Scenes In A Public Bath in China
by Kimmy Fam
(Malaysia)
Midway between Hangzhou, the capital city of the province of
Zheijiang and Nanjing in the north (located in the pronvince of
Jiangsu) lies the city of Maanshan, sometimes nicknamed the Bath
City.
Our visit there was most memorable, for this is a city , it is
actually a town rather, of people who adore public baths. 'Public'
as in everybody strip down to nothingness in front of everybody
else, get scrubbed down or jump into the giant communal jacuzzi.
There is one requirement with respect to modesty though - no cameras
of any sort. House rules require them to be locked away with your
clothes and personal belongings. Before you think this is what is
sounds like - they have separate bathing facilities for men and
women.
The public bath we went to was situated within a kind of health
spa that serves endless buffets of healthy vegetarian food all day
long.It was an ambivalent experience appearing stark naked in front
of stangers. When I saw locals from eight to eighty happily
scampering around with nary a thread on their bodies, I promptly
discarded my modesty along with my clothes.
Before I knew it I was made to lie down on a conrete slab where
an enthusiastic young chap with a towel scrubbed me from top to toe.
When I got up, I could almost swear I was a good couple of grams
lighter after such thorough exfoliation. Still I couldn't help
wondering what will the lad put in his resume under 'previous
experience' when he looks for a new job - 'I attend to naked men all
day?'
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Memorable Scenes In France
by Neville Millen (Australia)
Les Saintes-Maries is 50 kilometers south of Arles in Provence,
Southern France. It is at the mouth of the little Rhone tributary.
There are extensive lagoons around the town, part of the Camargue
sanctuary. On this day in July there was a sea mist rolling in,
giving the town an air of portent of a summer storm. The sky was as
dark grey as Vincent Van Gogh's, Sea View at Saintes-Maries (June
1888). Would this be the day to break the 50 we had enjoyed without
rain? Dark clouds threatened as I entered the tourist bureau. I
asked about getting to a bird sanctuary five miles back down the
road where one might see flamingoes. "If you want to see flamingoes
there are some on the lagoon behind the bus car park here." I looked
at him stunned. "They are not often there, but there were sightings
of 20 new birds this morning!" Off we shot to see this phenomenon of
flamingoes that winter over from Lake Uganda in Southern Africa to
the south of France.
We pushed between the huge tourist buses and there in front of us,
not 20 but now 50 flamingoes, about 20 meters away, bobbing up and
down, feeding in their strange way, filtering the mud back to front.
And these birds were complete with full orange-stained under-flight
feathers. Then something amazing started to happen: a few birds flew
in under our guard, almost skimming in, stretched out over six feet
in length in flight. The birds arrived in front of us, until maybe a
flock of 200 birds had landed and assembled, most likely stopping
for the first time in a flight over 2000 miles from central Africa!
That was a sight we will never forget from France!
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An Unexpected Visit
by Mr Dick Lamerton (New Zealand)
During a stay in Paris many years ago I was required to visit the
office of one of my firm's Principals(supplier of electrical
equipment). The office was in La Defense.
Visit over I wandered around the precinct and found most interesting
architectural features in one building consisting of steel plates
with edges etched to a large extent. My interest aroused I then
wished to photograph a circular window but soon learned that this
was in a security room which emptied as soon as I raised my camera.
Duly interrogated as to my reasons for being there and having
convinced the staff a photo was not taken, I was allowed to proceed
on my way. Next holiday, I'll be more careful at times of political
nervousness!
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The Best Holiday Ever
By Marja Koavumaki (Canada)
In a world of terrorism and crime, people are looking for places to
go ,where they feel safe. Five years ago, my daughter and I went to
Finland and the Cyprus. I can vouch for both countries being very
safe places to visit on a Holiday. But, my main focus will be on
Cyprus.
It was our first visit to a real hot country and the heat was
incredible. The minute you step into the Airport, you feel the heat
wave hit you. The moisture in the air is so heavy, it seems like you
can touch it physically.
But, what made us feel good about the country, was its people and
how well we were treated. The fact that it was two of us ladies
traveling together made safety a real issue. We felt absolutely safe
in Cyprus.
Each day ,in the cool of the evening, we would go for long walks and
find nice places to dine. Every restaurant we found offered the same
hospitality And kindness to which they are so famous for. Since my
daughter was 11 yrs.old at the time and has darker skin, they
thought she was one of the locals and therefore for the whole trip
we got free meals, free ice-creams and free loaves of bread to take
home!
It was nice to be treated with kindness. There is something of a
human kindness that touches our hearts. It is necessary for human
life. We need that. Throughout the trip we felt we were like
Royalty. How often that happens in our every day life ? We were duly
impressed.
We took part on daily tours from our hotel. Each day, we went to a
different destination and saw the country, learned about its history
and customs and way of thinking and I believe we returned home just
a little bit wiser! The tour-guide was a Finnish born lady, who had
married a local man. She knew the Cyprus history and its customs and
ways inside out, forwards and backwards. I found the lessons on
history absolutely fascinating!
But, the main issue for us two ladies on holiday, was the sense of
safety.
That we could go anywhere and feel that same respect, kindness and
safety
surrounding us. But, we should not forget all the FREE meals,
either! That was a good bonus!
Yes, I could say our trip to Cyprus was very special. Good food,
good memories. Kind people. Hot weather. Feeling of safety! What
else can you ask for ?
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Our introduction to Lusaka
by Mrs. Mary Barker (Australia)
After a long day in the local bus travelling from Livingstone,
Zambia, to Lusaka, my husband and I were anxious to get something to
eat, and settle in to our "Christian Guest House". Unable to find a
restaurant other than a fast fried chicken takeaway, we decided that
was better than nothing. Hopping into a broken-down taxi, we headed
into the dark of the night, out of the city. Where on earth had we
booked into. On a rocky unmade road, the taxi stopped outside a wall
topped with barbed wire. It looked more like a prison compound than
our lovely Christian Guest House. As soon as the taxi stopped,
guards opened the gate, and enquired what we wanted, shining torches
into our faces. They called the lady in charge, an American.
"We were not expected," she cried, but she could put us in with
another gentleman.....
"EEEEK!," I shouted, "I don't want to share a room with another
man!"
She explained that the guest house consisted of two bedroom chalets,
and that the gentleman was moving out tomorrow, and we would have a
bedroom to ourselves. The gentleman had gone out, so wouldn't know
he now had two boarders. But what could we do? Make the best of it
we decided. This was Africa, wasn't it? Our fried chicken was now
cold, and we were desperate to eat it before it got even colder. As
we sat down in the primitive 1950's chalets, I thought how lovely it
was that there were so many candles around - for romance, eh? My
long suffering husband of over 30 years, munched into his cold
chicken, and the lights went out! Oh, obviously the lights go out
often, and that's why they have so many candles around. It wasn't
for the romance after all. My dear Teddy, got the laughs, and
laughs, and giggles, and giggles....couldn't stop, except to whimper
out in between them, "What have you got me into now?"
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Getting To Know The Locals
by Anita Wong (Malaysia)
I have always believed in getting to know the locals when travelling.
For to me, what makes a place interesting is not just the scenery
per se, but more so the people who live there.
Hence when travelling, I always make it a point to have small chats
with the locals.
Being a female lone traveller, talking to a local stranger however
can be quite dangerous if simply done. From my experience, the
safest people to talk to would be students. Between high school and
primary school students, I would go for the former because younger
children tend to be more shy and scared of strangers themselves.
Identifying local students is never difficult because most will be
wearing school uniforms. All we need to do, is just to pluck up our
courage, approach a small group and introduce ourselves as foreign
tourists. Striking up a conversation should not be difficult too
because most students are amused to meet up with tourists especially
if you are from a faraway land. The further you are from, the
stranger you sound and the weirder you look, the happier they are to
see you!
A short conversation with them can reveal a lot more about the local
customs and cultures than one can gain from reading travel guides.
Most will also be excited to teach you how to speak some local
phrases. Besides, you can also always get them to strike a few
interesting pose for your camera. Show their pictures to your folks
back home, and I guarantee, they will make for an interesting
conversational piece. So, the next time you go travelling, do look
out for some local students. Even if it's only a 5 or 10 minutes
chat at the bus stop while the students wait for their school bus,
it can be a most enriching experience!
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