Welcome to 2008 to all of you – wishing you an enjoyable year of good health & fulfilling travels !!

In response to a number of readers asking what had happened to editions of the eNewsletter during the second half of 2007, the Beetle has temporarily handed over responsibility to The Ant. The Beetle is off on a number of adventures, that weren’t necessarily planned at this time last year, and even with her very visible talents is being stretched to meet a large number of commitments.  That means that a very nervous Ant is now appreciating the efforts that go into producing the eNewsletter.

Over the next few months or so, depending on when the Beetle returns, I will try to publish an edition of the eNewsletter at least every other month.  This should allow the Globetrotters Club ensure one of their newsletters appears in print every month, on an alternating basis. For the first few editions I will continue with the well known format that you are familiar with, but over time I will attempt to incorporate any feedback that you send through.

Enjoy your eNewsletter and let me know what you think…

The Ant

At our last London meeting before Christmas, we were treated to two excellent talks.

David Waldman told us about his trip to visit the Nandi of the Rift Valley in Kenya. Inspired to visit by athletes such as Kip Keno, David wanted to discover why this pocket of Kenya has produced over 50% of the long distance running world championship and Olympic medal winners since the 1960’s. David discovered that running is not just a hobby or a sport, but an occupation, a possible escape from the poverty where those not gifted to run do jobs like breaking rocks or selling tomatoes for $3 a day. Despite having no facilities at all, David found whole families who can all run world class marathon times. The runners do a 20km run in the mornings and another 10Km at night, their gym if you can call it that is a rock attached to either end of a metal bar. “Train hard, win easy” is their motto. Those that make it to Europe can make more money from one race than the average Kenyan makes in a lifetime. They return to buy some land, build a house and farm, though once their running days are over many unfortunately descend into alcoholism. David had set out with the idea that there is a genetic reason for the running dominance, without doubt the altitude helps, but from early on they are out rounding up their cattle, they are doing the sheepdogs job. And when a neighbouring village come to steal cattle they literally run after them with bows and arrows. There seems to be some degree of natural selection too, those that can run get the girls and produce more runners, the rest remain on the shelf.

Our second speaker was Jo Huxster, who should have been joined by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent, who was ill. “Tuk to the road” was the story of Jo and Ant’s 12,500 mile, 12 countries in 14 week trip by Tuk Tuk from Bangkok to Brighton in aid of the Charity MIND. Anyone who has taken a ride in one of these vehicles around an Asian city will know it can be a bum numbing experience. Jo got the idea a couple of years previously while on holiday in Thailand. This was not going to be any old Tuk Tuk though, this was a custom built bright pink Tuk Tuk, which they christened Ting Tong, which actually means “crazy” in Thai. They had decided on the northern route, via Laos, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Belgium. So on 28th May 2006 they set off from Bangkok, crossing the Mekong into Laos, once the paperwork issues had been resolved. Once in China a slight hitch occurred when they discovered they were not allowed on the nice fast dual carriageways, instead they had to use what amounted to cart tracks which ran frustratingly alongside the main roads. They had to race across China, as they only had a set amount of visa time, Jo particularly enjoyed the drive across the Gobi Desert. They had been fretting about the Kazakh border, but two girls in a pink Tuk tuk got taken to the front of the queue and they were soon crossing the green Kazakh countryside, one day they had to cover over 700Km as there was nothing in between. On their map the Kazakh M36 road to Russia was a nice fat red line, however the reality turned out to be one a track dirt road through fields. The Russian police broke all records for pulling them over, they were stopped 35 times in 2 weeks! Ting Tong stood up to its journey quite well, however the shock absorbers that had taken 10 Chinese all night to repair broke again, but luckily a Ukrainian mechanic was able to do the job on his own in a couple of hours, so they were soon on their way again. Once they crossed into the EU it was a case of pedal to the metal and head home, via the Channel Tunnel, arriving in Brighton on 3rd September.

Globies raised in excess of £100 in a collection for MIND at the meeting. If you want to learn more about their trip, buy the book or donate to the charity you can visit their website www.tuktotheroad.co.uk

By Padmassana

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

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

Though of no great size, the town of Yingge (pop. 84,000) is about thirty minutes by train and a couple of hours by bus south-southwest of the capital. After visiting it twice and staying the night both times, I would describe it as a good day trip out of Taipei; otherwise, it would be an interesting stop for a few hours if you are on the move along Taiwan’s western plain. A ceramics centre for the past two centuries, its main attraction is as a place to buy gifts.

Yingge is situated on the Dahan River, which runs north to Danshui (Tamsui), a port on the northwest coast from which its products used to be exported. Its name means something associated with an eagle-shaped rock, which, according to legend, used to hinder passersby with a miasma. This wicked spell was broken by none other than Koxinga, the last Ming Dynasty emperor, who fled to Taiwan with his army before the Manchu hordes in the mid-seventeenth century with the same intention as Chiang Kai Shek : using the island as a base from which to recapture his kingdom. Later, a mainland ceramics artisan established his industry there in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The local economy peaked in the 1970’s and 1980’s, but declined at the close of the last century. I was last there on a summer weekend, and the crowds were not too enormous. Judging from Yingge’s websites (the official one is www.yingge.tpc.gov.tw, plus minor entries on Wikipedia and Wikitravel), it tries to drum up business with cultural delights such as ceramics festivals.

Getting to Yingge can be done via train from Taipei’s main station, but I am less certain about trains from elsewhere. There are ones from Yingge to Taichung and Gaoxiong, however, which are major cities to which you might be continuing (you can try www.railway.gov.tw). Bus transport is also available from Taipei, but you must ask for a bus going to Sanxia, an adjacent town. The distinction between these two fair cities is quite unclear, as the information on such websites as there are and the township’s online map are all contradictory. Welcome to Taiwan (www.taiwan.net.tw), on which you can search the name of either Yingge or Sanxia, is reasonably clear, but be warned that oriental websites, maps and street signs often contain confusing or incomplete information. The best thing to do is follow my directions with your fingers crossed. Furthermore, if you come by bus from a southern point, you may have to go to the city of Taoyuan, wh ich is just east of Chiang Kai Shek airport, and there change buses; on my first trip to Yingge, I found this a rather big pain. Buses to Sanxia stop in front of the Yushan (Jade Mountain) Hotel (228 Wenhua Rd.; tel. 02-8677-6060, fax 02-2678-5487; 02 is Taipei County’s area code, and be sure to drop the 0 if calling from abroad), which is apparently the only place to stay.

Once you are there, finding Old Street, on which most of the ceramics shops are situated, is your next task. There appears to be only one sign in either English or Mandarin that points the way, and it incorrectly indicates a U-turn with its arrow. During my first visit, I had to wander around the streets for some time before finding my objective ! The city government’s website does provide a map in Mandarin and some English with numbered arrows for Yingge’s main attractions, but you must enlarge the right side to read it clearly. Therefore, if you are exiting the train station, turn right at the bottom of the steps and walk several hundred metres to Wenhua Rd., which is overarched by the railway bridge on your right. Across Wenhua Rd. and to your left is the ceramics museum. Cross Wenhua Rd. to the same side as the museum, then turn right and go under the bridge, turning left to go up a small pedestrian lane. Follow the lane about 30 metres, veering continually to the left, and you will find yourself at the base of a small hill. (If you arrive by bus, you will get off it on Wenhua Rd. in Sanxia (?), in which case merely turn right once you alight and walk past the museum, which will be about 200 metres further along and on your left; follow the same lane underneath the bridge, arriving at the base of the hill). In both cases, of course, turn left and ascend the hill, and you will find yourself entering the Old Street zone within a hundred metres.

The Yingge Ceramics Museum is a good place to visit before looking at the goods the town produces today. It can be explored in less than an hour and has a nice little gift shop. Its website is www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw. It does offer a mock-up of the interior of a kiln, complete with glowing red-orange walls and canned burning sounds, through which you can walk. There are many artefacts related to old-time ceramics production and relics of Yingge artisans’ workmanship on display. The museum also tries to host ceramics competitions and other events.

Old Street itself is in fact a series of several streets, about 80% of whose venues sell ceramic vases, tea sets, plates, bowls, mugs and anything else that can be fashioned from clay. There are also cafes where you can buy an iced latte, street musicians to fill the air with music and various other crafts for sale, such as baskets and leather goods. Of particular interest are the “DIY” (“do-it-yourself”) establishments, in which a visitor can make a clay artefact and, presumably, have it fired. These streets could be basically negotiated in about an hour, but ceramics aficionados will linger longer. Most of Old Street’s shops do indeed have high-quality ceramics in styles ranging from traditional to avant-garde, with the colour red predominating; the relentless ceramics connoisseur can, nonetheless, find items in many other shades.  

Hal can be contacted about Taiwan on templegazer@ekit.com

If you enjoy writing, enjoy travelling, why not write for the free Globetrotters eNewsletter! The Ant would love to hear from you: your travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 14,000 people currently subscribe to the Globetrotter eNewsletter.

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Regular contributor Mac had some thoughts on hearing that The Ant is stepping into the Beetle’s very large shoes…

First there was the Beetle that for years kept the E Mail Globetrotters Letter going and what a job and now there is the Ant. I had to smile at the names.  The Beetle has for years been over kind to me printing travel nonsense and stuff from suitcases of travel notes from 83 years… in and out of the military service. It is an end of an era unless you can persuade her to contribute some in the future about her travels when she has time to travel and you can use anything she gives you.  I am grateful for all the kindnesses she has shown me. At my age I am constantly losing friends but usually to death, this time it is to a kind of retirement. Never let anyone else use the title The Beetle. I don’t know what I am saying but golly she sure kept the Globetrotter going for years. Maybe we could make a statue of the Beetle or something.

For all your kindness and good stories Beetle… a plenty. Mac

macsan400@yahoo.com  

“MADRID, Dec 11 (Reuters Life!) – A charity calendar sold by Ireland’s low-cost airline Ryanair showing its air hostesses in skimpy bikinis demeans women and breaks the law, a Spanish consumer group said on Tuesday. The Ryanair 2008 calendar called “The Girls of Ryanair” has photos of air hostesses posing in and outside of planes, dressed in bikinis rather than their normal blue suits. April’s hostess is Nicola from London Stansted, who is wearing only bikini bottoms, with her breasts covered by a lifejacket. “Miss July” — Edita from Marseille — reclines backwards over a wheel with a wrench in her hand and grease on her body.

“The company is attacking the dignity of women workers in general and especially of cabin crew members, by presenting stereotypical images of these professionals which they have spent years struggling against”, Spanish consumer group FACUA said in a statement. Ryanair, which is selling the calendar for five 5 pounds ($10) and giving the proceeds to the children’s charity Angels Quest, was not immediately available for comment.

FACUA has complained about the calendar and its promotional material to Spain’s Women’s Institute, which is part of the Labour Ministry, and to the National Consumer Institute.”

Read the full article at http://in.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idINL1111819420071211

“Ryanair has come bottom of an online Irish shopping survey, despite being named one of the most efficient airlines in Europe by the Association of European Airlines. On Friday, the airline topped the European organisation’s newly released league table, which assessed airlines based on punctuality and the number of bags lost. Despite this good performance in Europe, Ryanair’s website, Ryanair.com, finished in last place in a separate survey of consumer practises at 25 online firms by Irish internet consultancy firm AMAS.”

Read the full article at

Travel websites are among the worst for online customer service, according to new research from Transversal. The travel industry came joint worst along with telecoms, insurance, consumer electronics, grocers and utilities in a survey of 10 sectors. Although travel websites have improved their ability to respond to holidaymakers’ basic questions in the last year, 60% of questions remain unanswered. Travel websites that offer email customer service options took an average of 58 hours to respond, which is only eight hours better than corresponding research carried out in 2006. Transversal monitored 10 leading UK travel companies by phone, web and email as part of its third annual customer service research.

“Despite the enormous growth in the online channel, across all sectors, our research shows that consumers are still suffering from substandard online service”, said Davin Yap, CEO, Transversal.

Read the full article at http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1124662.php?mpnlog=1