A Rock and a Hard Place

Well here we are in Madrid on the first day we have been deterred from having a complete day of sight seeing. We have managed through the pouring rain in New Zealand, through 48 degree heat in Australia and cold and snow in Turkey but the wet snow and wind we faced in Madrid soaked and froze us by noon and we called it a day. This would not have finished us under normal circumstances but three of the four places we set out to see were closed, so wet cold and shut out did us in. We have discover that Monday closings are a normal thing in this part of the world and as we don't plan our stays around Mondays or much else for that matter, this has effected us on a few occasions. The funny thing about this is that we usually lose track of the days anyway, so we get surprised regularly when Mondays come. We have had a few surprises on this trip but that can be expected when away for such a long time. We have also had lots of cultural experiences to compare to Canadian culture and culture of different countries. Spain we have found to be wonderful after just two days. The people are happier here then even Greece, always helpful and much, much calmer. We met a friend here, Silvia Roman, for just an hour and a half. Silvia, we met through Groundswell in Alliston and she lives in the south of Spain and was in Madrid for the weekend visiting family at the time arrived. Silvia introduced us to her father, David and her younger brother, David. David (I'll let you figure out which one) took us for a short tour of Madrid and we had some interesting conversation. Between Silvia, David and David and some sign language we worked out the translations. One of the things David mentioned was how Madrid was the same as Athens with it's noisy traffic and crowded streets but sorry David, no comparison.

I have to say some of the most intense traffic we have experienced was in Istanbul, Thessaloniki and Athens. Madrid does not meet the scale of those places. It is calmer, more sophisticated and cars actually let you cross the street. There was no way you could take a chance in the aforementioned places that traffic would stop for you. Even if you were walking with the light, which no one did, were in a marked crossing area and had the benefit of addition people around you, you could still have to "run" out of the way of cars and trucks. I think the biggest difference we have seen has been the lack of police presence here in Madrid, I say lack comparatively. The exception to this has been in the train station which was attacked on March 11, 2004. Terriosts set a bomb here which killed 176 people and police protect the station and the memorial there. Police seemed to be everywhere in Turkey and Greece.

While in Turkey we ran into a large protest close to our hostel. We followed innocently behind and found as we went the number of people grew, especially when the ferry from the Asian side of Istanbul landed. We let this large protest get well ahead of us and were ready to cross the bridge over the Golden Horn when the riot police emerged from the underground right in front of us. They came out fully equipped with shields and batons and headed after the protesters. We stepped aside. In Thessaloniki we found ourselves right in the middle of a national strike. Protesters blocked major roads and police were everywhere. Out for a walk in Athens we stumbled upon another battalion of riot police. This group were armed right down to their feet, shields ready and accompanied by an armoured bus. We made an about face. While on the Plaka in Athens about a dozen police appeared, it seemed, out of no where, on foot and on scooters chasing street vendors through the walkways. We watched with amazement. After this we noticed patrols all over Athens, four to six constables together, often checking papers or running down someone. Madrid has none of this and seems at peace to us. So here we are, safe and secure and loving the differences. Wes

When in Greece

Well, here we sit on another form of transportation, the slow train to Athens. So far we have found train to be the most comfortable transportation to be on, wider, bigger seats and the ability to walk around a bit. The exception to this was the train to Chaing Mai, which we thought was going to leave the track at any moment! Greece has been a complete contrast to Istanbul for us. The people here seem to be much happier, they laugh more often, always smile when you ask for help and seem to be glad you are here. The street vendor pressure is gone and even though the streets are just as crowded it feels to us less tense. We had some negative events in Turkey, the shoe shine scam and the double charges on our food bills to name just two and these seemed to taint us a little but I really believe there is a significant difference.

Thessaloniki has had it's difficulties though. We were two days at the hostel without water. No way to wash or shower and no way to even flush the toilet. This caused some Greeks to have something to say to us about their country and government. How the building of the underground has been a project for twenty years but they only broke ground two years ago. Or how a position with the government can make a person wealthy at the people's expense but still the attitude is better.

The water was off because of the underground being built. Apparently the water main was broken in several places by the construction. We had a chance to look at the construction and saw an old wall running right down the middle of the proposed site. This wall will not be kept but Thessaloniki has taken great pains in preserving some very old sites. We looked at several very old churches, "Osios David" being our favourite. This church was build in the 5th century and the frescos added over the years were amazing. The door was removed by the Turks in the 14th century and carted off to Russia but the rest of the church is intact and original. Another amazing site was the Roman Agora, a market and administration centre that was in use from the 3rd century BC until the 13th century AD. The apostle Paul was denied permission to preach here and had to settle for bringing the Gospel to the Jewish Synagogue near by. The original shops are actually two stories below the current street level. The preservation of sites seemed to speak to us of the care that The Greeks have for their ancient culture. In Turkey the oldest site we saw was the 4th century AD cistern under the centre of Istanbul and the museums contained only Turkish and Islamic artifacts but I believe this is because Turkey was culturally centered in Islam and that effects the art that is preserved and displayed. This has been changing recently as we saw the old mosaics in Hagia Sophia are now uncovered and the beauty of the Blue Mosque is now proudly displayed. Greece seems to be open to its past and so the artifacts we saw were more ancient and open to its historical past. Having said all this I realize I may be looking through different lenses. We are looking forward to Athens and the history there also. Wes

Adjustment

Well here we sit on another long haul bus but not one like you might think. All through Thailand and now through Turkey we have found service to be an art. In Thailand we journeyed between Chiang Mai and Chaing Rai on a bus and the bus had a porter as well as a driver. The porter was there to deliver snacks and drinks and meet whatever need you might have, we have found Turkey to be the same. Service is what the Turks know how to do. All the long haul buses here have porters as well, who want to make sure your trip is as comfortable as possible. Restaurants are amazing as well, it seems that each table in every restaurant has three to four wait staff. Each staff person has a different task to preform, there is a overseer for all the staff, one person to take payment only and a door recruiter.

Door recruiter are a name I have assigned them and it's not only restaurants that have them. Each store, kiosk and tea shop has a person at the door whose job it is to get you into thier shop. They really want to serve you or at least have you pay attention to them. This is the biggest thing we have had to adjust to, biggest if you discount the fact that we went for two solid months of sunshine and warmth to below zero temperatures and snow within 8 hours! The recruoitors have seemed rude to us as they step in front of you and sometimes touch your arm or engage you in small talk just so they have a chance to introduce thier product. But that's a way of life here, it is not just for tourists as some might think. We have seen Turkish buniess men following other Turks down the street trying to make a deal. If you can get past this cultural differenec you will find Turkey, gracious, friendly and good hearted.

The best part of this came when we forgot our camera in a restaurant. We had been looking for an old Turkish bath that had been converted to a Dervish performance centre. We were only just around the corner from the place but one of the door recruiters of a restaurant insisted in making sure we found the front door. We went back to eat at his restaurant where the owner introduced us to dishes he had developed. We had a good meal at a reasonable price with lots of service but in getting to our show our camera was left behind. Within just a few minutes our camera was delivered right into the auditorium by the same recruiter with a big smile knowing that he had saved the day. And, now that we have adjusted to some of the customs it's off to Greece. Wes

Down the Mekong River

We have traveled to the north of Thailand, through Chaing Mai and into Chang Rai. Get your atlas out if you are unsure. From here we wanted to take a trip into Loas as we were told it was a place not to be missed. So we signed up for the slow boat to Luang Pra Bang down the Mekong River. We left Chiang Rai early in the morning to travel to the Loas border. We arrived around 11 and started a long process of getting into Loas across the Mekong which divides the two countries. This was a two hour process, involving at least 6 people and paying the highest visa fee of any country in the world! After we visited the royal palace in Luang Pra Bang we figured out why. There were displays of treasures that countries had given as gifts to the King of Loas. Most countries had given shelves of interesting things, from Canada, a single gift plate, no wonder they charge us so much!

We finally boarded the slow boat in the early afternoon. It was a little mad trying to find a seat. The seats were just two seat wooden benches that were made for Thai bottoms, the start of our worries. The trip for the first day was awful, and I only complain a little. The boat seemed over crowded and there were a few people that thought the best way to make this trip was to be completely intoxicated. About ten people thought that the top of the boat was the best way to see things but this made the boat very unstable. The captain asked them several times to keep off the roof but they were determined to be there and snuck back up each time. About 4 hours into the trip it all came undone. We made a hard turn in strong current and the boat came over too far. Water rushed over the side almost capsizing the boat, people began screaming and everything on the roof, including the people, toppled into the river. The boat righted itself but our semi quiet cruise had to be turned into a rescue operation as 6 people went drifting down the river. Another boat joined us and all 6 were finally rescued with no death or serious injury, except to some peoples laptops. We shook for a while afterward but managed to make it to our first stop. The test was getting on the boat the next day to complete or trip. We managed to talk it over with a few people and build the courage to make the second part of the journey.

I don't want to leave a bad taste in your mouth about this trip. The scenery was breath taking, the people on the boat and who we met along the way, were amazing and the final destination was worth all the effort. We put the whole near tragedy down to a life experience. Lets just hope the clowns on the roof learned something! Wes

Thailand with family

We arrived from Australia 45 minutes before the kids landed in Bangkok. It was so great to see them. While here, we have really learned to love the city. There are street markets everywhere night and day, sometimes they fully construct huge rows of make shift buildings down alleyways for the night market. The prices at street vendors are crazy, a full meal for 2 at 100B ($3). Fantastic food but a couple of times flaming hot. In the markets you bargained for everything. A few Thai merchants greeted us with big smiles when we frequented their shops.

Buddism is part of everyday life here, with ornate temples everywhere, small shrines in most businesses, people laying flowers, food, drinks and incense and putting gold leaf on the feet of budda. We went to the kings palace, seeing magnificent temples, government buildings, the royal museum with a collection of all kinds of royal paraphernalia and the famous Emerald Buddha. Aaron and I saw the amazing Reclining Buddha; he is about 3/4 of a football field long and 3 stories high.


The kids shopped alot here, both at the malls and the markets. Lily was an absolute gem. We dragged her everywhere with us and she was so cheerful. She took her first steps for us the day they left. She started waving bye bye and started understanding some instructions like "sit down". She didn't like the cold water at the hotel when they arrived but absolutely loved it when we were in Kho Phi Phi and even swam in the ocean. The Thai people absolutely loved Lily. When ever they could they would hold her and take a picture with their cell phone. They always wanted to touch her soft, white skin.

After Bangkok, we stayed at a small resort on Kho Phi Phi island in the south of Thailand. The island was devastated by the tsunami and is still rebuilding. It is a small island with very congested street markets everywhere and a beach. There were lots of bars and activity really picked up at night. Aaron made some friends and the kids went dancing a couple of times. We did lots of swimming in the resort pool and in the Indian Ocean. We went on a cruise of the Krabi islands and saw the gorgeous scenery of the huge rocks, caves and cliffs. We snorkeled, seeing coral and beautiful fish and went for a short kayak to a beach from the boat. We all (except Lily) had a Thai massage. They use their whole body; arms, elbows, feet, knees ands hands. I'm sure they would have massaged Lily for free.
Terry

Pics for the Post

Adventures in Crossing the Street

Thailand makes the third country for Terry and I with right hand drive. The driving part of things has not been too much of a challenge for us to date. In the past two and almost a half months, ye we are nearing the half way point, we have only chosen to 'hire' cars abut five times. Those five times have been in Australia exclusively as the bus and train systems were not adequate enough for us to get to many of the sights we wanted to see. I think the big advantage of starting late with driving was walking in a world of right hand drive for a period before driving. the walking was what we had to work at adjusting to the most.



Growing up in a country with left hand drive causes you to develop certain patterns of crossing the street. Think about this for a moment as you don't really think about crossing the street you just do it. When you cross the street at home which way do you look first? Yes, that's right, you look left first and step off the curb. Looking left first, seeing no cars and stepping off can get you killed in a right hand drive world. So for the past two months we have been re[eating the mantra, :look right first," then comes Thailand. Now Thailand is not that different from most right hand drive countries it just adds a new dimension, the motorcycle.



We had already learned that most countries give the driver the right of way over the pedestrian, so being cautious and patient is key. But the motorcycle of Thailand is a whole different game. Even when you have been patient and cautious and look to the right first you can still encounter the motorcycle from an unexpected dimension, yes dimension. The motorcycle could be coming inside two lanes of traffic. It could have been on the inside lane when you first looked but switched to the outside lane. It could be coming from the left instead of the right, it could make a uturn right after it passed you. Just because all the traffic is completely stopped is no indication that there will be no motorcycle coming towards you. And, yes ladies and gentlemen, even when there is complete gridlock you can encounter the motorcycle, as we have several times, on the sidewalk! Here´s looking all directions in Thailand. Wes