Woylie -digging for good things tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-07-23:/blog/?domain=woylie 2008-10-07T07:46:30Z woylie img/travel-blog-feed.png Food adventures tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-10-07:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=16&entryid=132126 2008-10-07T07:46:30Z 2008-10-07T07:46:30Z As we ventured away from the local streets, we have found a couple of interesting places to try. So for two nights, we have eaten at a busy corner restaurant with a fabulous menu. I really just wanted to buy the menu! The various "meats" were shown by illustrations but after that you were on your own. enteric of chicken? flaccid beef strips? The first night, David was taken sternly to task by one of the young women, who took ... As we ventured away from the local streets, we have found a couple of interesting places to try. So for two nights, we have eaten at a busy corner restaurant with a fabulous menu. I really just wanted to buy the menu! The various "meats" were shown by illustrations but after that you were on your own. enteric of chicken? flaccid beef strips? The first night, David was taken sternly to task by one of the young women, who took the bamboo paddles away from him and correctly stirred the earthenware pot of steamed rice, and then filled his bowl. He tried an eel chilli and citronella (lemongrass), my dish was cha ca, the local fried fish speciality and a plate of garlic and morning glory.

It was later than we have usually eaten because we saw the Water Puppet Show fisrt. This was unexpectedly good - very clever work and funny. The theatre empties in a rush onto the street where mighty coaches wait to transport tour groups to their hotel. We meandered past the crush on foot. The streets and verges were a little more open as some shops began to close. The lights glowed in the dusk, and families sat in open doorways.

I have just stopped to chat to an elderly man called in to talk in Russian to a traveller. He says he also speaks French and good English!

Today we passed the HoaLoa prison- the original Hanoi Hilton. I have read that the local Hilton was forced to choose an alternate name for obvious reasons. we were on our way to Hoa Sua which trains kids in skills which lead to hotel employment. Very pleasant courtyard and indooors areas, with charmingly eager young staff. We enjoyed a French oriented light lunch and coffee. Still not what we expect from an espresso. Very popular and some air kissing moments.

A large exhibition space, part of a French study complex, had a French photographer's work on hands of writers.
Lots of gallic posing going on!

I have been channelling Holly often as we pause at shoe shops and lace stalls and material corners. Lots of bling, shiny colours and outrageous violations of "name" brands.

Yesterday, we walked early to the big local market. What a buzz! The wholesalers obviously to many of smaller vendors. Huge bales of fabrics being strapped onto bikes, unbelievable loads wheeled away with a casual hand steadying the stack. The edge of the markets was all foods - I tried a tea, and yearned after the fruit, but not some of the dried fish on offer. Golden mounds of dried noodles, red sunflower seeds, and threatening pots of chilli pastes. Even pets were avalaible. The tiny green turtles were lovely.

Last full day tomorrow so we are paying our respects to uncle Ho.

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]]> More steps tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-09-30:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=15&entryid=131112 2008-09-30T10:47:41Z 2008-09-30T10:47:41Z We spent a whole leisurely day yesterday at a Lao cooking class at the Three Elephants. It started with a tour of the big local food market - at last, I know what some of those strange items were. Not too keen on the dried buffalo skin rolls. Mounds of vegetables, buckets of live fish, slabs of meat, barbecued chicken, eggs in piles and the piece de resistance - the Lao version of fish sauce. Think I'll stick with Thai ... We spent a whole leisurely day yesterday at a Lao cooking class at the Three Elephants. It started with a tour of the big local food market - at last, I know what some of those strange items were. Not too keen on the dried buffalo skin rolls. Mounds of vegetables, buckets of live fish, slabs of meat, barbecued chicken, eggs in piles and the piece de resistance - the Lao version of fish sauce. Think I'll stick with Thai fish sauce in bottles.
Then we drove back in a tuktuk to start cooking. As we finished a couple of dishes, it was time to eat, then begin some new recipes.
The day ended with preparation of sticky rice and local chilli sauce, before we shared our final plates. Get ready for our demo on return!
Very enjoyable time, and we ate lightly today.

IN an effort to recover from all that food, we walked up to Phousi Hill in the centre of town, admired the fabulous view through the trees across 2 rivers, chatted with a novice in orange robes and an umbrella and then took the steps down the other side. Then on to a local museum of "ethnic items."
It has started raining heavily again this afternoon, but poncho-clad, we walked to the book exchange and enjoyed a lengthy talk with the Australian Lao owner. The temperature has dropped to very pleasant mid 20s.
Tomorrow, we have hired a tuktuk driver to take us into the countryside to some local villages.
One day left and out to Vientiane on Thursday.

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]]> Blue hands tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-09-28:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=14&entryid=130803 2008-09-28T10:52:25Z 2008-09-28T10:52:25Z Arriving here was low key with only 20 on the small plane from Hanoi. We found our B&B and then went walking. Everyone was under ponchos or umbrellas as the rain settled in. We wondered if this was the pattern for the rest of the week. Since then we have had dry although very humid weather and been able to saunter down from our lodging to the Mekong - huge, brown and carrying a lot of debris- and get to ... Arriving here was low key with only 20 on the small plane from Hanoi. We found our B&B and then went walking. Everyone was under ponchos or umbrellas as the rain settled in. We wondered if this was the pattern for the rest of the week.
Since then we have had dry although very humid weather and been able to saunter down from our lodging to the Mekong - huge, brown and carrying a lot of debris- and get to know our way around town. Visited lots of wats, sat on verandahs with a beer, and caught a tuk tuk.
The Saturday Night Market was three times the usual size so a little shopping happened.
Today we visited a silk weaving workshop where we prepared dyes from plants harvested from their garden and dyed some hanks of silk. I have blue hands from indigo - how traditional is that!
Tomorrow we have a whoile day cooking Lao food after a visit to the market.
Holiday mode is kicking in.

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]]> Green, green and gold tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-09-28:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=13&entryid=130388 2008-09-28T10:44:30Z 2008-09-28T10:44:30Z A typhoon was aimed at North Vietnam with heavy rain arriving in the afternoon. THis meant our tour group was urged to use the cable car to reach the Pagoda - reluctantly I agreed to pass on climbing up! What it meant for the villagers was different. Rice harvesting was underway in a frenzy of activity. The small bus wove through villlages wheere every flat surface inclduing the road had rice spread to dry. Small threshing amchines sprayed mounds ... A typhoon was aimed at North Vietnam with heavy rain arriving in the afternoon. THis meant our tour group was urged to use the cable car to reach the Pagoda - reluctantly I agreed to pass on climbing up! What it meant for the villagers was different.
Rice harvesting was underway in a frenzy of activity. The small bus wove through villlages wheere every flat surface inclduing the road had rice spread to dry. Small threshing amchines sprayed mounds of green rice straw in one direction while women colllected grain in shallow woven trays. They cheerfully shifgted the machine so vehciles coudl edge past.
Harvesting was by hand so the small fields were dotted with figures in conical hats. Co;lours changed from green to gold as rthe dayw armed. By lated afternoon, as the rian began, most grain was stored in bags adn tall mounds of straw showed where the day's waork ended.
On the river, the dominant shades were all green. The karst hills rose very sharply from river flats and the calm green water merged indistinctly with the slope. Sometimes it was only possible to detect water by the gliding motion of a distant person.
Women rowed us upriver in flat boats with lots of chat. A few men fished for crabs or with scoops in the silt, flicking tiny paddles to slide over the surface.
The hillside with LOTS fo steps was many shades of green. Once at the top, we cautiously climbed down to a large cave to admire this famed place of worship. Then a quieter glide downriver with the first spatters of rain.

Green, green and gold remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Snails tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-09-23:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=12&entryid=130182 2008-09-23T13:48:18Z 2008-09-23T13:48:18Z They are big, really big. What do they taste like? How many disease are carried by snails. According to D, Lots. Spoilsport. We meandered through a market this afternoon which stocked more variety than Coles. Lots of live fish and eels, prawns, shellfish, pupae of something, and what looked like mealworms. Fabulous mountains of spices and greens, stalls selling cooked meat and fresh slabs, and a lady very keen to sell us a tshirt. The fruit is too good to ignore ... They are big, really big. What do they taste like? How many disease are carried by snails. According to D, Lots. Spoilsport.
We meandered through a market this afternoon which stocked more variety than Coles. Lots of live fish and eels, prawns, shellfish, pupae of something, and what looked like mealworms. Fabulous mountains of spices and greens, stalls selling cooked meat and fresh slabs, and a lady very keen to sell us a tshirt. The fruit is too good to ignore so I think we will have to try a mixed bag. Biggest dragon fruit I've seen and tiny pineapples.

We braved a couple of taxi rides today crosssing town to visit the Ethnography Museum. Feel a little more knowledgeable about the multiplicity of languages and ethnic groups. One of the best parts was the examples rebuilt there of house types. The brilliant weaving is truly staggering in the baskets, hats and house gear. I yearn after a fishing basket, but Customs would not be happy.

It is 35 degrees today wiht 50% humidity. But the good news is that the traffic accidents look like they are down on last year.

Food: citron tarte, fresh orange juice, lots of beers, green mango and bean sprout salad with peanuts
Coffee is weird with cardamon? overtones.

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]]> In praise of euros tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-09-22:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=11&entryid=130123 2008-09-23T02:21:00Z 2008-09-23T02:21:00Z The morning after.. we were a bit zonked by last night. Very little sleep on the plane to KL particularly when they offered a meal at around 4am, the somewhat surreal KL airport (well, after Perth anything woud seem flashy). Swapped planes and arrived into 32 degrees. It was a big relief to see my name on a pickup slip. Traffic is ... interesting ...here. People don't seem to be aggro but the horns talk to each other and the ... The morning after.. we were a bit zonked by last night. Very little sleep on the plane to KL particularly when they offered a meal at around 4am, the somewhat surreal KL airport (well, after Perth anything woud seem flashy). Swapped planes and arrived into 32 degrees. It was a big relief to see my name on a pickup slip.
Traffic is ... interesting ...here. People don't seem to be aggro but the horns talk to each other and the mix of foot, bike, motorbike, small car, 4WD, buses weave around and across with some attention to lanes.
We are in the Old Quarter in a mini hotel down a street too small for cars. Sitting having pho for breakfast - tangs of lemon grass and herbs- I saw a woman in a classic cone hat trotting past with a pole on her shoulder balancing two loads. This part of the city is packed to the road edge and past with small stalls, families seated outside businesses, and it takes care to dodge the open concrete drains. There is a slight "drain"smell everywhere - not surprising in this climate.
We walked and walked yesterday afternoon, getting our bearings (hah!), and head out today with new determination. It was overwheming - new language and new currency. With a LOT of zeros. Since most references are to US$ I am converting between 3 currencies to have an idea of prices.

OK, today's goals are to find a bookshop for a good map - there doesn't seem to be a central Tourist Bureau, just lots of eager travel agents- and the Baguette and Chocolat patisserie. Oh and the Museum of Women and the Museum of Ethnography.
Food report: Fried fish with cashews, lemongrass and chili chicken and rice, and noodles for breakfast. The coffee was maybe cardamon laced. mmmm

Oh and the cables looping above the streets would make Mieville happy!! Colourfully painted narrow buildings 4 or 5 levels high and lots of urban decay for David.

Reads rather disjointed which is probably a true relflection. I will aim for a more "composed" entry next.

In praise of euros remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Setting off tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-09-20:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=10&entryid=129805 2008-09-21T02:43:21Z 2008-09-21T02:43:21Z Just remembering where everything fits in the case. Heading north to fly out tonight. ... Just remembering where everything fits in the case. Heading north to fly out tonight.

Setting off remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Hola! Pigeons, poo, pastries... tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-28:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=9&entryid=25599 2006-10-01T14:21:07Z 2006-10-01T14:21:07Z Just navigated our way past tiny shops specialising in handles and hinges, or tablecloths or wheels to find this internet cafe (except being in Portugal, it is an Internet bar!) We are in Porto on the river Douro and it has been a morning of misty rain. As a result we have visited the Se or Cathedral which was surprsingly pleasing inside with simple lines and vaulting arches. Outside it stands heavy on the cliff above the river joined to ... Just navigated our way past tiny shops specialising in handles and hinges, or tablecloths or wheels to find this internet cafe (except being in Portugal, it is an Internet bar!) We are in Porto on the river Douro and it has been a morning of misty rain. As a result we have visited the Se or Cathedral which was surprsingly pleasing inside with simple lines and vaulting arches. Outside it stands heavy on the cliff above the river joined to an old part of the medieval city walls. Then we wandered by bus along the river´s edge,until it dried. YThanks to Hilary´s suggestion we packed a couple of ponchos which finally had an airing. I have to say D looked pretty alarming with his backpack/hunch covered in waves of blue plastic. No doubt I was my usual suave self in a fetching clear number.

Menus here have lots of rather good fish but a shortage of salads. We stocked up on some cheeses in Granda and I enjoyed the EC support of its farmers- prices were noticeably lower. Where we can buy fruit etc in mercados our meals are much cheaper but vegetables are harder to manage. Pastellerias are in good supply with yummy pastries and recently some violently yellow tinged croissants. We made a special effort in Lisbon to test a speciality - pasteis do Belem- a Portugese version of a vanilla slice.

I hope you notice the casual multilingual touch! Actually we were just starting to pick up some useful words in Spanish when we moved on to Portugal, which is quite different. Portugese is spoken here by 10 million and by 130 million in Brazil, plus in 5 African nations. However, it sounds like Russian!! And the pronunciation guides give me a headache. I can do "Bom dias" and "Obrigado" but dribble to a halt quickly after that. This can pose a challenge when booking rooms on the phone. Fortunately, there are huge numbers of people here with English who help.
We are staying in a pension in the Ribeira area of Porto, down near the river. The street looked a bit dodgy when we arrived but it is clean and quite roomy with friendly staff. Only one speaks English but the other two ladies are sure that a rapid continuous flow of Portugese will ensure our understanding. Mostly it works. On the street, a set of steep steps lead down to the river - or we discovered the funicular. What a terrifying experience!!! It has been a day of extremes. First I plummetted down this steep slope in a tiny vehicle, then D urged me to climb 225 steps up a tower where being just a teensy bit thinner could have seen me slip through the ridiuclously wide gaps in the balustrade. The guard at the bottom was just amused by the idea of tourists in the tower when the multibell peals were bellowing in their ears!

We head off tomorrow back into Spain via long distance bus for a brief stop at Burgos, then to San Sebastian.
It is frustrating not to have more time here and in northern Spain. Granada and Cordoba gave us some memorable images and experiences. They were both cities where the "special" places more than met our expectations. We stayed in Granada in a small white walled house in the old Albaicin area, the Moorish part of the town, and could see the Alhambra from the roof terrace. In Cordoba, we were beside the wall of the Mezquita. This has the advantage of acting as a highly useful landmark when wandering in twisting laneways of old cities, which was of course why I selected them!

We have been musing over the ubiquitous pigeon and its droppings. Two pigeons are enough, but that is not how it works. There is often a generous supply of dog droppings as well. And of course, there are challenges to the sewerage system of places with so many people and such old pipes.
I have been hugely entertained by how workers manage to get materials up to and out of high apartments in tiny streets. Some very enterprisng solutions, like the sets of bottomless buckets which make a tube for rubbish. The best show was watching over a couple of days as guys dismantled scaffolding around a magnificent building in Lisbon after it had been renovated. They tossed steel cheerfully down the levels to each other and then flung them with brio into a truck below. It was like a dance.

We decdied to head for teh countrysied earlier in the week and visited the small town of Tomar, which had a fortress adn monsatery form the time of teh Templars. It was a good choice a s we travelled through farming country to a busy but pleasnat town. The local students were building up to graduation and intiation ceremonies of the next intake. Dramatic street procession with the graduates dressed in black with great black capes, stitched with badges. The weather was kind and we enjoyed an evening dining outside as the sky slowly coloured, with conversation with some Slovakian architects working in Dublin and a Danish student working for his masters in water studies in Lisbon.

Yesterday we enjoyed a surprise meeting with Geoff, from Narroign book club, and Claire, who are staying in the same pension! Going in different directions tomorrow.

Might not manage another posting until Nice. Loooking forward to staying still for a while but not keenly to returing to work...

Hola! Pigeons, poo, pastries... remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> On the castle steps, lots of them.. tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-12:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=8&entryid=23614 2006-09-12T08:08:03Z 2006-09-12T08:08:03Z Last night, we hung out the window of our 4th floor room to find the source of drumming. Down the cobbled street marched a crowd, chanting, waving flags and banners and holding flaming torches!! They milled at the bend and then climbed up the steps to the Prague castle. How many times must that scene have occurred in the last few centuries. We have noticed in the stories references to "defenestration" - this happens when dissenters are thrown out of ... Last night, we hung out the window of our 4th floor room to find the source of drumming. Down the cobbled street marched a crowd, chanting, waving flags and banners and holding flaming torches!! They milled at the bend and then climbed up the steps to the Prague castle. How many times must that scene have occurred in the last few centuries.
We have noticed in the stories references to "defenestration" - this happens when dissenters are thrown out of windows, high windows! There's also a saint who was thrown off a bridge, and an important Czech church reformer who was burnt at the stake for his efforts. However, Jan Hus is remembered by a large bronze statue in the main square. This remembering seems to be a strength of the Czechs- something happened 500 years ago and it is still significant. Hard for us to get our heads around. I have been surprised to learn about the long Protestant tradition here, particularly when there is a plethora of Catholic churches.
We rebelled against the past yesterday and caught a tram along the river to view the Dancing Building, a modern and delightful architectural exercise with bends and curves and windows which are aligned onto curves. Then we tracked down some cubist buildings from the early development of the movement. Have also wandered through a couple of galleries of modern art here.
We have been given tram directions to a quarry on the outskirts where you can kick up crinoids and trilobites !!!!! Think we probably can't get there but oooh, the temptation.
There was a city marathon on Sunday, complete with pounding music and climbing walls and aerobic displays. The toruists milled around in some confusion.
We're off tomorrow to Barclona so need to get one more infusion of neo-renaaissance and Romanesque, and visit the Jewish Quarter.
Weather is amazing, clear blue skies and warmth. Great for walking (sigh..)

On the castle steps, lots of them.. remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> The wheels on the bus, train, tram, suitcase.... tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-05:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=7&entryid=22943 2006-09-05T15:11:47Z 2006-09-05T15:11:47Z It has been a few days since I could find a time and place to add to this. Right now, we are in Brno in the Czech Republic, sitting in an internet cafe with maybe a hundred booths. The university term began here yesterday wiht entertainments in the street like "man tries to pull tram"! We liked this place enough to add another day with the hope of seeing a Mies van der Rohe building and a graphic design show ... It has been a few days since I could find a time and place to add to this. Right now, we are in Brno in the Czech Republic, sitting in an internet cafe with maybe a hundred booths. The university term began here yesterday wiht entertainments in the street like "man tries to pull tram"! We liked this place enough to add another day with the hope of seeing a Mies van der Rohe building and a graphic design show tomorrow. Today we have wandered the streets admiring the coloured facades and dipping into cathedrals and monasteries. Most importantly, we paid our respects at Mendel's Museum, where he was abbot to the Bendectine Abbey and carreid out his experiments. They had a charming layout of begonias to illustrate the P, F1 and F2 generations in red and white.

This city feels very different to Budapest where we spent 3 days. Budapest certainly had some appealing aspects, with lots of small parks, a wonderful walk along the Danube,extraordinary detailed decorative buildings and amazingly tanned young women. There was however a darkness to the place, from the grubby appearance of many of the apartment blocks and the generally shabby look of the area, to the remnants of eastern bloc mentality. Navigating the train system was a challenge with information hidden behind corridors, and handed out via tiny windows from a cubicle. Hungarian is totally impossible to guess at and there was not a lot of English signage. We stayed in a student flat inside a grand building with a charming courtyard, which entered Lizt Ferenc Ter, the Northbridge of Pest so that was fine. We succeeded in booking tickets on the international train out of Hungary via Slovakia and then into Czech Rep, so I now have lots more stamps on my passport:)We became quite blase about catching the metro, and mentally transferring forints from their thousands into AUD. My most pleasant memory will be pausing one morning outside the Liszt Academy for the frenetic piano music pouring out of wide flung windows into the morning street. There seemed to be music, sculpture and lots of arts activities.

Our last day in Turkey was in Selcuk where we caught a slow lcoal bus back to Izmir, dodged across the road to a taxi to the airport, flew to Istanbul nd then took a shuttle bus the next day (hysterical driver again!)to Istanbul airport. We enjoyed time talking to an Israeli who travels the world learnign new massage techniques. He was on his way back after a stint in China. Also hangin around were two bankers from Vienna who had been in Kazakstan inspectng a giant drilling infrastructre which they had helped fund. Great to meet people who are open to chats with strangers. Again this hs been a pleasant part of the last few days. Stand in Budapest wiht a map and someone nearby is also looking helpless! Often the two of us can work something out.

Jill, I was told today that the Bendectines had a special fondness for hortensia. Apparently that is hydrangea hortensis - tiny little flowers in the plastered wall details and in mosaics on the floor.

The wheels on the bus, train, tram, suitcase.... remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Fruit wines, kilims and conversations tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-29:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=6&entryid=22085 2006-08-29T13:28:33Z 2006-08-29T13:28:33Z Our last day in Selcuk, so we took a dolmus, the small local bus, up into the hills to visit Sirince. This was a Greek village until the relocation of the population and it is known for its different architectural style and the attraction of the landscape. Very fertile hillsides covered in orchards of olives, citrus, apricot, cherry and other fruits. The slopes are terraced way up to the top and there is quite a lot of small machinery used ... Our last day in Selcuk, so we took a dolmus, the small local bus, up into the hills to visit Sirince. This was a Greek village until the relocation of the population and it is known for its different architectural style and the attraction of the landscape. Very fertile hillsides covered in orchards of olives, citrus, apricot, cherry and other fruits. The slopes are terraced way up to the top and there is quite a lot of small machinery used as well as the customary donkeys and horses. The centre is dedicated to tourists with small stalls of handicratfs and food. We left this behind and took any small laneway up into the heights. There are lots of pensions and places to eat.We stopped for lunch at one with an appealing high terrace but had to wait for a loud and happy group of Turkish ladies who were out on an excursion from a nearby city (at least we think it was a birthday). It was a friendly and noisy session with a real feel of home cooking. We ate gozleme, like a crepe with a spinach and crumbly cheese filling and ayran,the ubiquitous yoghourt drink. The ladies tried to demonstrate how to eat it, to everyone,s amusement. D had a gift of a sample of the lcoal house white wine, a bit like a sherry we thought. As we meandered, some men hailed us form a rooftop and we went up for the vioew. It was the house of a potter with some attractive glazed work on white porcelain.

We ended the afternoon back in Selcuk chasing a cappucino = very hard to find, and visited a man we met last night. We were sauntering (you will notice the use of a range of vocabulary to describe aimless movement)after a meal of sis cop, and struck up a conversation with an older man. We sat on stools on the pavement in the cool of the evening, sipped coffees and chatted with him, and an Australian oil rig diver,covering politics and ancient history and linguistics. He spoke with a fierce sadness about the plight of "his Kurdish brothers".

Amongst the friendly assistance and conversations with people like the girl on the bus with her elderly dad checking our map, to the wrestler waiting on tables who stops for a chat every time we pass, it is hard to comprehend that bombs have been disrupting other parts of Turkey. Hopefully, it will not make a big impact on their tourism industry (second biggest industry we,re told) or cause too many deaths. Certainly not apparent here where most in this guesthouse comment on how little news they know.

Off early tomorrow to take the bus to Izmit then the plane to Istanbul. Coudl not master the keyboard to even log in in Istanbul so might need to leave this til later.

Lasting memory of Ephesus is the stems of single tiny pink dianthus in the crevices of the dusty marble blocks, and the stunning terracotta drainage pipes still snaking around the buildings.

Fruit wines, kilims and conversations remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Mounds of tomatoes and piles of rocks tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-27:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=5&entryid=21783 2006-08-27T18:54:01Z 2006-08-27T18:54:01Z I may make more typos than usual as this keyboard is a( Turkish and b( very worn so many keys are invisible! We are in Selcuk and have spent the day visiting the ruins of ancient Greek cities. I have finally walked the same streets as Alexander the Great! We went to Priene, Didimus and Miletus. I had major Mary Renault moments in Priene = we were the only group there and it was very quiet. We wandered through the ... I may make more typos than usual as this keyboard is a( Turkish and b( very worn so many keys are invisible!

We are in Selcuk and have spent the day visiting the ruins of ancient Greek cities. I have finally walked the same streets as Alexander the Great! We went to Priene, Didimus and Miletus. I had major Mary Renault moments in Priene = we were the only group there and it was very quiet. We wandered through the temple to Athene and the agora, with the sun harsh on the stones, and shade under scattered olives and pines very welcome. The site felt very "human" sized and I felt I could comprehend the concept of city state far better. The site spills down the hill with the acropolis stunningly located at the peak of the hill. From there the columns truly crowned the hill and we could see far into the distance.
We also trudged around Miletus which was an important centre, with much larger but less well preserved remains. It once had 3 harbours which are now silted with alluvial deposits. I relished seeing the caravanserai from later Selcuk times which was in very good condition. We finished by gawking at the attempts to create an enormous temple at Didymus which still has a couple of very tall columns and the original thermal spring which began the sacred importance oif the place.
We have learnt to recognise what our guide told us were testical symbols which represented the fertility of the bull, Athene,s animal. As D said (although in relation to the mighty building not the encircling ovals) these were the people who invented the concept of hubris.
As we drove there we ran alongside the Aegean Sea = the local muezzin has just begun outside= and actually went through Kusadasi to pick up 5 Italian and French people who joined us on a minibus. Wow! Hillsides of apartments and a giant cruise ship in the harbour.

We arrived in Selcuk on Saturday afternoon, hot and bothered after a bus trip, 2 planes and a taxi, to find it was market day. Forget the Grand Bazaar= this was a real farmer,s market = I can,t find how to make an apostrophe on the keyboard= towers of scarlet capsicums and tomatoes, mounds of green and pink striped beans, cucumbers, onions, and assorted greens, not all recognisable. There were piles of green and red grapes, melons, peaches and even Gala apples. One section specialised in white cheeses, and yoghourt. The market was packed, with peopel walking under canvas shades erected over the streets. It was a grteat introduction to Selcuk. We did not buy Armani shirts or (tempted!) one of the 9 types of olives or interesting ground spices, just some ripe figs and grapes for tea. Our pension is right onto the market place so we sat in the verandah and watched the whole thing being dismantled and all the dresses and shoes packed away. Next morning the square was pristine.

This place is a bit of a shock after Goreme which was truly a village. We were reluctant to leave and some of that was obviously the comfort of finding a pleasant place to stay and beginning to know our way around. But it was so peaceful, and the elements of traditional village life visible in the streets so interesting.

The weather has been consistently very hot, always in the mid 30s. Now we are near the coast again it is also humid. By 3 oclock we are flagging. It is also bloody hilly.

I can proudly state that I can tentatively sequence Doric, Ionic, Hellenic,Seljuk,Ottoman but when they throw into the mix Hittite times and blithely comment about early Anatolian mother goddesses I start to reel. It is really extraordinary to contemplate the millenia of settlement of some of these sites.

One enjoyable side to our travels have been the friendly and interesting people we talk to = some local and some from all over the world. Today, I chatted wiht a trio of Italian teachers who teach Italian by immersion in Turkish schiol. One year for results! We agreed that teachers are not paid enough anywhere but they said Italy was very poor.

Looking forward to another 2 days here then back to Istanbul briefly. Today I have been given the address of a special mosque to visit with stunning Byzantine mosaics in a previous church, apparently as good as Ravenna!

Mounds of tomatoes and piles of rocks remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Balloons, pigeons and rocks tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-25:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=4&entryid=21574 2006-08-25T14:29:41Z 2006-08-25T14:29:41Z This is from Goreme, in Anatolia, the heartland of Cappadocia. The place is famous for its eroded landscape of soft volcanic tufa, with centuries of occupation. It is as dramatic as the tourist photos promise, and this small village in a dry valley is littered with pinnacles of rock. There are many small houses and pensions carved into the rock and then added to with blocks of the pale stone. Houses have roof terraces edged with flowers and vegetables ... This is from Goreme, in Anatolia, the heartland of Cappadocia. The place is famous for its eroded landscape of soft volcanic tufa, with centuries of occupation. It is as dramatic as the tourist photos promise, and this small village in a dry valley is littered with pinnacles of rock. There are many small houses and pensions carved into the rock and then added to with blocks of the pale stone. Houses have roof terraces edged with flowers and vegetables in olive oil tins, grape vines snaking up the walls and chooks scratching in the narrow cobbled lanes. In amongst the remainders of traditional life styles - donkey carts, stock in stables under the house,traditional costume on older men and women, street bread ovens- there are satellite dishes on every roof, solar hot water panels, scooters and vans and mobile phones.

Building is obvious in many streets, although apparently with restrictions about renovations. It seems a healthy mix of opportunity for local people with respect for the natural attractiosn of the area.
We have walked (climbed! lots of hills)some of the tourist trail - walked the length of Ilhara Valley along the river, scrambling up the hillside to look at frescoed churches from many centuries ago, seen a lovely caldera lake, peered into more churches and cave homes and soared in the hot air balloons- but the most memorable times have been wandering along winding laneways and stopping (often so my legs could adjust) to enjoy yet another wonderful view.

Outside this valley, there are extensive farmlands of smallish fields of wheat, grapevines, melons and other vegetables, sometime sunder irrigation. We have been astonished by the familiar plants. Every day, we add another to the list: walnut, almond, pistachio, olive, pomegranate, grape, gooseberry,willows,robinia,oleander, petunias spilling everywhere, morning glory in many colours, asparagus in the river bed, cotoneaster and a multitude of plants D recognises darkly as big time weeds, like caltrop and skeleton weed. It certainly brings home the significance of Mediterranean climatic types.

We are off tomorrow to the south west coast, via a bus, and two flights and another bus. It's been in the mid to high 30s all week so I'm hoping for a cooler chnage near the coast.
Hope to add to this then.
S&D

Balloons, pigeons and rocks remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Istanbul tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-24:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=3&entryid=21501 2006-08-24T16:32:20Z 2006-08-24T16:32:20Z We arrived somewhat jetlagged after a long wait in Dubai, and navigated the queues of Ataturk Airport, to find a welcome sign and shuttle into the city. Now that was an experience! It was heavy Friday afternoon traffic past tower blocks of apartments, and then parks along the water's edge.Families were sitting around small bbq plates as the evening cooled. Suddenly the bus dived down into the old city and swooped into small winding alleys. The driver needed to back ... We arrived somewhat jetlagged after a long wait in Dubai, and navigated the queues of Ataturk Airport, to find a welcome sign and shuttle into the city. Now that was an experience! It was heavy Friday afternoon traffic past tower blocks of apartments, and then parks along the water's edge.Families were sitting around small bbq plates as the evening cooled. Suddenly the bus dived down into the old city and swooped into small winding alleys. The driver needed to back up once or twice, surge up a laneway then jolt to halt to leave another passenger. It was high entertainment.
Our small hotel is in the old city very close to all the big attractions -the Blue Mosque was visible from our bedroom window! We walked huge distances every day, gawping and getting lost - this is often the best part of the day as we wandered down interesting laneways. The houses are narrow and steep, with cobblestone streets.
When our energy flagged, we sat on the rooftop terrace,gulping cold water, gazing over the Sea of Marmara. Magic!
D is in his element- "urban decay" is an understatement. What can you say to describe a city which has been lived in for so many centuries. There were Byzantine city walls down the road, Ottoman houses in the next street, a mosque close by, hotels, empty houses awaiting a new life and modern city life going on as well.
Enjoyed some good conversations, did not!! buy a carpet or anything else despite wandering the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market and the many tiny streets of specialists around it.
Have the name of 2 current Turkish musicians and plan to find their CDs when we return next week- that was from Seda who is a student teacher of IT- we exchanged information on paper napkins over a meal.
Wonderful challenging city!

Istanbul remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Travelling the interior tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-16:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=2&entryid=20510 2006-08-16T12:06:01Z 2006-08-16T12:06:01Z We left our hotel and walked down to the corner. Ahead was a stunningly white mosque with elaborate little towers and domes. We moved on towards the ciy centre, past small shops stocking Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian foods and utensils. I ducked into the Indian specialist and came out dazed by the layered smells. We decided to stop for coffee and baklava sitting outside, browsing the papers and checking out the stylish pedestrians. The music was a bit much- like a ... We left our hotel and walked down to the corner. Ahead was a stunningly white mosque with elaborate little towers and domes. We moved on towards the ciy centre, past small shops stocking Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian foods and utensils. I ducked into the Indian specialist and came out dazed by the layered smells. We decided to stop for coffee and baklava sitting outside, browsing the papers and checking out the stylish pedestrians. The music was a bit much- like a compilation of bland Greek and Italian muzak.Coffee was good tho.
OK, we haven't left yet - this was last weekend in Northbridge, Perth! During three days, we had Indian and Chinese food, Vietnamese steamboat, Australian shiraz, almond croissants (??) with Ben's excellent coffee and Subway. Roll on, Turkey! I could be rolling too...
And caught up with a special friend, Di, after too many years. The conversation ranged over time and distances - physical,perspective and experience.
Then to Dave's exhibition, with more time spent with people who look with different eyes at their worlds.

A good way to start our travels with eyes and hearts open.

Travelling the interior remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> First day of holidays tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-07-23:/blog/?domain=woylie&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=17799 2006-07-23T13:04:03Z 2006-07-23T12:53:38Z Feeling strangely guilty about not having to go to work tomorrow, but I will try hard to manage :) Beginning to see the end in sight as departure date comes closer. Lots of things still to arrange, so doing what I do best - write a list!! ... woylie.jpg

Feeling strangely guilty about not having to go to work tomorrow, but I will try hard to manage :) Beginning to see the end in sight as departure date comes closer. Lots of things still to arrange, so doing what I do best - write a list!!

First day of holidays remains copyright of the author woylie, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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