Day 10: Mt. Popa to Bagan

What goes up must, at some point, come down.  Having slogged up Mt Popa yesterday, it was now our turn to enjoy a day of largely downhill riding as we headed back to Bagan.  After the initial exhilarating downhill run, the return journey took a slightly different course to our outbound track before eventually joining the main road to Bagan that we had taken yesterday.  However, on the way back we had time to stop off at some of the roadside craft villages that we had only been able to glimpse the previous day.  One such place was engaged in the production of palm sugar, which they then fermented and distilled into a sort of rum-hooch concoction.  An interesting drinking experience, but I would not want to indulge in too much of the stuff.

Shortly before arriving back in Old Bagan, we visited a lacquer-ware factory, where we were able to observe the craftspeople engaged in all the stages involved in creating lacquer-ware products, starting with the weaving of the cane basket framework, coating it in lacquer resin, and finally painting on the decorations in gold leaf.

Day 9: Bagan to Mt. Popa

Our mission today was to cycle from our comfortable base in the Bagan River View Hotel all the way up to Mt. Popa, a distance of  about 55km if one travels on the usual roads.  However, Grasshopper in their wisdom had decided that this would be just too easy and had therefore tacked on a special cross-country section, just to make things more interesting.  This involved negotiating a 11km track, which was predominantly surfaced with soft sand.  Consequently, our party was continually grinding to a halt or even in some cases doing interesting acrobatics when encountering a bullock cart travelling in the opposite direction.  Very frustrating and exhausting, but at least you don't get hurt if you fall over in the sand when stationary.
Thins went more smoothly once we emerged onto the main road, and as we progressed, the distant silhouette of Mt. Popa grew ever larger until it was filling our entire field of view.  Our guide told us that we would be heading right to the top of the mountain, which would entail about 4km of  steep hill clime followed by another 4km of very steep hill to take us to the top.  By this stage, what with various aches and ailments affecting our party, there were only four out of the seven of us riding at this point, so I felt some pressure not to give up and take the easy option of going up the mountain in the bus.  However, after struggling up what I took to be the first, merely steep, 4km I looked up to see the summit of Mt. Popa still far above me, and I knew I was not going to be able to make it all that way.  Reluctantly I flagged down the mini bus that had been following discretely behind me and informed the driver that I was going to have to join him for the remainder of the journey to the top. He gave me a rather strange look but nevertheless loaded my bike on board and we set off.  After about  400m we rounded a bend in the road and there in front of us was our final destination, the Popa Mountain Resort Hotel!  Turns out that our guide had not been entirely accurate in saying that the hotel was at the very top of the mountain.  If I had just persevered another 500m I could have made it all the way unaided.

The main tourist attraction at Mt. Popa is the monastery, which stands on a separate pinnacle of sheer rock, looking from a distance like a Disney fairytale castle.  Close up it looks rather less impressive, and once inside it is decidedly scummy, being badly maintained and crumbling, and overrun with monkeys.  The Mt. Popa region is noted for the worship of Nats: the spirits of real, or more probably fictitious, people who have met untimely and violent deaths and are now immortalised as waxwork-like figures in a series of shrines dotted throughout the Mt. Popa temple complex.
Time then to relax on the balcony of our wonderful lodge, overlooking the dense jungle that covers Mt. Popa, stretched out in my plantation chair with a cool G&T in hand.  Oh, better make that a Coke as, of course, no tonic in Myanmar!  Next on the agenda was a very relaxing Burmese massage, which really helped to unwind the muscles that had been tortured during the ride up.

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Day 8: Monywa to Bagan

Today's ride started with a ferry crossing of the Chindwin River that runs to the West of Monywa.  The 60km ride that followed was mainly through rather dry and scrubby countryside, without any particularly distinguishing features. Quite a contrast from the picturesque and lush countryside of the Shan hills.  Unfortunately, Alison was suffering somewhat from the Mandalay region food, and consequently found the going tougher than it would otherwise have been.

 After a couple of refreshment breaks to drink the sweet Burmese tea, it was time for our lunch stop, then onto the bus for a road transfer to the historical town of Bagan and to our delightful room in the Riverview Hotel.  Great to be able to relax by the pool for a couple of hours before watching the sunset over the Irrawaddy, with a G&T in hand - except that there is no tonic to be had in Myanmar!

Day 7: Mandalay to Monywa

Yesterday was a day off from cycling, and the chance to do some leisurely tourist sightseeing in Mandalay and just relax a bit.

Today's ride might have been titled: "Ancient Burmese Capitals", as it took in most of the historical capitals of the kings of Burma, i.e. Awa, Amarapura, and Mandalay.  (After Mandalay the British moved the capital to Rangoon, and then the general moved it again to NayPyiDaw.

First off was a visit to a village to see various local manufacturing activities,  including the crafting of alms bowls for Buddhist monks from beaten ex-oil drums, and the production of cheroots. Then on to the ruins of the palace at Ava, and a walk on U Bein Bridge, which at 1.5km in length, is the world's longest teak bridge. The end of the cycling part of the day involved crossing the Irrawaddy river and heading up to a hill-top temple for what would have been a great view of the river and surrounding countryside if it had not been so hazy.

 After lunch a two hour drive took us to the site of the world's tallest standing Buddha (lots of world records to be had here in Myanmar!) On the way up, we passed an area containing 10,000 Buddha statues, each seated under a Banyan tree.  Not sure if that is also a world record but it beats the paltry 7000 or so in the Golden Cave (q.v.).  There is no escaping the fact that the Burmese do like their Buddhas.

Day 5: Christmas on the Road to Mandalay

Today's ride was a 100km journey through more of the picturesque Shan countryside that we cycled though the previous day.    Again, we passed though many villages where the children gathered by the roadside to wave at us as we rode by.  We encountered several avenues of eucalyptus trees along the  route, which apparently had been planted by the government.

At this point I should say a word or two about the roads in Myanmar.  Many of these are still dirt tracks, made of packed mud, which are fine for cycling, if somewhat bumpy. Then we have roads where they have attempted to lay a more substantial stone and gravel surface.  These may be smoother than the dirt tracks, but the loose gravel means that there is virtually no traction if you need to stand on your pedals to get up a hill. On at least one occasion I suffered from wheelspin, and being cleated in to my pedals, this results in falling sideways in an undignified heap.  Then we have sealed roads where the surface was at one time smooth and in one piece, but is now full of ruts and potholes, which makes travelling at any reasonable speed a very bumpy experience. And finally, there are the roads that are actually undergoing construction.  We have to weave amongst the swarms of local labourers (mostly women) who are painstakingly placing individual stones onto the foundations of what will eventually become the road.

The final leg of the day was a 20km descent from the Shan hills down to the Mandalay plain.  This was a spectacular and exhilarating ride involving all of the road surfaces described above, requiring 100% concentration all the way down so as to avoid the numerous hazards. But a great feeling once we got to the bottom.

The day was rounded off by a sort of Christmas party hosted by the manager of  Grasshopper's Myanmar office, complete with turkey, cake, and party crackers.

Day 4: Kalaw - Pindaya

First on the itinerary for today was a visit to an elephant sanctuary in the jungle about one hour's drive from Kalaw. This turned out to be a charming enterprise run by some very dedicated people, committed to ecology, conservation and the welfare of ex-logging elephants in need of some special care.  They deliberately avoid the tacky circus-like activities that one finds in some of the elephant camps in Thailand, for example. So we got to feed them with bananas, and the braver members of our party also participated in bating the elephants in the nearby river.  Then it was time for each of us to plant a teak seedling, which 80 years from now will hopefully have grown into a mature tree.  Unfortunately, much of the teak forests in Burma have already been decimated, so it is good to see that there are local people seeking to reverse this situation.

After a mid-morning feast of local goodies, it was on to the starting point for our ride to Pindaya.  This was a much more leisurely ride than yesterday's, through some beautiful scenery - apparently some of the best that Burma has to offer.   Lots of road construction going on, which made riding a bit interesting at times.   Our route also took us through several villages, where the local children were very excited to see these strange people riding through and shouted out mingelabar (hello) to us as we passed by.

After checking into our hotel we paid a visit to the famous Golden Cave, which is a natural limestone cave system that has been filled with over 8000 Buddha statues.  Not sure whether this is totally awesome or the epitome of tackiness, but certainly has to be seen to be believed.

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Day 3: Nyaung Shwe - Kalaw

Today we experienced our first real cycle ride of the trip, a challenging 70km from Lake Inle up into the Shan Hills and to Kalaw, an ex-British garrison town from the colonial eras.

The ride started off gently enough as we passed along a quiet road through fields of sugar cane and sunflowers and past paddy fields, pausing only to dodge the numerous ox carts that seem to be the preferred mode of transport for the farmers in this region.  Plenty of refreshment stops were laid on to no problem keeping topped up on the journey.  Then we got to the start of the 11km challenging hill section, which proved particularly exhausting.  But everyone made it to the top for a very well deserved drink stop.  Then on for a further 30km or so through some really spectacular rolling hills, with the red earth contrasting vividly with fields of turquoise flowers.  At our final refreshment stop we were all fairly weary and opted for a transfer in the van to the final destination of Kalaw, where we had a well deserved lunch and a beer or two.

The day ended with a tour around a couple of monasteries to see, inevitably, more Buddhas.

Apparently today's ride was the most demanding of the whole trip, so hopefully tomorrow's ride will be a bit more relaxing.

Nyaung Shwe - Kalaw

Day 2: Lake Inle

Day 1 in Myanmar took us from Yangon Airport via a short domestic flight to Heho Airport and then on to our first real destination of the trip: Lake Inle.  The hotel for our first two nights is an unexpectedly upmarket establishment, with very well appointed cabin rooms on stilts over a small lagoon next to the main canal leading into Lake Inle.  All very picturesque, the only downside being the incessant and fairly loud chugging of the long-tail boats racing up and down the canal outside our back door.  But I suppose that is preferable to listening to the planes coming in to land over Heathrow.

Today (Day 2) was our first outing on our bikes, which are impressively well specified and well maintained.  First stop after a short ride was a winery.  Yes, I didn't realise that they made wine in Burma either, until some appeared at last night's dinner.  So naturally we had to have a tasting session.  Slightly weird drinking wine at 8.30 in the morning, but hey, we're on holiday!  Verdict: I don't think the French wine producers need to worry too much about the Burmese competition, nor indeed do even the English wineries.Then it was another short ride to the start of the Inle Lake tour.  Leaving the bikes behind for the rest of the day we boarded long-tail boats, which took us around the various tourist attraction on the lake, including the local fishermen, who have their own unique style of propelling their craft using their legs to move its single paddle.   Naturally there were various Buddhist temples to visit too (I suspect the first of many that we will be seeing on this Myanmar trip.)

And so finally back to our hotel on our taxi boat, followed by a flock of seagulls eager to eat the snacks thrown to them by our guide.

Lake Inle

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Myanmar Magic

Making final preparations for our cycling trip around Burma.
Here is a map showing our itinerary over the next 20 days.
Follow this blog to see what we actually get up to each day.

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Urbane Foxes at the Turks Head

The Urbane Foxes continued with our world tour (mainly Twickenham), delivering a storming performance to the good people of St Margarets, at the Turks Head pub.

Grand Prix Day

For the Grand Prix day itself, I had a walkabout ticket rather than an allocated seat in a grandstand.  Although in theory this allows the flexibility to move around from one vantage point to anther as the race progresses, in practice, once I had managed to secure a standing space in the desirable turn 1 viewing area, there was little point in moving, or indeed the opportunity to do so.

During the race I was listening to the Radio 5 live commentary, which is considerably more informative than the default F1 version.  Only problem is that the commentary is delayed by 1 minute from the video screen feed, which in turn is delayed by about 2 seconds from the live action. So if you see an incident in front of you, it is repeated on the screen shorty after and then you get the analysis somewhat later!

If you saw the race on TV you will recall that it was somewhat dominated by Sebastian Vettel, who was way out in an unchallenged lead for almost the entire race.  Nevertheless,some exciting action for the podium positions towards the end of the race,and overall, a great day out if you are an F1 fan.

The evening's entertainment was Rihanna.  I was not too bothered to join the crowds of twenty somethings heading to the main stage, so I headed off to the Crazy Elephant at Clarke Quay, for some fine blues music.

Singapore Grand Prix 2013

I was in Singapore for their first Grand Prix back in 2009, and since I was in the country anyway for work, I thought it would be fun to repeat the experience this year.

On this occasion, as a fairly late booking, I had no option other than to go for one of the more expensive tickets, which includes the Premier seating in the pit lane / starting grid zone.  I manged to get to the track in time for the P2 session on the Friday and yesterday watched P3 and the qualifying sessions.   It has to be said that you actually get a better idea of what is hapeening from watching F1 on TV, so at the track it is essential to have a view of one of the giant TV screens and to be in earshot of the commentary.  Of course, the added benefit of being there is the atmosphere, i.e. noise, petrol smell, etc.

Included in my ticket was unlimited rides on the Singapore Flyer, a slightly larger version of the London Eye.  So I decided to go for a daytime trip and then another ride when it was dark.  Singapore is certainly spectacular by night, expecially the new Marina Bay Resort area, and hopefully some of my photos can do it justice.

Not only to we get three days of motor racing for our money, but there is an extensive programmeof musical entertainment to fill in the gaps between races, spread over six stages in different parts of the course.  Yesterday I could have taken in Tom Jones or Bob Geldorf for example (no thanks!), but in the end chose to join over 100,000 other racegoers to wach the headlining act of the day - The Killers - who put on a crowd-pleasing show that sent everyone away very happy.

Now we have Race Day to look forward to.

Ancient Rome

From Rome

Today was the day for ruins. But first, we had a look around the market next to our hotel. Amazing selection of fresh food, flowers and other culinary delights. Then it was on to the archaeological sites, starting at the Palatine Hill then working our way down to the Forum.  Lots of old stones. You have to use your imagination a fair bit to visualize what it must have been like to live there 2000 years ago.

 We need a refreshment break before onto using on to the Colosseum later in the afternoon., so stopped for a lunchtime pasta at a nearby restaurant.

Last stop for the day: the Colosseum. This really is an impressive structure, particularly considering how long ago it was built.  It raises the question: how could people as civilized as the ancient Romans have had such barbaric tastes when it came to their entertainment?

Rome

Rome

Day one of Alison's birthday treat holiday in Rome.  We are staying in a delightful hotel in the Campo de Fiori, which is arguably Rome's most charming square, in the Ghetto quarter of the city. Less charming is the tourist trap of Piazza Navona where this photo was taken.

Plenty of good restaurants near by, and we are well situated for walking to all the main sights over the next four days.

Northern Lights

One of the attractions on offer with our adventure holiday was the opportunity to view the Northern Lights.  The only problem with this is that they can not be guaranteed and are as fickle as the weather.  Nevertheless, this year is near to a sunspot maximum, which increases the likelihood of an Aurora display, and the weather was favorable in that the night skies were clear of cloud for most of our stay.  The only drawback was that there was a very bright full moon, which tended to drown out anything else in the sky while it was above the horizon.
So every evening after 10pm I stuck my head out of our cabin door to see if there was any aurora action.  For the first four nights  - nothing.  On our final night there was an organised activity optimistically named: "Northern Lights viewing expedition", which involved a trek through the woods to a spot on the lake where there was no light pollution. Once there we sat round a camp file on reindeer skins and waited for something to happen.  I decided to get some night sky shots in anyway, with or without the aurora, and started to set up my gear.  As I was wrestling with the controls on my camera, the others spotted that the northern sky had lit up with the greenish glow of the Northern Lights.   So we did strike lucky in the end and got to see this amazing natural phenomenon.
Later on when we got back to the cabin I did manage to get my camera lens sorted out and had a more relaxed chance to get some pictures. Not perhaps as spectacular as can be seen on some occasions when the aurora puts on a multi-coloured display right overhead, but a perfect end to a great adventure holiday and birthday treat.

Cross Country Skiing

Our final activity for this adventure holiday was to experience cross country skiing.  Although we can both ski downhill to some extent, there is very little overlap in terms of technique between that and cross country, so we had to start from square one again.  Our guide/instructor, Chris, correctly assumed that we would be worn out after a couple of hours of learning cross country, so we had a leisurely start to the day, with a visit to Chris' attractive Finnish style house and a look around his pottery.  Once on skis, we shuffled off somewhat shakily along a track over one of the many frozen lakes in the area.  After a while it started to feel a bit more relaxed as we got into the right rhythm, but I still managed to work up quite a sweat, whereas Chris was looking cool and unruffled.  So clearly I still have some way to go to develop the right technique.
After that sampler, I would certainly like to give cross country another go sometime for a slightly longer trek, although I think I will stick to downhill most of the time  One plus for cross country is that the shoes are way more comfortable than clunky ski boots.

Snowmobile Trek

Our activity for day three of our Arctic Adventure is a snowmobile expedition along some of the trails around Ruka - the local ski resort.  After wrapping up in some suitably warm outer garments provided by the hire shop, we set out along the trails that wind through forests and across frozen lakes.  Not quite as tranquil as our husky ride of the previous day, thanks to the engine noise and the exhaust smell, and it is not so easy to look around at the scenery when you are concentrating on staying on the track.
Our apres-trek routine usually involved a session in the sauna in our cabin, followed by a very tasty Finnish meal served up by the proprietors of the adjacent lodge.

Husky Expedition

On to day two of my Arctic Adventure. Today's activity was a ride through another national park driving a sleigh drawn by huskies. After meeting our dog team of eight eager huskies we set out across a deserted wilderness, taking it in turn to drive. No too difficult to master as the only control is a break, plus a bit of leaning into the corners . Wonderfully peacefull, to the extent that we saw no  other signs of human activity for the whole of the expedition.  Our lunch break consisted of a very filling elk soup followed by a local dessert speciality made from squeaky cheese in a caramel saue with cranberries. Very tasty. We managed the return journey to the husky farm without any mishap and said goodbye to our dog team before the drive back to our lodge.

Arctic Adventure

Day one of my Arctic Adventure holiday - my 60th birthday present from Alison. Our guide, Steve, took us to one of the nearby national parks for a snowshoe trek through the forest, and along a river gorge. Lunchtime stop for sausages grilled over a wood fire. Apparently a Finnish tradition. Most animals are still lying low at this time of year, but plenty of tracks in the snow to indicate that they are around.  Snowshoeing seems to be a good way of getting around in the wild, but exercises hip muscles that I never knew existed.

Plank Results At Last

Four years after the launch of ESA's Plank satellite mission, the agency has at last seen fit to publish a small chunk of the data gathered during the first year of Plank's operation. To me it seems outrageous that this mission, which has been funded by the European taxpayer, should be the preserve of a small clique of professional scientists. Having just sat though two distinctly underwhelming press connects to present the mission's initial findings, I am left wondering exactly why the ESA felt it necessary to cloak the whole operation in secrecy over the past four years.
Anyway, the data is now out in the public domain and available for analysis by independent cosmologists like me. Having published a paper a few years ago predicting that the Planck data would reveal some interesting data about anomalous photon noise, I am obviously keen to see whether these predictions turn out to be true. If this does turn out to be the case then the implications for our view of space, time and the structure of the cosmos would be fairly profound, to say the least. Watch this space!

Richard Thompson, Bristol

Continuing the theme of birthday gift experiences, Claire had given me a ticket to see Richard Thompson in concert at the Colston Hall in Bristol.  This year he is touring the UK to promote his new Electric album, which is apparently his 40th!  Quite a prolific musician then.  I had not got around to previewing the album properly before the concert, but we had just enough time for a quick Spotify download and listen before heading off to the Colston Hall.  My birthday present from Claire included a pre-gig dinner, which we had in the Bistro at the Colston Hall itself.  I can confirm that they do a very acceptable theater menu.
Richard Thompson was playing as a trio, and in keeping with the title of the album, most of the songs featured him playing on electric guitar, with only a couple of diversions to acoustic.
It is said that Thompson is one of the top 10 guitarists in the world, and I would not disagree with that view based on this performance.  Not only that, but his voice, which used to be rather weedy, has improved with age and now has considerable depth and character.  We were treated to several songs from the Electric album, interspersed with other more or less memorable items from his extensive back catalogue.  There was a fair bit of interaction with the crowd, who treated Thompson as a long lost friend. So when it came to the inevitable encores, he picked up on a shouted suggestion to play Hey Joe and the trio launched into a pretty decent rendition of the Hendrix classic.
All in all, an excellent evening's entertainment.  Thank you Claire.

The Shard

Get Rocking

60th Birthday Party

60th Birthday

So, the Big 60 arrives at last! It was difficult working out what to do to mark the occasion, but in the end I opted for a relatively quiet family get together.  Fortunately the date coincided with Jonathan's last day in the UK before heading back to California, so we were able to have the whole family together (minus Mum unfortunately, as we didn't think she could cope with the late hour).
The afternoon kicked off with a visit to the theater, arranged by Jessica,  to see a spiffing performance of Chariots of Fire, which reignited the Olympic fever of 2012.
Then on (via a slightly tortuous route) to the Bull's Head by the river, for pre-dinner drinks, followed by dinner itself in Annie's.  The staff at Annie's were very welcoming, and I think everyone enjoyed the menu that I had chosen.  At then end of the meal I was treated to a birthday surprise when a birthday cake in the shape of a guitar was carried in.  Apparently Adam had trekked half way across London to collect this cake and bring it to the restaurant!   Thanks to Jessica and Adam for making it a very special day.
In choosing birthday presents,  friends and family had followed my suggestion that I would prefer experiences rather than material things.  Consequently, I received many inspired gifts for events and outings over the coming months, which I will try to review in future blog posts.