, though I did not get to see the Top Attractions of Bangkok, I fulfilled the essence of the Global Scavenger Hunt: I immersed myself in the everyday rhythm of this place and these people, exotic no longer.
The Global Scavenger Hunt is an annual travel program that has been operated for the past 15 years by Bill and Pamela Chalmers, GreatEscape Adventures, 310-281-7809, GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
My
perfect day in Inle Lake, Myanmar, on Leg 3 of the Global Scavenger Hunt, a
23-day around-the-world mystery tour, begins the night before, on the JJ
Express bus that leaves the temple city of Bagan at 10 pm and arrives at the
bus stop (literally in the middle of the street in a small village) at 4:30 am.
It is complete darkness, not a sound or stirring besides ourselves as the bus
pulls away, leaving us there. For a moment, we feel stranded. Then, out of the
shadows, two tiny jitneys – like small tut-tut open-back vehicles – appear. The
drivers ask which hotels we are bound for so we divide up based on which side
of Inle Lake we are staying. We settle the fare (we are in a very limited
position to negotiate) and climb in.
The
jitney drops us at the Sanctum Inle Resort at 5:30 am, where the kindly hotel
clerk calls in housekeeping early so we could get into our rooms by 6 am (when
2 pm would have been normal check-in time). This five-star resort makes me feel
like I have been dropped into paradise.
I
am traveling on my own at this point, though at least one other of the 10 teams,
SLO Folks, on the Global Scavenger Hunt are here – my teammate went on to Mandalay with
another team who decided not to compete for points. SLO Folks (last year’s “World’s
Greatest Travelers” GSH champion) has been scrupulous about following rules of
the contest (no using computer or cell phone to make bookings or to get
information; the trip is designed to “trust strangers” and engage with local
people) so they arrive in Inle with no hotel, not even a decent map to start
planning how they will attack the scavenges (challenges) and accrue the most
points in the limited amount of time.
Indeed,
this challenge, Leg 3 of our trip, is to depart Yangon (the city formerly known
as Rangoon when the former British colony was known as Burma) and complete a
triangle of cities (Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake), allowing only two legs by air and
return to Yangon by 6 pm on Saturday, making our own arrangements for
transportation and hotel (we are reimbursed $200/night/team). I had planned to
go from Bagan to Mandalay with my teammate, but after hearing about Inle Lake
from another team (Lawyers Without Borders, a Houston team that has done the
Global Scavenger Hunt 12 times) who had been here before, I was enchanted to
see it; then, overhearing SLO Folks planning to take the overnight bus, I was
determined to see it for myself.
The description enchanted me: Located in the middle of Myanmar,
in the Shan State, Inle Lake is set in a valley
between two mountain ranges, with whole villages of wooden houses built on
stilts in the middle of the lake, floating gardens, boatmen who steer standing
up, wrapping one leg around a tall oar. There are 10 different Shan
ethnic groups living around the lake and the surrounding hills, home to many
different minorities who come down to sell their goods in the villages – like
the Long Neck Ladies. Inle Lake was designated a wetland wildlife sanctuary in
1985.
Inle Lake feels like a different world to the rest of Myanmar,
indeed, it seems like an enchanted Sangri-la.
The
Sanctum Hotel (Maing Thauk Village, Inle Lake, Nyaungshwe, Myanmar) is on the
list of suggested accommodations provided by the GSH “ringmaster” and Chief
Experience Officer, Bill Chalmers, and because I am not competing, have booked
on hotels.com ($101 for the night). I am delighted to find it is an absolutely
gorgeous five-star luxury resort (the infinity pool on the grounds with views
to the lake is breathtaking), and just being here fills me with a contented
peace. But that is only the beginning.
The
kindness of the hotel manager is immensely appreciated. For me, it means I am
able to take advantage of the hotel’s 8 am boat tour (that means a traditional
wooden boat with the modern convenience of a power motor as well as the
boatman’s long oar) because most of Inle Lake’s special attractions are
literally on the lake – whole villages, in fact, are built on stilts on the
lake; there are floating gardens which are really aquatic farms; floating
markets; the fishermen fish in a distinctive fashion with nets and the boatmen
paddle standing up, with their leg wrapped around the tall oar. The temples and
other major attractions – silversmiths, weavers, boatmakers – are all reached
by the boat.
The
full-day tour will take me to the Five Day Market, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, Inn
Paw Khone Village, Ywa Ma Village, Nam Pan Village (where we visit workshops to
see crafts – silversmithing, weaving, boatmaking), Floating Gardens, Nge’ Phe’
Chaung Monastery and Indein Pagoda – essentially enabling me to see all Inle
Lake’s highlights in a one-day visit ($35), though there is so much to see,
Inle Lake is worth a two or three day stay.
The
Sanctum Inle Resort is situated on the bank of Inle lake – a shallow lake
that’s over 13.5 miles long and 7 miles wide – and to begin the tour I
have booked (because I’m not competing, I can book a hotel tour, while the
competing team cannot, so they go off to find where the boatmen keep their
boats), I am escorted down to the hotel’s dock where the boat and the boatman
is waiting. It turns out I am the only one, so this is essentially a private
tour. The boatman, a young fellow named Wei Mo, speaks only limited English –
enough to tell me where I am going – but it is sufficient, I just don’t expect
to get any commentary.
It
is an amazing experience – gliding across the lake, the fresh air and cool
breeze rushing over me, especially after the debilitating 108-degree heat of
Bagan. Inle Lake is notable for the Intha, lake dwellers who have a distinctive
way rowing their wooden boats by wrapping their leg around a tall oar. At
first, the mechanics make no sense. But I realize it is a way of standing and
using such a tall oar and keeping the weight balanced on the tiny boats.
During
the course of the boat tour, I encounter a young fellow fishing (though you
have to get out pretty much at sunrise to see the fishermen), boat people
harvesting from the lake, go through an entire village built on stilts, where
there are also numerous craftsmen and workshops we visit. One stop provides an
opportunity to visit with the Long-Neck Ladies (actually only one), who come
down from their secluded village to pose for photos with tourists for money. We
also visit important pagodas and temples on the lake.
It
is remarkable to see how the Inthar make the most out of the lake – even
creating farmland where none existed. They build floating gardens out of
lake-bottom weeds and water hyacinth and grow crops like squash and tomatoes,
anchoring them with bamboo poles. I learn that these
floating islands can be cut, dragged by boats and even sold like a plot of
land. Floating gardens can be found mostly in Kaylar, Inchan and Zayatgyi
villages.
I love visiting the various workshops in the various villages
– it seems each has a specialty. We visit a silversmith workshop where I watch
the intricate process before being led into (what else) an elaborate shop,
filled with stunning creations.
Wei
pulls up to Inn Paw Khone Village, famous for
its weaving workshops, but most notably, weaving silk from lotus. Silk
weaving in Inn Paw Khon began 100 years ago. At first, they wove from cotton
fiber and then changed to silk and finally lotus fiber. and I am told that the
technique of making silk from lotus was begun by a woman now more than a
century old. I get to watch how a woman
delicately pulls a strand from the lotus plant which is wound on a spindle into
thread.
At
the boatmakers, I learn how each one is designed differently for their purpose
– a family boat, a fishing boat (7.8 meters), a boat designed for the Long Neck
people. “A boat lasts 25 years. Only men make the boats, they need to be
strong. It takes 20 days to make a boat; they make lacquer from a tree to
paint, wood powder and cotton. It takes two people to cut the teakwood,” she
tells me. There are absolutely stunning wood carvings to purchase. But I must
travel light.
We
stop in several of the region’s most important pagodas.
Shwe
Indein Pagoda is the most impressive of the attractions visited. You walk up a
covered walkway lined with beautifully painted columns, up a hill, flanked by
an astonishing 1,600 Buddhist stupas, some of stone, some intricately carved,
some gilded. Many have been restored but you also see many crumbling with age
and being reclaimed by the jungle. (There
is a camera fee, 500 kyat, which works out to about 30 cents).
According
to atlasobscurba.com, “These structures date from the 14th to the 18th
centuries and are typical of Burmese zedi. Like others found
across the region, the stupas feature fantastical creatures like chinthe –
mythic lion-like beings that protect sacred spaces. These were (and remain)
sites for contemplation and meditation and many contain relics inside their
bases. The first stupas at Indein were likely commissioned during the reign
of King Narapatisithu, although according to legend, it was King Ashoka – the
Indian emperor responsible for spreading Buddhism across much of Asia – who
first designated this as a site of particular spiritual importance. Hundreds of
years later, that distinction is completely obvious. The sea of ornate spires
coupled with the view over the lake and surrounding calm lend this spot an
unquestionably mystic, reflective air.” (www.atlasobscura.com/places/shwe-indein-pagoda) It is
breathtaking to see. Inside, people are gathering for a communal feast.
We
come Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, one of the famous principal
shrines in Myanmar, just crammed with boats and worshippers. The pagoda houses
five small Buddha images which are much revered by the lake-dwellers. Once a
year, in late September-early October, there is a pagoda festival when four of
the five Buddha images are taken on an elaborately decorated barge towed
by several boats of leg-rowers, rowing in unison, and other accompanying boats,
making an impressive procession on the water.
Ngaphechaung Monastery is a
beautiful wooden monastery built on stilts over the lake at the end of the
1850s, the biggest and oldest monastery on the lake. The
monastery is known for a collection of old Myanmar’s Buddha images from
different eras. It is also notable because the monks have taught a few of
the many cats living with them to jump through hoops (that is the reputation,
but I don’t get to see any cats).
I
skip stopping for lunch so am able to condense the tour somewhat, which brings
me back to the hotel at 2:30 pm.
I indulge in Sanctum Inle Resort’s utterly stunning pool – I would rank one of the best resort pools in the world – an infinity pool of black and silver that shimmers as you swim, magnificently set with a view down to the lake, richly landscaped, a great size for actually swimming as well as playing around. It is also one of the most magnificent places just to lounge. I meet families from around the world.
I
am back in my room by 5 pm, to walk about a mile up the road from the resort
into the nearby village of Maing Thauk. I am bound for the Friendship Bridge
where one of the scavenges is to watch the sunset. I love to see the Burmese alphabet,
with its circles and curley-cues, on signs (few have English translation,
except for the Noble Aim PreSchool, my Rosetta Stone, and a traffic sign with a
drawing of a parent holding a child’s hand, indicating a school crossing). I
come upon a school holding a sports competition that has drawn a tremendous
audience. Even though hardly anyone speaks English, we manage to chat
(icebreaker: What is going on? Where is the bridge?). It’s a good thing I ask
the fellow if I was going the right way to get to the Friendship Bridge I am
looking for, because he directs me to turn left on the next corner (I would
have gone straight).
The
Bridge connects many structures and from which people can get onto the scores
of wooden boats that gather here, especially to offer sunset “cruises”, as well
as walk to several restaurants. The views and the evening activity are just
magnificent. It’s like watching the entire community walk by.
What
I’ve noticed during this incredibly brief visit is exactly what GSH’s organizer
Bill Chalmers had hoped when he dealt with a question of whether we should be
in a place that has earned worldwide condemnation for human rights abuses.
Travel is about seeing for yourself, but also gaining an understanding of one
another, disabusing stereotypes or caricatures, and most significantly, not
seeing others as “other”, which works both ways. In very real ways (and
especially now), travelers are ambassadors, no less than diplomats. Boycotting
destinations because of their governments, isolating people from one another,
cutting off the exchange of ideas and people-to-people engagements is not how
change happens – that only hardens points of view, and makes people susceptible
to fear-mongering and all the bad things that have happened throughout human
history as a result. “See for yourself,” Chalmers tells us.
What
I see in the people I’ve encountered is a kindness, a warmth of spirit, a
sweetness among the people here. I see it in how parents hold their children,
how the boatman, Wei Moi, shows such etiquette among the other boatmen, how
helpful people are. And how readily they
smile.
This
leg has been a Par 5 in difficulty (Par 6 being the most difficult during this,
the 15th Global Scavenger Hunt) – which has entailed us going out of
Yangon to Bagan, Mandalay and/or Inle Lake (many more rules on top of that,
including no more than 2 flights), taking overnight bus or hiring a taxi or
train, and so forth. But Chalmers devious design has worked – in just these
four days, we really do immerse ourselves in Myanmar, though our itinerary most
properly should be done in 11 days (there are several operators who offer such
trips).
The
challenge of the Global Scavenger Hunt is important to mention because Inle
Lake is worth at least a two or three day stay to be completely immersed in its
spell. There is a tremendous amount to do and experience.
You
can reach Inle Lake by air, bus (Joyous Journey Express, known as JJ Express,
provided excellent service; travel on the first-class bus geared to tourists,
www.jjexpress.net), or hire a driver to Inle Lake from various other major destinations
in Myanmar (Bagan, Mandalay, Yangon). The closest airport to Inle Lake is Heho
airport (HEH) which is 45 minutes away from the lake.
The
final challenge of this leg is to get back to our hotel, the Sule Shangri-la,
in Yangon by 6 pm, and for those competing to hand in their scorecards and
proof of completing the scavenges. That’s when we will learn where in the world
we will go next, and where we will all compare experiences.
The Global Scavenger Hunt is an annual travel program that has been operated for the past 15 years by Bill and Pamela Chalmers, GreatEscape Adventures, 310-281-7809, GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
Saigon is the second leg of nine
during a 23-day, around-the-world Global Scavenger Hunt, “A Blind Date with the
World,” where we don’t know where we are going until we are given 4-hour
notice. Under the Global Scavenger Hunt rules, you are not allowed to use a
phone or computer for information or reservations, hire a private guide, or
even use a taxi for more than 2 scavenges at a time, since the object is to
force you to interact with locals. Though we were not officially competing for
“World’s Best Travelers,” my teammate, Margo (who I only met on this trip) and
I basically followed the rules in Vancouver and during our first day in Vietnam,
but we had to deviate on the second day.
It is shortly before 4 pm in Ho Chi
Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, by the time we have received our book of scavenges
from Bill Chalmers, the Global Scavenger Hunt ringmaster (as he likes to be
called), who has ranked Vietnam a “Par 3” in difficulty (on a scale of 1-6),
strategized what scavenges we will undertake, and after a swim in the hotel’s
pool (so hot even the pool was like a bathtub), we head out of the Majestic
Hotel, a five-star historic property, toward Ben Thank Market, one of the
scavenges on the list.
Built in 1870 by the French who
colonized Vietnam for 100 years, it is where then and now, you can find locals
and tourists alike, with row after row after row chock-a-block full of almost
everything imaginable. (Be prepared to bargain aggressively; the shopkeepers
are even more aggressive). I come away with a few things I can’t bear to pass
up, when Margo realizes a second scavenge we can accomplish: tasting three
separate fruits (there is heavy emphasis on “experience” scavenges that involve
food, and Vietnam, Bill says, is one of the great food places in the world).
We find a fruit stand and sure
enough, there are fruits I have never seen before, including one, called dragon
fruit, which looks like it was divined by JK Rowling for Harry Potter; the
others we sample: rambutan, mangosteen, longan. We are standing around these
ladies, asking them to cut open the various fruits so we can sample them to
complete the scavenge, taking the photos we need to document.
Among the other scavenges on the
list here in the market: to find a cobra in jar of alcohol; the tackiest
souvenir in market; and a wet market (which befuddles most of us and turns out
to be the meat market which is hosed down).
We ask locals for directions to our next stop: the Water
Puppet Show of Vietnam at the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater. It seems
walkable but we get lost along the way (technically we can’t use the GPS on the
phone, but we aren’t competing – we still get lost) and are simply amazed at
the rush and crush of mopeds (mainly) and cars in this city of 9 million where
there are an estimated 7 million scooters, and the range of what people carry
on them without a second thought. I literally stand in a traffic island to get
the full view.
We are also amazed we are able to
function having departed Vancouver, Canada, for Vietnam at 2 am for a 14-hour
flight to Taipei, followed by an hour lag time before a 3-hour connection to
Saigon. Time has become a very fluid, meta thing.
But we forge on (the secret to
avoiding being taken down by jet lag is to stay up until bedtime). This is also
on the scavenger list and as it turns out, we meet several other teams from our
group.
The performance proves fabulous and unexpected – the puppets actually emerge out of water; water is their platform. There is musical accompaniment on traditional instruments and the musicians also become the characters and narrators and sing. This is quite an outstanding cultural performance – the artistry and imaginativeness of the puppets (who swim, fish, plant rice which then grows, race boats, dance, catch frogs and do all sorts of things with incredible choreographed precision, is incredible.
These seem to be folk stories, and the music is traditional. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand Vietnamese. It confounds me how they do such precise choreography from the water (the puppeteers are behind a gauze curtain; controlling with bubble wands horizontally). The artistry is magnificent and the experience an utter delight. (Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre, 558 Ngyuyen Thi Minh Kahi Street, Dist.1, HCMC, www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.com).
From there, we take a taxi to hit
another scavenge, going to the Saigon Skydeck on the 49th floor of the Bitesco Financial Tower, which
affords beautiful scenes of Saigon. From here, all you see is a very modern
city. Many of the buildings below are decorated in colored lights. This is an
example of modern Saigon that is rising. (Skydeck senior rate $5; some places have
senor rates, others don’t, so ask)
Back
at the Hotel Majestic, we go up to the 8th floor M
Club, a delightful rooftop bar, where there is a band playing. The open-air
views of the Saigon River and the skyline are just magnificent. Margo orders a
“Majestic 1925” which is Bourbon, infused orange, sweet vermouth, Campari,
orange bitter, orange zest, and smoked – the whole process done on a table
brought to us, as a crowd gathers to watch the mixocologist light a torch to
generate the smoke. Quite a scene.
Whereas
my first afternoon and evening in Ho Chi Minh City was devoted to seeing the
city as it is today – albeit dotted with centuries old buildings, markets and
heritage – the second day is a somber, soul-searching journey back in time.
Indeed, as I wander around the city, you don’t see any obvious scars of the
Vietnam War.
One of the signature sights of a
visit to Ho Chi Minh City is the Cu Chi Tunnels. My teammate Margo has already
been there and doesn’t want to return, but I feel duty-bound to see it for
myself. I wake up early and go down to
the hotel concierge to see if I can get on the 7:30 am half-day trip to the Cu
Chi Tunnels.
The concierge calls the tour company
and says there is room on the bus and that they pick up right at the hotel. I
am off. (545,000
Dong, about $25, www.saigontourist.net, www.e-travelvietnam.com)
As
we travel outside through the city, the guide points out sights and gives us a
history of Vietnam, going back to the Chinese who came in the 1600s, the French
who came later, the Vietnam War and the aftermath, while hardly disguising resentment of the
North Vietnamese who have flooded into the city since the war. Ho Chi Minh City has grown from a city of 2 million to 9
million today, with 7 million scooters (here, instead of Uber car, you summon a
Grab scooter).
It’s
an opportunity to see more of the city and soon we are in the countryside,
traveling through small villages and farms where we see cemeteries, markets,
houses, a few animals, rubber plantations. We see new agricultural techniques
being used on farms and pass an agricultural research center. It is about an
hour’s drive.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense
network of connecting tunnels located in the
Củ Chi District of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), which the
Viet Cong used to launch guerrilla warfare against the Americans during the
Vietnam War. The site has over 120 km of underground tunnels with trapdoors,
living areas, storage facilities, armory, hospitals, and command centers, and
were used going back to 1948 against the French, and later against the
Americans.
The visit is profound, and though
the script is written by the victors, is appropriate to represent the side that
wanted to push out colonists (though in retrospect, I realized that there was
no real mention of the fact that the South Vietnamese leadership didn’t want
the Communist North Korean leadership to take over, either – nothing is simple,
especially not in the world of geopolitics).
You have to appreciate the
commitment and courage and sacrifice of the Viet Cong in living the way they
did – creating a virtually self-sufficient underground community, planting
booby traps for the Americans, repurposing unexploded bombs into weapons and
old tires into sandals, cooking only at night and channeling the smoke to come
up in a different place (where it would look like morning steam, so not to give
away the location of the tunnels).
We get to climb into a tunnel, and
can go 20, 40, 60, 80 up to 160 meters, seeing just how tiny they were – you
have to crouch all the way through and sometimes even crawl. It is hot,
uncomfortable, you feel claustrophobic and it is a bit terrifying.
Our tour guide leads us through – he
is incredibly kind and considerate. He gives special attention to the children
who are visiting – grabs them when they want to go down into a tunnel where he
fears there could be scorpions (he shows us carcasses), snakes or rats.
There is also a shooting range where
you can shoot an AK 47 or M16 (extra charge), but the constant sound of gunfire
gives you some sense of what the people were living through. There was a
hospital, a sewing area where they would make uniforms, there is a trap door to
escape. We see where they would have made sandals from old tires. We watch a
woman demonstrate making rice paper; another at a sewing machine where she
would be making uniforms, a rifle hung close by on the wall.
All of these things which we see
above ground are recreated from what they would have looked like underground.
There were also constant bombings –
B-52s could fly from the base in just two minutes time.
We get a sense of that in
documentary-style films that are presented at the end. The film uses grainy
black-and-white imagery with a narration that spoke of the commitment to save
the Fatherland from US aggression, which basically depicts much of what we have
visited in the tunnels, but as these places were used during the war. I must
say that as gruesome as the film is, the only “propaganda” element is that it
does not discuss the civil war between North and South Vietnam, only that the
war was perpetrated by the Imperialist United States.
Many of the scenes show women and
girls as soldiers. “They took unexploded bombs and turned them into their own
weapons; they took from the Americans the new guns but never stopped using
traditional weapons – the traps devised to hunt animals were used against the
American enemy… Every person can be a hero. They had to live in poverty but
wouldn’t retreat. A rifle in one hand, a plow in the other. Attacked in the
morning, they farmed at night so they had enough food to win the war. The
Americans wanted to turn Cu Chi into a dead zone, but they lived underground.”
But
what we see in the film looks exactly like what was put on view here. We see
people climbing through tunnels to the sound of gunfire.
“Male
and female enrolled to kill enemy..Cu Chi guerrillas would rather die and
become hero for killing Americans… never afraid of hardship to kill
Americans. In hardship, they came together.”
Believe it or not, they actually
make the experience as pleasant and as comfortable as possible, which somehow
masks the terror of the place. Children smile and laugh as they get to descend
through the camouflaged openings in the ground.
We leave the tunnels after spending about two hours here.
On the way back, the guide asks if we would like to make a detour to visit a factory, created by the government to employ people who were handicapped because of coming upon unexploded ordinance, or who had birth defects as a result of the chemical weapons used against the Vietnamese. Originally the factory, 27-7 HCMC.Co.Ltd, produced cigarettes, but today, Handicapped Handicrafts produce really beautiful handicrafts – mainly lacquered and inlaid items.
After
returning to Saigon, I go off to continue my theme – visiting the buildings
that the French built, starting with the magnificent Post Office (where I wind
up spending close to an hour choosing from a stunning array of post cards,
buying stamps and writing the cards, the sweat streaming down my face and
stinging my eyes so that a nice lady hands me a tissue). Then onto the
Reunification Palace (which I thought was open until 5 but closed entrance at
4), so I go on to the War Remnants Museum.
I
have trouble following the map, so when I ask directions of a young man, he
leads me through back alleys to the entrance of the museum, which I visit until
it closes at 6 pm, because there is so much to see and take in.
You should begin on the third level, which provides the “historic truths” (actually the background) for the Vietnam War, which more or less accurately presents the facts. On this level is a most fascinating exhibit that presents the work of the multinational brigade of war correspondents and photographers, along with a display of the dozens who were killed in the war.
The photos are presented in an extraordinary way: showing the photo, then providing notes about the background, the context of the image, and the photographer. Here too, the language (which was probably produced by the news organizations that put on the exhibit), was accurate. Among them is the famous, Pulitzer-prize winning photo of “Napalm Girl” where, for the first time, I notice the soldiers walking along as this young girl is coming down the road in terror, their demeanor in such jarring contrast to these fleeing Vietnamese. The photos then and now are chilling, but today, they properly evoke shame and wonder why there has never been accountability for war crimes.
It
only gets worse on the second level, where the atrocities committed during war
are provided in the sense of artifacts, and details that could have, should
have properly been used at war crimes trials. But none took place. Another
exhibit documents the effects of Agent Orange.
The first floor, which should be
visited last, addresses the Hanoi Hilton, the place where American prisoners of
war, including Senator John McCain, were kept. Here, though, is where it can be
said the propaganda offensive takes place – there are photos showing a female
nurse bandaging an American’s head wounds, the caption noting how she had put
down her gun in order to care for him. This exhibit brings things up to date,
with the visits of President Clinton in 1994; in another section, it notes that
Clinton’s visit brought the end of economic sanctions, and with the country’s
shift to market economy, produced revitalization, as measured by the boom in
mopeds.
But on the bottom floor, they show
photos of Obama’s visit and most recently of Trump in Vietnam.
This floor also has an exhibit
devoted to the peace movement in the US and around the world, with some famous
incidents, such as the shooting of the Kent State four. There is a photo of John Kerry, who
went on to be a Senator, Secretary of State and candidate for president, testifying to Congress in his military
uniform, on the necessity of immediate and unilateral. “how do you ask a man to be the last man to
dies in Vietnam? How do ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?
A
special exhibition, “Finding Memories” attempts to recreate the struggle of the
people of Hanoi and Haiphong to overcome the pain and loss of war. “It helps
those who haven’t experienced wars to learn more through remarkable and humane
wartime stories, especially the stories about American pilots in the
‘Hilton-HaNoi’. Finding Memories is an opportunity for Vietnamese people to
develop greater pride for their victory – a 20th century miracle;
for American pilots to recall a serene period of their lives; as well as for
each and every visitor to understand the severe destruction and painfully grim
nature of war, in order to call for all people to work together and dedicate
our efforts to build a world of peace and love.”
Outside
are displays of captured American plane, tanks, and other items.
I look around for an American who
might have served in Vietnam to get an impression, but did not find anyone, and
saw a few Vietnamese (most of the visitors were Americans or Europeans), but
only one or two who might have been alive during that time and wondered what
they thought. Clearly the conclusion of the displays was in favor of
reconciliation when just as easily, and using a heavier-handed propagandist
language, could have stoked hatred. The exhibit is careful not to paint all
Americans and not even all American soldiers as monsters but one photo caption
is particularly telling: it shows an American hauling off an ethnic minority,
noting “American troops sent to the battlefield by conscription knew nothing
about Vietnam, thought the Cambodia people of ethnic minorities were living
near Cambodia were collaborators for the enemy.”
I leave feeling that the experience
is close to what you feel visiting a Holocaust Museum. And it is pain and
remorse that is deserved.
We
meet at 8:30 pm to hand in our score sheets and share stories – one team got up
at 5 am in order to get to the floating market; a team was able to get on the
street market food tour, where they take you around by scooter (they only take
8 and it was closed out); another took a cooking class.
We
get our notice of where we are going next:
be up at 6 am for 7 am bus to airport for 9:35 flight…. to Myanmar!
The Global Scavenger Hunt is an annual travel program that has been operated for the past 15 years by Bill and Pamela Chalmers, GreatEscape Adventures, 310-281-7809, GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
When I signed up for Biketours.com’s guided eight-day “The Emerald
Tour of Slovenia’s Gems”bike tour, I was expecting
sprawling landscapes and quaint villages. What I wasn’t expecting was to be
surprised each day by some unique attraction. The final days of the trip
bring us to the stud farm in Lipica where the famous Lipizaner horses,
so identified with Vienna, were first bred, to Skocjan Caves, so special as to
be designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the enchanting medieval city of
Piran.
Day 5: Štanjel – Lipica – Divaca (30
miles/48 km)
Our fourth day of riding brings
us first to the lovely village and botanical garden in Sežana, which is at the
stop of a high hill (all castles are), in a very quaint village.
Then it’s on to the stud farm of
Lipica, where we visit these beautiful thoroughbred Lipizaner horses whose
glistening white coats and gentle, graceful dancing have earned them a
worldwide reputation. The history of the Lipica horses is closely linked to the
Vienna riding school, because this part of the country used to be part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. They continue to breed and train the famed horses
here.
Founded some 430 years
ago, this is claimed to be the oldest stud farm in the world. The Archduke of
Austria bought it in 1580 – the Turkish
Empire had invaded and Austrians needed horses for the military. They bred the
local karst horse – well built, muscular, intelligent, long lived – with
Spanish stallions and later Arabian and Italian stallions.
We get to visit the
stables and learn that the white color is the result of selective breeding from
the 1750s, but not all the horses are white.
We visit the stables,
the Lipikum Museum, the museum of carriages, an art gallery, and on the way
out, see the horses in pastures, tree avenues (they used to plant trees in
honor of the horses that were sent to Vienna).
There are other
experiences available here (including a luxury hotel and casino), but we have
arrived at the end of the day.
We finish the day’s ride
at the Hotel Malovec, where the owner, a butcher, also opened a restaurant (he
also owns the Hotel Kras where we stayed in Postojna). I have a massive t-bone
steak.
Day 6: Divaca – Muggia (23
miles/38 km)
This day offers the most varied
of experiences, beginning with a hike through Skocjan
Caves (a UNESCO natural monument), biking 39
km through countryside to the picturesque town of Muggia on the Bay of Trieste,
where we arrive early enough in the afternoon to get to swim in the Adriatic
(or we can take the ferry into Trieste).
Visiting the Skocjan
Caves is no less spectacular
than the Postojna Caves (minus the thrilling train ride) but the experience is
quite different – this is more of a hike, but unbelievably spectacular – the
highlight is walking over a bridge 45 meters above a roaring river.
Ranking among the most important
caves in the world, the caves, one of the largest known
underground canyons in
the world were
designated a UNESCO natural
world heritage site in 1986.
What distinguishes Škocjan Caves from other caves and places it among the
most famous underground features in the world is the exceptional volume of the
underground canyon and the Rika River that still rushes through. An underground
channel is 3.5 km long, 10 to 60 m wide and over 140 m high. At some
points, it expands into huge underground chambers. The largest of these is
Martel’s Chamber with a volume of 2.2 million cubic m, believed to be the
largest discovered underground chamber in Europe and one of the largest in the
world.
The existence of the
cave has been known since ancient times (and the area is rich with
archeological sites), but concerted exploration of Škocjan Caves began in 1884.
Explorers reached the banks of Mrtvo jezero (Dead Lake) in 1890. Silent Cave (Tiha jama) was discovered in 1904, when some local men climbed the 60-metre
wall of Müller Hall (Müllerjeva dvorana). Then, in 1990, nearly 100 years after Dead Lake was
discovered, Slovenian divers managed to swim through the siphon Ledeni dihnik and
discovered 200 m of new cave passages.
The cave is colossal,
other worldly, that takes your breath away as you walk through in the course of this
2-hour, 2 km tour, during which we will climb/descend some 500 steps.
There are two main parts
to the cave that we get to visit Thajama (Silent Cave), the part that was
discovered in 1904, and “Water Murmuring” Cave (more like water roaring), which
has been opened to tourists since 1933.
We are marched through
the cave (they have an extraordinary number of visitors each day) and
periodically stop for the guide to give us narration. We are informed about the
collapsed ceiling in the Silent Cave, the result of an earthquake 12,000 years
ago.
The canyon’s most
spectacular sight is the enormous Martel Chamber. The Great Chamber is 120 meters long, 30 meters high. It takes 100
years for 1 cm of stalagmite to grow, and we see the biggest “dreamstone,”
Giant, 15 meters tall.
We see a square pool of
water which was carved by the first explorers and the original stairs that were
carved with hand tools by these early explorers – mind-boggling to contemplate.
They originally came into the cave following the river, to find a supply of
drinkable water for Trieste.
We walk over the
suspension bridge, 45 meters above the river – an incomparable thrill. Prone to
flooding, as recently as 1965, the river rose 106 meters higher, almost to the ceiling,
so the entire cave would have been underwater.
You almost swoon with
the depth below and height above and space all around – you feel so small.
Looking back to the other side, the flow of people coming down the lighted
trails look ants.
At the very end, there
is an odd area where tourists from a century ago used to actually carve names
into the rock.
We come through the
enormous opening – there is an option to take a cable car back up, but I am
delighted to continue to hike. You come upon a dazzling view down to the
rushing water flooding through an opening in the rock. You again get a sense of
scale by how small the people are nearest to the rushing water.
It’s very cool in the caves
and you should wear decent footgear and a hat (water drips down).
(Skocjan Cave is open daily, but you enter with an organized tour at
specified times; 16E/adults, 12E/Seniors & students, 7.5E children, travelslovenia.org/skocjan-caves/)
With a cheer of “Gremo!”
(“Let’s go”), from Vlasta, our guide, we’re
off.
Vlasta is good natured
and good hearted, patient and considerate. She knows how to organize and keep
us in order without being tough, and has a great sense of humor.
We picnic again, this
time along the country road (not as scenic as yesterday’s cemetery) amid sounds
of a new highway.
Our ride today, 42 km,
is mostly downhill, some of it along the seacoast, to get to Muggia, on the Bay
of Trieste, where we overnight at the Hotel San Rocco, a very pleasant seaside
hotel in the marina (with its own swimming pool).
We arrive about 3:30 in
the afternoon and have the option to take the convenient ferry (half-hour) to
Trieste (I had come through Muggia (and Trieste) the week before on the
Venice-Trieste-Istria biketour.). I decide to have a leisurely afternoon, enjoying
swimming in the Adriatic off the stone beach, and then walking through the
picturesque town.
A few of us took the ferry into the city of Trieste in Italy –
once an important port with its worldly flair and wonderful atmosphere –where
you could visit the castle, cathedral
and Piazza Unita central square.
We have a farewell
dinner at a delightful waterfront restaurant in the plaza outside the hotel Vlasta,
our guide -ever patient, considerate, excellent humor, knowledgeable, she asks
us to vote, “Democracy rules,” and tailors the experience to what the group
wants – will be leaving us after she delivers us to our end-point in Piran the
next day and presents us with certificates of completion of the tour.
Day 7: Muggia – Piran (23 miles/37 km or 30 miles/48 km with side trip)
Today’s ride, 46 km from Muggia to Piran, brings us along the coastal road on a new cycling path following a former railway line. There are beautiful vistas of Slovene coast (Slovenia has only 44 km of shoreline).
We ride through Koper, a
major port city, which also has a picturesque old town and Tito Square, one of
few squares still with Tito’s name. There is a beautiful Romanesque cathedral
and a town hall and a market.
There is an exquisite
view of Izola from top of trail at first of three tunnels which were built for
trains, and now is used for the rail-trail.
We stop at a restaurant in the
fashionable resort of Portorož before riding into the adjacent village of
Piran, on the tip of a peninsula. On my prior trip, we had come to Portoroz but
not as far as Piran, and now I see how enchanting this tiny Venetian harbor
village is.
Our hotel, the Art Hotel Tartini (very chic, it prides itself on
looking artfully unfinished), overlooks the massive piazza, and is steps away
from the rocky border that serves as a beach for people to swim in the Adriatic.
The hotel has beautiful
outdoor patio/bar and rooftop bar. My balcony overlooks the main square.
I visit the historic
church and walk the Town Walls (2E to climb) that offers a spectacular view of
the Peninsula (it occurs to me the symmetry of ending my Slovenia biketour the
same way I started, looking down at the city from castle walls). The fort dates
from the 10th century – the Venetians ruled for 500 years.
I go off to swim before meeting
our group for our last dinner together, at the
Ivo restaurant, right on the water where we are treated to a gorgeous sunset.
The next morning, I have
more time to enjoy Piran before I catch my bus at the Portoroz bus station for
the airport in Venice.
There is a pirate
festival underway, and a Slovenian Navy battleship in the harbor (very possibly
in celebration of the end of World War I a century earlier).
A free bus takes me
one-third of the distance back to Portorose and I walk the rest of the way,
along the glorious waterfront, to the station where I wait for the bus (flixbus.com)
that will bring me back along much of the route I first traveled, back to Marco
Polo International Airport in Venice, a chance to review in my mind the
marvelous sights and experiences of the bike tour.
(I booked this 8-day “Emerald
Tour of Slovenia’s Gems” guided bike
tour through BikeTours.com, a broker which has an excellent catalog of
well-priced guided and self-guided bike and bike/boat trips, mostly in Europe,
and has very attentive counselors. Biketours.com, 1222 Tremont Street,
Chattanooga, TN 37405, 423-756-8907, 877-462-2423, www.biketours.com, [email protected])
When I signed up
for Biketours.com’s guided eight-day “The Emerald
Tour of Slovenia’s Gems”bike tour, I was expecting sprawling landscapes and
quaint villages. What I wasn’t expecting was to be surprised each day by some
unique attraction. Postjana caves, Predjama Castle, Škocjan Caves, the
most magnificent parts of the trip prove not to be above ground, but
underground, as we experience what Slovenia’s karst (limestone) geology really
means.
Day 3: Vrhnika – Postojna (20
miles/32 km or 27 miles/44 km with side trip)
Our second day of biking is a bit
more demanding as we cycle 36 km up and down over hills, forest roads and a “typical”
karst polje (field) with intermittent rain showers. We leave the main tourist
routes and ride through the Slovenian countryside, cycling passed the beautiful
Slivnica Mountain and the “disappearing” lake of Planina. And if there is a
theme for the day, it is about Slovenia’s remarkable natural wonders.
We stop in the Rakov Škocjan nature reserve, where the Rak River
has carved out a beautiful gorge, interesting landscape
formations, including two natural bridges – which proves just a teaser for what we will experience later.
Indeed, the spectacular highlight comes after we check in to our
hotel, Hotel Kras. We quickly
drop our things and walk
up to Slovenia’s justifiably most popular tourist attraction, the Postojna Caves.
Spectacular is an
understatement. Colossal only begins to describe it. Stupendous is probably
closer.
The jaw-dropping Postojna Cave, the most extensive cave system in
Slovenia, is a series of caverns, halls and
passages some 24 km long and two million years old.
The visit begins with a
spectacularly thrilling train ride that Disney would envy (but there is no
warning to “keep your hands inside the car, your head down and hold on to your
kids!” just a brief whistle and we’re off). The open railway car speeds us
through the narrow, twisting opening more than a mile into the cave, some 120
meters below the surface and I swear, unless you were mindful, you
might lose your head on a protruding rock face.
Rather than a Disney ride, the image that comes to mind (no less surreal) is
the frantic train ride Harry Potter takes to escape Gringots.
Then we get to walk 1.5 km
through this fantastic cave system of massive halls, stunning rock formations,
stalagmites, stalactites that have been carved by the Pivka River. It is impossible to
imagine how the first people explored these caves – it was discovered 1818 and first opened to visitors in
1819. We walk over what is
known as the “Russian Bridge,” built by World War I Russian POWs, for tourists. The scale of the
halls is not to be believed.
They manage to
move some 1,500 people through the caves each day on the 1 1/2-hour tour, that ends with a peek at an aquarium
containing the proteus they call a
“human fish”, a mysterious creature that lives in dark pools inside
the caves – just one of some 100 species that live in this netherworld.
Another thrilling rail ride
whisks us 2.5 km out of the caves to the surface. (Wear a jacket, the cave is
about 10 degrees Celsius, and you need appropriate foot gear.)
Day 4: Postojna – Štanjel/Kodreti (26 miles/42 km or 30 miles/48 km with side trip)
It is hard to imagine anything as thrilling as the
Postojna caves, but this day’s attraction is also breathtaking and
extraordinary.
It is foggy when we set out on
what will be a 48 km biking day, but becomes sunny and cool. We take a short
detour, riding 11 km (much of it uphill), before we arrive at the incredible
sight of Predjama Castle, improbably built into a crevasse halfway up a
123-meter cliff-face.
The impenetrable fortress, first built in 1274 by the Patriarch of Aquileia (I was there! just a week before on the Venice-Trieste-Istria self-guided bike tour! See bit.ly/2JnF8Su) that looks down at the valley protrudes dramatically into the surrounding basin. It is claimed to be the biggest castle in the world built in a cave.
We are enthralled by the
story of the vivacious and daring knight, Erasmus, the “Slovenian Robin Hood” who
lived here. Erasmus of Lueg, son of the imperial governor of Trieste, Nikolaj
Lueger, was lord of the castle in the 15th
century and a renowned “robber baron.”
As legend has it, Erasmus riled
the Habsburg Monarchy when he killed the commander of the imperial army,
Marshall Pappenheim, for offending the honor of Erasmus’s deceased friend. He
took refuge in the family fortress of Predjama, and, allying himself with
King Mattias Corvinus, attacked Habsburg estates and towns in Carniola. This
angered Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (a Habsburg) who dispatched the
governor of Trieste, Andrej Ravbar, to capture or kill Erasmus.
The enemy’s strategy was
to blockade the castle and starve Erasmus out, but they didn’t realize that the
castle was actually built at the mouth of a cave, linked to a network of
tunnels that provided “a secret path to freedom”.
Erasmus
had steady access to supplies. He would acquire freshly picked cherries which he would
throw at his adversaries to taunt them.
Erasmus is revered as a hero for keeping the Austrian army at
bay for a year and a day.
The self-guided audio tour you
listen to as you climb through the warren of rooms, is unbelievable. and
learning how Erasmus met his untimely demise (literally caught with his pants
down), is worthy of Greek mythology or Hollywood.
Apparently, the weak
link was the lavatory: Someone in the castle was bribed to signal when Erasmus
went to the lavatory, and they launched a cannonball that killed him. (There
are stone cannonballs laid out so you can get the picture)
“It was never a pleasant
place to live in – cold, dark, damp but safe. There was safety but little comfort.
In the Middle Ages, safety was most important.”
I subsequently learn that after
the siege and destruction of the original castle, its ruins were acquired by
the Oberburg family. In 1511, the second castle, built by the Purgstall family was
destroyed in an earthquake. In 1567, Archduke Charles of Austria leased
the castle to Baron Philipp von Cobenzl, The castle we see today was built in
1570 in the Renaissance style, pressed up against the cliff under the original
Medieval fortification. The castle has
remained in this form, virtually unchanged, to the present day.
In the 18th century, it became one of the favorite
summer residences of the Cobenzl family, among them the Austrian statesman and
famous art collector Philipp von Cobenzi and the diplomat Count Ludwig von
Cobenzi.
The castle was inherited by Count Michael Coronini von
Cronberg in 1810 and was sold to the Windischgratz family in 1846, who remained
its owners until the end of world War II, when it was nationalized by the Yugoslav
Communist government and turned into a museum.
It costs 37E for a combo
ticket (with the Postojna
cave park and castle),
definitely worth it.
We bike in the
countryside through small villages (“Slovenian
flat “ – rolling terrain- as our guide Vlasta calls it). Quaint homes are decorated with flowers. Vlasta says that
locals are in competition with each other for the best floral decorations.
Stopping for a picture
of flowers that decorate houses, we find ourselves in front of a World War II memorial.
Vlasta uses it as a teaching moment to explain some of the history of Slovenia
and Tito: “Slovenians were against Hitler after Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia,”
she tells us. “Tito broke with Stalin – allowed freer movement (things were
never as bad as in Soviet Union). People could move freely, could go to Trieste
to buy Western goods. There was some self-management.”
She adds, “People always
wanted democracy but some say things were better under Communism. Today, there
is free enterprise but there is also rising income inequality, unemployment,
young people can’t get jobs or afford houses,” she says, sounding a familiar refrain.
“Slovenians used to like to own their own house but mortgages were affordable;
now too much. Now, you may have three generations living in the same house.”
We stop in front of one
of the oldest houses to appreciate the architecture, and again, the use of
flowers as decoration. At another stop, she points to a flag hoisted on top of a
tree pole to signify a marriage.
We stop for lunch at a
delightful restaurant, where we eat at tables outside, under a walnut tree –
Vlasta says women used to take the black for hair dye and to make schnapps (“Of
course, Slovenians make everything into schnapps”). The restaurant has page
after page of items with truffles; I enjoy the fish soup immensely.
Riding through
vineyards, we meet a woman biking with her two children whose family owns these
500 Riesling vines. She tells us that the family comes together to pick the
grapes – it takes 4 hours – and produce 600 liters of wine.
We arrive at a charming
guest house, Hisa posebne sorte, in Stanjel, at 4 pm, having biked 44 km for the day.
The guest house was built
1991, a modern representation of karst architecture using old stones. The
cellar, which serves as the restaurant, is a large open arch, absolutely
gorgeous, decorated with their daughter’s sculpture (Teacurksorta.com), which I learn also was part of the “dragon”
exhibition at the castle museum in Ljubljana.
The guesthouse offers a
set dinner menu which this evening consists of zucchini soup, fresh baked
bread, a pork dish, and a delectable dessert using the juice from forest
fruits.
Along the way, we have
seen vineyards, farms, orchards of apples, pears, plums, figs.
The attractions along the
Emerald tour of Slovenia are what make this 8-day bike tour so special. The
climbs – the ups and downs of Slovenian hills make the ride a bit physical. There is not a lot
of English spoken (except in the facilities that accommodate tourists) and it
is hard to read the language, but that just makes Slovenia more exotic, more
interesting, and you find other ways to connect.
(I booked this 8-day “Emerald
Tour of Slovenia’s Gems” guided bike
tour through BikeTours.com, a broker which has an excellent catalog of
well-priced guided and self-guided bike and bike/boat trips, mostly in Europe,
and has very attentive counselors. Biketours.com, 1222 Tremont Street,
Chattanooga, TN 37405, 423-756-8907, 877-462-2423, www.biketours.com, [email protected])
The
Global Scavenger Hunt teams arrive in New York City for the last leg of the
Global Scavenger Hunt that has taken us to 10 countries in 23 days. Bill
Chalmers, the ringmaster and Chief Experience Officer of this around-the-world
mystery tour, in which the challenges and scavenges are designed to get us out
of our comfort zone and immerse us in a culture, fine-tune our skills as world
travelers, and most significantly, “trust in the kindness of strangers.” Back
in New York, he is delighted all 10 teams circumnavigated the world “in one
piece” without dramatic incident, in this, the 15th annual Global
Scavenger Hunt competition.
The
leading teams vying for the title of “World’s Greatest Travelers” as we enter
this final leg of the contest in 4th place, SLO Folks from
California with 96 points (where the low-score wins); in 3rd, Order
& Chaos, doctors from San Francisco with 81 points; in 2nd
place, Lazy Monday, computer networking consultant and think tank professional
from California with 46 points, and Lawyers Without Borders, from Houston, with
33 points, five-time winners who are competing in the Global Scavenger Hunt for
the 12th time.
There
is one more challenge in New York (an easy urban Par 1), and even though, based
on points and placement, the winners of the 15th annual, 2019
edition of the Global Scavenger Hunt have been determined, still the teams go
out and give it their all. Those in contention must complete at least one of
the scavenges in New York, and complete their time sheet and hand in by the 4
pm deadline.
Examples
of the scavenges: take in a
Yankees game or a Broadway show; have one of each of following: a New
York bagel, a New York hot dog, a New York deli sandwich, a slice of New York
pizza, New York cheesecake, a New York egg cream, or an old-fashion Manhattan; -locate
five pieces from five of the nations you just visited in the Met; visit
Strawberry Fields, pay John Lennon tribute; do one scavenge in each of
the five boroughs of New York City.
A
native New Yorker, this is really my turf (though there is the oddest sensation
of feeling like I am in a foreign place, reminding myself of what is familiar
like language, money, streets, drink water, eat salad), and I delight in
walking up Madison Avenue to 82nd Street to the Metropolitan Museum
of Art on Fifth Avenue.
I
elect to take up the challenge of going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to
seek out objects from five of the countries we visited (Canada, Vietnam,
Myanmar, Thailand, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Greece, Morocco, Gibraltar, Portugal,
Spain). Greece will be easy, of course, but Morocco and Jordan (Petra), Vietnam
and Myanmar (Burma) are just a bit trickier. It is Chalmers’ way of making us
experience things on a different level, and for me, it brings together so much
of what we’ve seen, learned and experienced along the way.
I
first join a docent-led Highlights Tour, knowing from past experience that
these always lead me to parts of the museum I am unfamiliar with, and enlighten
about aspects of art and culture with the in-depth discussion of the pieces the
docents select to discuss.
The
docent, Alan, begins in the Greco-Roman exhibit with a stunning marble
sculpture of the Three Graces, showing how this theme – essentially copied from
the Greek bronzes (which no longer exist because the bronze was valuable and
melted down for military use) – was repeated over the eons, into the
Renaissance and even beyond.
Obviously, finding an object from Greece is going to be easy, and I hope to find objects from Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), and Thailand in the Asia wing where there is a massive collection of Buddhist art (it proves just a tad more difficult, but I succeed). Morocco and Jordan (Petra) proved trickier than I expected, but brought me to an astonishing exhibit, “The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East,” with an extraordinary focus on the territories and trading networks of the Middle East that were contested between the Roman and Parthian Empires (ca. 100 BC and AD 250). “yet across the region life was not defined by these two superpowers alone. Local cultural and religious traditions flourished and sculptures, wall paintings, jewelry and other objects reveal how ancient identities were expressed through art.”
The
exhibit features 190 works from museums in the Middle East, Europe and the
United States in an exhibition that follows the great incense and silk routes
that connected cities in southwestern Arabia, Nabataea, Judea, Syria and
Mesopotamia, that made the region a center of global trade along with spreading
ideas, spurring innovations (such as in water control), and spawning art and
culture.
It
was the most incredible feeling to come upon the objects from Petra, having
visited the site (was it only 10 days ago?) and having a context for seeing these
isolated objects on display.
The World between Empires
The landmark exhibition The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East, which is on view through June 23, 2019, focuses on the remarkable cultural, religious and commercial exchange that took place in cities including Petra, Baalbek, Palmyra and Hatra between 100 B.C. and A.D. 250. “During this transformative period, the Middle East was the center of global commerce and the meeting point of two powerful empires—Parthian Iran in the east and Rome in the west—that struggled for regional control.”
The exhibition focuses on the diverse and distinctive
cities and people that flourished in this environment by featuring 190 outstanding
examples of stone and bronze sculpture, wall paintings, jewelry, and other
objects from museums in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Among the highlights is a Nabataean religious shrine,
reconstructed from architectural elements in collections in the United States
and Jordan; the unique Magdala Stone, discovered in a first-century synagogue
at Migdal (ancient Magdala) and whose imagery refers to the Temple in
Jerusalem; and wall paintings from a church in Dura-Europos that are the
earliest securely dated images of Jesus. Sculptures from Baalbek illuminate
religious traditions at one of the greatest sanctuaries in the ancient Middle
East, and funerary portraits from Palmyra bring visitors face to face with
ancient people. The exhibition also examines important contemporary
issues—above all, the deliberate destruction and looting of sites including
Palmyra, Dura-Europos, and Hatra.
“The compelling works of art in this exhibition
offer a view into how people in the ancient Middle East sought to define
themselves during a time of tremendous religious, creative, and political
activity, revealing aspects of their lives and communities that resonate some
two millennia later,” said Max Hollein, Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Further,
in focusing on an area of the world that has been deeply affected by recent
conflicts and the destruction of sites, monuments, and objects, this show also
engages with complex questions about the preservation of cultural heritage.”
The exhibition evokes a journey along ancient trade routes,
beginning in the southwestern Arabian kingdoms that grew rich from the caravan
trade in frankincense and myrrh harvested there and used throughout the ancient
world. Camel caravans crossed the desert to the Nabataean kingdom, with its
spectacular capital city of Petra, which I had just visited, walking through
very much as the caravan travelers would have.
From here, goods traveled west to the Mediterranean and north and
east through regions including Judaea and the Phoenician coast and across the
Syrian desert, where the oasis city of Palmyra controlled trade routes that
connected the Mediterranean world to Mesopotamia and Iran and ultimately China.
In Mesopotamia, merchants transported cargoes down the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers to the Persian Gulf, where they joined maritime trade routes to India.
These connections transcended the borders of empires, forming networks that
linked cities and individuals over vast distances.
Across the entire region, diverse local political and religious
identities were expressed in art. Artifacts from Judaea give a powerful sense
of ancient Jewish identity during a critical period of struggle with Roman
rule. Architectural sculptures from the colossal sanctuary at Baalbek and
statuettes of its deities reveal the intertwined nature of Roman and ancient
Middle Eastern religious practices. Funerary portraits from Palmyra represent
the elite of an important hub of global trade. Wall paintings and sculptures
from Dura-Europos on the River Euphrates illustrate the striking religious
diversity of a settlement at the imperial frontier. And in Mesopotamia, texts
from the last Babylonian cuneiform libraries show how ancient temple
institutions waned and finally disappeared during this transformative period.
In Athens and Petra, particularly, you appreciate this synergy
between trade, migration, environmental sustainability and technology (in
Petra, the ability to control water supply was key), economic prosperity and
political power, and the rise of art, culture, and community.
It is rare (if ever ) for the Metropolitan Museum to venture into
the political, but a key topic within the exhibition is the impact of recent
armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen on archaeological sites, monuments,
and museums, including deliberate destruction and looting. Some of the most
iconic sites affected—Palmyra, Hatra, and Dura-Europos—are featured in the
exhibition, which discusses this damage and raises questions regarding current
and future responses to the destruction of heritage. Should the sites be
restored or will they now only exist “on paper”? How much money and resources
should go to restoring or excavation when villages and homes for people to live
in also need to be rebuilt?
There is a fascinating, if frantic, presentation of three archaeologist/historians speaking about what the destruction by ISIS and Islamic fundamentalists of Palmyra, Eura-Europos and Hatra – what it means to destroy a people’s heritage, their cultural identity. “It may seem frivolous to focus on [archaeological sites] when people are enslaved, killed…but to wipe out, destroy culture is a way of destroying people.”
Happening
upon this exhibit made the travel experiences we had to these extraordinary
places all the more precious.
It
is a humbling experience, to be sure, to go to the origins of the great
civilizations, fast forward to today. How did they become great? How did they
fall? Greatness is not inevitable or forever. Empires rise and fall. Rulers use religion,
art and monuments to establish their credibility and credentials to rule;
successors blot out the culture and re-write history.
(“The World Between Empires” is featured on The Met website as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #WorldBetweenEmpires.)
I peek
out from the American Café windows to Central Park and see sun and the early
spring blossoms on the trees, and dash out to walk through my other favorite
New York City place. There is nothing more beautiful than New York City in the
spring – brides are out in force taking photos; there are musicians and
entertainers. There is a festive atmosphere as I walk through the park toward
the Palace Hotel in time for our 4:30 pm meeting.
And now, drumroll please, Chalmers announces the
winner of the 2019 Global Scavenger Hunt: “Only one team wins. The competition
was fierce.”
3rd – Order & Chaos, Sal Iaquinta & Vivian Reyes, doctors from San
Francisco
2nd – Lazy Monday, Eric & Kathryn
Verwillow, computer networking and think tank professional of Palo Alto, California
(“I am in awe of how hard worked beginning to end – embraced the spirit,”
Chalmers says.
1st Lawyers Without Borders, Rainey Booth and Zoe Littlepage of Houston, who have competed in the Global Scavenger Hunt 12 times, and won it for the 6th time. “You embody the spirit of the event, to go out of your comfort zone.” (You can follow Zoe’s blog of her experience to get a sense of how strenuous, outrageous, and determined the team was in accumulating their points: https://zoeandraineygreatescape.blogspot.com/2019/05/gsh-2019)
We celebrate at a final bon voyage dinner.
The Global Scavenger Hunt is the brainchild of Bill and
Pamela Chalmers, who in addition to forging understanding and bonds among
travelers and the people in the destinations visited, use the program to promote
voluntourism (one of the scavenges is to volunteer at an orphanage or school
during our stay in Yangon, Myanmar, and in the past travelers visited & helped out at: Tibetan
refugee camps in Nepal, orphanages in Laos, hospitals in Cambodia, homeless
schools in India, hospices in Manila, disabled facilities in Sri Lanka,
Ethiopian schools, the slums of Nairobi) and raised money for the
GreatEscape Foundation.
“The foundation is one of main reasons we do the event,”
Chalmers says. The foundation has raised money to build 12 schools (1 each in Niger, Haiti, Ecuador, India & Ethiopia; 2
each in Sri Lanka & Sierra Leone, and 3 in Kenya), helped build the Tamensa Medical Clinic in Niger for migrating
Tuareg nomads which serves as a midwives & nurse training center too. “We
know that we saved lives and bettered the lives of hundreds. We have helped
over 2400 families in more than 60 countries (mostly women entrepreneurs) with
our interest and fee free micro-loans (96% of which have gone to women with a
99% repayment).”
Through the event this and last year, the
foundation will build 2 more co-ed elementary schools , in Ethiopia and Haiti.
TheGlobal Scavenger Hunt travel
adventure competition is aimed at returning the romance of travel while testing
the travel
IQ of the most travel savvy of globetrotters. The travelers
(who must apply and be accepted to compete) completed a series of highly
participatory, authentic and challenging cultural site-doing scavenges
in ten secret countries over a 23-day circumnavigation between April 12 and May
4, 2019 designed to bring people out of their comfort zone and trust strangers
in strange lands.
“The Global Scavenger Hunt covers a lot of
extraordinary travel bases,” says Chalmers, who dubs his mystery tour, “A blind
date with the world.”
For more information, contact GreatEscape Adventures
at 310-281-7809, or visit GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
I am overwhelmed by the beauty of Seville, Spain. From the moment the bus from La Línea de la Concepción (the closest bus stop to Gibraltar, which is in Spain) turns into the city, the exquisite architecture, the vast green parks, the bike lanes. The atmosphere is just breathtaking.
I have booked
Apartements Hom Seville through hotels.com, choosing a place that seemed
closest to the city center (and The Cathedral, which seemed the major landmark)
that also was within the budget allotted by the Global Scavenger Hunt (under
$100 since my teammate went to Porto instead). It is a 15-minute walk from the
bus station to the hotel.
It is the late
afternoon, the golden light spreading across The Cathedral that takes up much
of Avenida de la Constitution. A tram moves smoothly, virtually noiselessly
down the boulevard; cyclists stream by, pedestrians meander by. The hotel is
right in the midst. Fortunately, the manager is still on duty when I arrive and
walks me through how to use the espresso coffee maker (the hotel is
self-service after hours), how to get around, gives me a map of the city and
suggests places to go to restaurants that are less touristic, more typical.
I rush out to catch the
remaining light, and am treated to an amazing sunset. I wander along the river,
across the bridge over the river. The lights of the city come on, reflected in
the cobblestone streets. Seville is one of the most beautiful cities I have
ever seen.
I delight in just
walking around, taking in the exquisite architecture, the peace of this place.
There is such a wonderful feeling, that even a fellow riding his bike is
singing.
Unfortunately, under the
Global Scavenger Hunt challenge, I am only here through early afternoon –
having elected to fly out to Porto, rather than take a nine-hour bus ride
through Faro and Lisbon to Porto by the deadline of Friday, 11 am, in advance
of the 3:55 flight to New York, our final stop of the 23-day around-the-world
mystery tour. (Those teams that are still in contention are not allowed to fly;
instead, they have to take bus and/or train, a 9-hour proposition from Seville.)
I plan the morning
carefully – getting up extra early to arrange my bags (to avoid paying baggage
fees on Iberia) – and walk over to the Parc Maria Luisa – one of the prettiest
parks I have ever seen, and the Plaza Espagna which is overwhelmingly
beautiful.
I get to the Real
Alcazar, the major attraction for my time in Seville, by 9:38 am (it opens at
9:30 am) – only to find about 1000 people ahead of me. I didn’t understand the
sign that said (limited access, 4-5 hours wait), since they only let in about
30 people every 15 minutes who do not have pre-purchased tickets. As it turned
out, the wait was 3 ½ hours for those without pre-purchased tickets
(recommended to purchase online, they give you a time to come, or come visit in
the afternoon when it is less crowded). It was touch-and-go as to whether I
would get in in time with enough time to see the Alcazar before having to go
back to the hotel, pick up the luggage, get to the bus to go to the airport.
Though you take loads of
photos, none can do the Alcazar justice because the beauty is in the exquisite
details of architecture, pattern in the decoration, the symmetry, the delicacy
and grace, the different scenes you come upon as you wander through the
labyrinth of rooms and gardens. You look up at magnificent ceilings, at the
gorgeous archways, the passages that lead on and on. I thought I had seen it
all in about 45 minutes, only to discover two other palaces and gardens. (A
separate ticket is required to visit the personal apartments used by the royal
family when they visit Seville).
I am out by 2:30 pm, the
time I had planned to pick up my luggage from the hotel and get to the bus to
the airport (about 30 minutes away but I do not calculate for the extra stops
the bus makes; still, I make it in an hour and just on time).
Porto, Portugal
I arrive in Porto at
about 8 pm after changing planes in Madrid. Coincidentally, I meet up with two
other teams from the Global Scavenger Hunt who are following the same
itinerary.
At Porto, they go with
Uber to the Sheraton Porto Hotel; I hop on the light rail (the Metro), amazed
at the convenience and speed of the service and the low cost (just about $3 to
get into town about 20 minutes from the airport).
I get up early to hop on
the metro again for the 12 minute ride to Center City, to be able to absorb the
gorgeous ambiance and color of Porto before having to meet the deadline of
11:30 am for the Global Scavenger Hunt, and prepare for the 3:55 pm flight to
New York City, our final leg of our 23-day, around-the-world mystery tour, and
the crowning of the World’s Greatest Traveler.
Porto, which I have
visited way more extensively years ago (the bookstore and café which J.K.
Rowling frequented when she was writing the “Harry Potter” books are now
overrun with tourists who queue up and pay admission), is absolutely lovely.
The gorgeous “exuberant Baroque style with
some Rococo touches” of the buildings, coupled with the colorful tiles
facades is absolutely lovely. I wander to the port where the Port wineries are
located (popular for tours and tastings), and enjoy the ambiance before getting
back to meet the group.
When we
meet in Porto, we hear the results for this most difficult leg of the Global
Scavenger Hunt (our “final exam” as world travelers), that took us to four
countries (Morocco, Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal):
In third
place having completed 92 scavenges, 5
bonuses and 5310 points, Order & Chaos (the doctors from San Francisco).
In second
place with 102 scavenges (that’s 20 a day), 7 bonuses and 5680 points, Lazy
Monday.
