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World Tour

July 1979 - February 1980

SHIRLEY and TONY: WORLD TRIP, JULY 1979 to FEBRUARY 1980.

From Colchester, England, eastbound and back to Ottawa.

Sunday July 15.

Packed in the morning. Took the 2 pm. train to London (Liverpool St. Station) - just over 1 hour in length. Taxi to hotel (Mount Royal) previously booked and paid for. Taxi drivers are allowed 3 gals. diesel per day 25 miles per gallon. Walked around for about 2 hours, walking through Kensington Gardens among other places. Had an excellent supper at one of the better hotels in the area (dropped into a pub on the way to the hotel for coke and beer). Quite hot and muggy today. Went out for Tony's last English beer for a while - Overlander's pub.

Monday July 16.

Up at 6.30 am, had coffee from thermos and I had a marmalade sandwich. The bus, "Nigel", was waiting for us at the corner. There are 23 of us, a mixture of ages, quite a few "professional travelers" - work for a while, travel, work, travel, etc. The bus left at 7.30 a.m. with everyone aboard - Randy from Los Angeles had arrived the night before, just happened to stay at a hotel in Earl's Court and then, not knowing where we were to meet, walked around early in the morning.. At about 6 a.m. he saw a woman (Ann) standing waiting for our bus with Travel Trek stickers on her suitcase, so he found out where we were to meet! Took the bus to the ferry at Sheerness. Took the 11 a.m. ferry to Vlissingen, Holland (Flushing), arriving at 8 p.m. Lunch and supper on the ferry (fish and chips both times). Cloudy, with a few spots of rain when we arrived (after 2 weeks in England with no rain). Calm crossing over the channel. Drove about 2 hours to Amsterdam where we set up camp in drizzle. Be glad when we are in hotels!

From our courier's notes. Vlissingen is a harbor town in the province of Zealand, which has always been threatened by the sea. But the Delta project has improved the dangerous situation a lot. From here through the flat western part of Holland. Saw some windmills, a man with clogs and bicycle. We camped near the Olympic Stadium.

Tuesday July 17.

Amsterdam was constructed across the river Amstil around 1270 A.D. at the present site of Dai Square. International trade soon developed. All ships were loaded and unloaded here. In 1275 they received toll privilege, which enabled them to conduct trade without paying tolls. The city expanded enormously and several city walls had to be built. Many convents were built in and around Amsterdam. One is still left, the Begijnkoj, in the center of Amsterdam, which dates back to the 15th C.

The most flourishing age was the 17th C. due to the United East India Company. Trade was better than ever. In this century the beautiful houses along the canals were built. Decline started in the 18th C. Louis Napoleon was appointed King of the Netherlands. In 1813 Amsterdam became capital of the Netherlands.

Population increased fast and is about 850,000 at present, but only 70,000 live in the center. The old city center covers 2,000 acres and is the fourth largest historical center of the world.

We saw the Rijks museum, famous for its Rembrandts (the Nightwatch) furniture, textiles, and oriental art. After lunch we took a canal tour and then walked around Amsterdam. After supper at the camp, we went back into town and walked around the red light district for an hour.

We are divided into 5 teams of 4 (the 3 extra are on unloading/ loading suitcases and putting up and down the cook tent) for the camping part of the trip. Tony is on the same team as me. There are 3 duties - cooking, washing up and bus cleaning. We were on bus cleaning today, washing up tomorrow, then a day off, cooking, a day off and back to bus cleaning (which is fairly easy). We only have to cook 4 times so we should manage o.k.

Wednesday July 18.

(Again I am going o copy the courier's notes)

Amsterdam - Berlin. Distance 686 km. Route: Amsterdam - Yengelo - Osnabrach

Magdenburg - Berlin.

From Amsterdam we will drive along the Ysselrwer, which used to be called Zuiderzee (Southsea). A dam was built in 1937 up in the north. Since then most of this lake is turned into land. In the eastern part of Holland you will see more woods with small farms and fields in between it. We will cross the German border just after Mengelo and will drive through Osnabruch on to Magdenburg. The scenery is not much different from Holland, just as flat. At Helmstedt we will enter Eastern Germany and at West Berlin we are back in West Germany.

Lunch was sardine sandwiches, much appreciated as it was about 2 p.m. by the time we stopped. The crossing into East Germany took about 40 minutes altogether. The campsite in West Berlin is quite wet but fortunately we have one of the dry tents. The tents have ground sheets in them and also waterproof sheets over the tent itself. It didn't take us long to put up our tent and get organized - we are on "washing up" today. I boiled the dishtowels (quite dirty already) and put them up on my line today apparently it has been raining for 2 weeks here. Anyway at about 4 a.m. I heard rain spots on the tent so I put a jacket on and rescued the tea towels, also our underclothes that were drying. It then poured. Today (Thurs) has been nice though, so everything is dry (except for the ground) - I'm glad my shoes have thick soles because they are so far staying dry.

Thursday July 19.

Berlin - At the end of World War II Berlin was sliced into four pieces under the control of a four-power "Konmandatura”: Russia, France, Britain and the U.S.A. Each one had a sector. In 1948, the Soviet general walked out of it and the blockade was in effect. West Berlin was deep in occupied Germany. Until 1961 Berlin was one of the main escape routes for the East Germans, because in this year the wall went up between west and East Berlin. Since then 17,000 East Germans have made the perilous crossing, but since 1973, East Berlin can be visited. The town was badly destroyed in 1945 but is built up completely (it wasn't when I was there in 1965). What Piccadilly Circus is for London, Kurfurstendamm is for West Berlin, the main shopping street also. It starts where the Memorial Church is (rebuilt in 1961). Behind the church is the famous Zoo (Tiergarten) one of the best in Europe. If you want to visit East Berlin@ go to Potsdammer Platz, where Russian, British and American sectors meet. “Checkpoint Charlie” is in Friedrichstrasse, corner of Zimmerstrasse. Hitler spent his final days in his bunker a few hundred yards from here.

We took our bus into Berlin; saw the Olympic Stadium, Charlottenburg Palace gardens, checkpoint Charlie (into East Berlin), Congress Hall, Bradenburg Gate, and Victory Column. In the morning we had coffee (or beer) at a Turkish restaurant - one of the fellows had misplaced his money belt, the bus went back to the campsite and it was in his tent so he celebrated by buying drinks for half the group!

In the evening we went back into town to the Hofbrauhause (beer hall) for beer (coke was more expensive than beer!) and a German band. ($4/liter beer, $2.50/.4 L. Coke) Waitress = warder.

To ease your mind - apparently Iran is quiet now but Afghanistan isn't so we may have to skip the Khyber Pass and go south of Afghanistan. We paid for our visas too! Anyway they check with the embassies before going to these countries and have contingency plans so we may not be exactly where you think we are if there is trouble.

Friday July 20.

Bus took us into Berlin (the campground was on the outskirts). Saw the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church - damaged steeple left as a reminder of the devastation of war, and new modern church built beside it. We then went to the European Center - a large complex with shopping and entertainment, also outdoor skating rink. Walked to the top of the Victoria Column (285 steps) to get a good view of the city (misty though!) Victoria Column has a gilded statue of the Victoria on top. Walked through the Tiergarten - one of Berlin's most beautiful and extensive public parks, Brilliant flower displays, walks and lakes. Had lunch there (Brockwarst mit Brot, and Brockwerst mit salate) - large wiener with bread, ditto with potato salad. In the afternoon we walked along the Kurfurstendam - 2 miles of charm and chic. (Some very expensive shops) It is West Berlin's smart promenade. Outdoor cafes, restaurants theaters, night clubs, stylish shops, antique stores and elegant hotels make this splendid thoroughfare an international meeting place. With aching feet and legs we got back to the bus at 5 p.m. (after shopping for bread and margarine for breakfast the next day). We then went to a Turkish restaurant for supper. Tony and I had veal kabobs - excellent, the proprietor took a number of Polaroid pictures of us and I got one of them - he gave them away. After supper there was Turkish music - first from a jukebox and then a live group - most of our group plus a number of the Turks in the restaurant bar danced for quite a while. For the last 1/2 hour or so Randy (from our group) played his guitar and sang (not nearly as good as the Turkish music and singing). Some of the group went to East Berlin for the day but we decided not to.

Saturday July 21.

Berlin to Copenhagen, distance 400 km. Route: Berlin - Warnemande - Gedser - Copenhagen.

Today's drive leads us back into East Germany (transit visa again) and then northwest up to Rohstock and Warnemonde from where we take the ferry to Gedser in Denmark. We had a meal on the ferry - 2 hour crossing. From Gedser to Copenhagen it is only an 11-hour drive. The scenery won't change very much as Denmark is just as flat as Holland and north Germany. The crossing from Berlin to East Germany wasn’t too bad - only 50 minutes. Saw modern windmills on drive to Copenhagen. Very drab housing in East Germany.

Copenhagen.

The history of Copenhagen goes back to 1100 but the town looks very new. As it is strategically located on the Sont, connecting the Baltic with the Kathegat and the North Sea, it has been ravaged often. In 1267 a Castle was built to protect the city. The town was named Kopmannaehafn (Merchants haven) and the King came to live here in the 15th C. and the town entered a period of great expansion. In 1659 the King tried to put an end to the Danish - Swedish wars and the Swedes were driven away from Copenhagen and the island (Zealand). In 1728 and 1795 the town was destroyed by fires and bombarded in the Napoleonic wars in 1801 and 1007. The palaces survived this. After the wars the town enjoyed relative peace and the town expanded more and more - and now it has 1 million inhabitants.

Tivoli gardens - World famous amusement park. Theatres, concert hall, dancing, restaurants, fireworks, scenic railway, etc

Denmark has about 500 islands, the largest of which is Greenland.

Christiansborg Palace: built in 1907-28 as the third palace on the same site. In here: Supreme Court, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Reception Chambers, Denmark is a monarchy - Queen Marguarita.

Sunday July 22.

Bus tour of Copenhagen - Seaman's area (Nyhavn), little mermaid statue, resistance museum, Changing of the guard at Amalienborg Palace, Marble Church, Christianborg Palace (tour of royal reception rooms - lot of gold and marble) - the Queen receives any Dane twice a month - usually 50-100 people per session, no guards are present, just the Queen and the Dane (can walk in off the street), walked to the top of Our Savior’s Church - mostly inside, up wooden steps up the bell tower, the last part was outside on a circular staircase which got narrower as it went, up around the tower, the top step was less than a foot wide. We could see the bells and the clock on the way up (90 meters high). We then went to Christianna - the hippy area, it used to be the army barracks. There was a flea market there and in one area "hash" (a form of marijuana) was being sold quite openly. In the evening we went to Tivoli gardens fireworks at 11.15 p.m. on a lake. So late to bed. Cold! I’m glad we have our ski jackets with us, some people don't. We’re warm enough at night but some people are cold. We thought Copenhagen was a very nice city.

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Monday July 23.

Route: Copenhagen - Helsingor - Gotenburg, Oslo.

Distance 630 km.

Today's 3 countries. (Denmark, Sweden, Norway) We drive north 50 kms. to Helsingor. From here we take the ferry (25 mins) to Helsingborg in Sweden. Tax free shopping again! From Helsingborg straight up to the north. The scenery changes gradually, more hilly and much more woods. We drive past Gotenborg, an important Swedish harbor and here we say goodbye to Bengt 1 and 2 (called this to distinguish between them as they have the same name and travel together) and Randy for 3 days. Then further up north along the coast and the last stretch we will follow the fjord up to Oslo.

Oslo. Oslo was founded in the 11th C. by Harold Handrade, but only in the 14th C. it became the capital, the former one was Bergen. The King then, Haalion the V built the fortress of Ahershus, which is still there. In 1624 a fire destroyed the town and King Christian V King of Denmark and Norway removed the town from its position on the east side of Akersler (Akers river) near Eheberg, to Akershus. He renamed the town Christiana, after himself, and this remained as the name of the Capital until 1924, when it reverted to its ancient and present name.

Places to see: Oslo Cathedral, built between 1694 and 1699, altarpiece and pulpit from 1699. The Viking Ships and the Archeological Finds, in Bydoy Bus 30. Remarkable relics from the Viking, including ships, The Kon Tiki Museum: houses the raft on which Thor Heyerdahl drifted across the Pacific Ocean. (Same area as Vikings Ships). Saw some pictographs (rock carvings just before we left Sweden for Norway. We got to Oslo quite late, dropped off Eva who is leaving the trip here and on to the campsite at about 9 P.M. Then supper, shower, tents up etc. and to bed about 12.30 a.m. still not completely dark!

Tuesday July 24.

Bus tour of Oslo - Vigeland Sculpture in Frogner Park - this is Gustov Vigeland’s most gigantic work - a world of people and animals carved in granite, iron and bronze.

Viking Museum, saw relics of the Viking Age which include the Oseberg ship, the Gokstad ship and the Tune ship which were all found near the Oslo Fjord. 2 of them were still in quite good shape too considering their age.

Saw the outside of the Polar Exploration Ship "Fram" but didn't want to pay to go on it. Steel plates at the front to cut through the ice. The "Fram" was built for Nansen's Polar expedition 1893-96, and also used on Otto Sverdrup's expedition 1889-1902. Later used by Roald Amundsen on his expedition to the South Pole 1910-12. "Fram” was built by the well-known designer Colin Archer.

Saw the Kon-Tiki Museum, very interesting. The museum, which was built in 1957, houses the raft on which Thor Heyerdahl and five companions drifted close to 5000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Callao in Peru to Raroia Islands in Polynesia, and also the approx. 14 meter long reed boat “RA II” and the collections going with it, from the expedition across the Atlantic Ocean that Thor Heyordahl and his crew from eight nations undertook in 1970. I wouldn’t like to be sailing in either of the ships on the ocean.

Oslo City Hall was designed by the architects Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulson. It is richly decorated with paintings and sculptures by Norway's leading artists. Lots of murals etc We had a free guided tour too to explain the paintings (which covered the complete walls).

Note: Norway is a monarchy, King Olav V.

We then walked around a bit by ourselves - wandered on the outskirts of the castle, through the shopping area. Also went to the Oslo Cathedral (at the Market Place) which was built between 1694 and 1699 etc. (see blurb on Oslo). The bus then picked us up and drove us to the Ski Jump on the outskirts of town. We walked to the top of it (stairs), some of the others in the group went up by elevator (had to pay 60 c. each to ride the elevator!). The exercise did us good and we got an excellent view of Oslo.

Tonight we are not doing much - writing diaries, letters, reading, chatting, etc. Tomorrow we leave early for Stockholm. The camp grounds here are very crowded, not too bad for a couple of days at a time to see a place but I don’t think I'd like to stay here for my summer vacation which is what the locals do. There are some motor homes and trailers here but no hookups!

Wednesday July 25.

Oslo - Stockholm. Route: Oslo - Arjang - Karlstad - Orebro - Stockholm. Distance about 550 km.

Leaving this beautiful and green town we drive back along the Oslo fjord and turn eastward to Arjang. We cross the Swedish border again, but the scenery does not change dramatically, but very nice and lots of lakes. We drive to Karlstad, the capital of Varmland, which is on the northern shores of Lake Vanern, the biggest lake in Sweden. After Karlstad we drive through Orebro on the west shores of Lake Hjalmaren and the next big town is Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, on the east side and west side surrounded by water; West: Malar Lake and East the East Sea.

Stockholm. In the 5th C. A.D. a Viking called Agne sailed from Sweden to Finland to war upon the tribes who lived there. When he sailed back he brought back with him Froste, who was the daughter of the king he had beaten. They married (after killing Froste's father) and came to live on an island called Agnefit. From then on Agnefit grew in importance primarily to defend the coast of Sweden against invaders. By the 13th C. it also was a trading center and port, due to copper and iron found in Sweden. The soldiers of the garrison drove logs (stockar) into the Norrshom to establish a bridge between Agnefit and the mainland, and the place got the name Stockholm - sundet and eventually Stockholm. All houses and buildings were wooden ones and so destroyed by fire several times. In the 17th C. when Sweden became important, houses were made of stone. Only very recently the town developed intensively. Many 19th C. buildings have been replaced by modern apartment buildings. The town therefore looks very modern.

What to see:

Townhall. 20-century structure, pillared arcades and lavishly decorated, surrounded by gardens. The 320 feet high tower provides an excellent view over the town.

Kunglega Slottel: Royal Palace. Erected 1697-1754. 550 rooms that contain collections of art, tapestries and marble statuary. The King's silver throne is in

Hall of State.

Skansen: World’s largest open-air museum, 150 buildings from several periods.

Nordic Museum: Folk art and daily life in Scandinavia.

We made good time to Stockholm, arriving about 5 p.m. so we had plenty of time to make supper by 6.30 pm. (we were on supper duty - hot dogs, peas, beans, mashed potatoes and canned peaches. We then had an evening to laze around, walk around, talk, etc.

Thursday July 26.

Went to the post office - picked up your letter that took 5 days to get here! Apparently the letter in London will be forwarded after our courier writes to them and asks them to forward it the London group doesn't seem to know who is in what group!! (Organized?!)

Hope Marion is enjoying her vacuuming, - I thought that was an outside job! The new room should be finished and organized by now. Glad the knee was done - amazing to be home by 1 p.m. Hope you get the message re getting to Bangkok on Oct. 27th. Also I think we get to Katmandu on Oct. 9 (not 10th). Also we may not go to Afghanistan because of fighting there - it will depend on the situation when we get closer. Still in Stockholm. Saw the town hall (or city hall), walked around the old town, saw the end of changing of the Guard (quite a production - with a band), walked around downtown, saw the Modern Museum (modern art, sculptures and some photographs including some by Anthony Armstrong Jones), saw the ship Wasa - it was sunk in 1629 and raised in 1961, we saw the ship itself which is in surprisingly good condition and also a film on the raising of the ship. It was a fairly large warship (about 400 people I think) that sank on its maiden voyage. We then had a Smorgasbordet supper (3 kinds of herring among other things - excellent) before catching the overnight ferry to Turku in Finland. We managed to get seats in the sitting lounge on the ferry (all the berths were full) but I found sleeping sitting up was not too comfortable so I slept on the floor (we had our sleeping bags with us) and Tony slept on our 2 seats. So we got some sleep but not a lot. Fortunately I'm not having any trouble sleeping on the bus when we're traveling (Just trouble staying awake!) 9 1/2 hour crossing.

Friday July 27.

Notes: I forgot to tell you that our bus was going to Blackpool, has just been changed to Bournemouth. It was daylight at 3 a.m. in Stockholm. When we cooked, we cooked beans and wieners and some other veg. - we split the wieners open, probably cooked too much and burnt the beans! Quite some cooks.! We had a girl in our crew who left in Oslo and have picked up a fellow in Helsinki who is now on our team - he is a vegetarian which could prove interesting, especially if we decide to cook stew - he eats milk and cheese but not eggs and won't even help cook meat.

Arrived in Turku at 8.20 p.m. (7.2O a.m. Stockholm time). We then drove to Helsinki, (165 kms.) through northern Ontario-type country - lots of trees and lakes. We saw the Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki - very modern, built in the middle of rock - the church was blasted out of the rock. I sent a post card of it to you or Marion. We then had lunch and went to our campsite early to get organized for our border crossing into U.S.S.R. - we had to repack all the clutter that was spreading out all over the bus. We didn't particularly like Helsinki but apparently there are parts of it about 5 minutes from the railway station that are quite nice.

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Saturday July 28.

Helsinki - Leningrad. Distance about 380 kms.

Route: Helsinki - border Finland / U.S.S.R. - Vyborg - Leningrad.

Up at 6.15 a.m., breakfast at 6.30 a.m. and off soon after 7.30 a.m. We arrived at the Finnish border at 11 a.m. and left the Russian border at about 2 p.m. which wasn’t too bad. We had to take all our baggage off but only a few suitcases were opened. The bus was also checked - we have a fair amount of junk in the bus too - tents, cooking equipment and food. We then drove to Vyborg through thick forests where we had a late lunch (we had already had bread and cheese earlier) and picked up our Intourist guide, Tania. She travels with us for our entire Russian trip. She keeps giving us information, too much really since we can't remember a lot of it. However she certainly knows a lot. We then drove to Leningrad along the Gulf of Finland to Leningrad where we checked into our hotel and had supper. We have a huge room - 3 beds and a washbasin. We are staying at a tourist class hotel so not as nice as some hotels but clean and quite adequate. Much better than a tent, too. I washed our jeans (after 2 weeks). Between Vyborg and Leningrad we passed by a number of large houses (dachau) - most of them are now used by the Pioneers - children's camps (9-13 I think). Some university professors also have summer homes there.

Sunday July 29. Sunday was Navy Day so there were a number of ships on the river near our hotel. There were also quite a number of people visiting from outside Leningrad. Fireworks this evening but we were at the ballet. We went to the Hermitage in the morning. It is a huge museum - art etc., plus the Winter Palace. I left the tour, which Tania gave, early, did a quick tour of the buildings and then went back to our hotel room and slept for more than an hour. After lunch we went to see the St. Isaac’s Cathedral (now a museum) that is very close to our hotel. It was damaged during the war and the gold dome was then painted over but it has been repaired and the dome is now gold again. Quite spectacular inside - used to be a Russian Orthodox Church. Lots of gold and icons. In the evening we went to the ballet - Romeo and Juliet. We took the tram there and walked back. I quite enjoyed it, surprisingly enough, as I'm not that fond of ballet. It was in Marlie Theatre that was quite ornate inside, fairly small theater so everyone could see quite well.

Monday July 30.

City tour of Leningrad. Quite a surprise - 68 canals and rivers and lots of 4-5 story grandiose buildings. Most people live in apartment blocks (10 sq. meters per person) but there is plenty of green space - parks, also a lot of trees. Also mosquitoes! - this is probably partly due to the wet weather lately. In the afternoon I slept (had a cold coming on) and Tony walked around into a few stores. In the evening we went to the Don Cossack show (folk dancing and singing). Quite good but we didn't enjoy it as much as the ballet.

Leningrad. Second largest center of the Russian Federation and the U.S.S.R. (pop. 4,100,000). The city was founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great and named St. Petersburg after the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in the fortress protecting the Neva Estuary. In 1914 it was renamed Petrograd and after the death of Lenin (1924), Leningrad. The town is situated on the banks and islands formed by the river the Neva, which flows into the Gulf of Finland. There are more than 100 islands and 600 bridges in Leningrad. The settlement of Leningrad was for economical and political reasons. The Russian empire needed a port in the Baltic. The best architects were invited to build the town. So Russia was connected with the rest of Europe by Leningrad and no longer isolated. In 1726 the port was handling 90% of Russian imports and exports. By the end of the 19th century Leningrad was the center of political unrest and rising of the revolutions (1905, 1917 Feb. and Oct.) took place here and success was reached in Nov. 1917 here.

Winter Palace built 1754 - 64, rebuilt after the fire of 1837, was the seat of the Tsars during winter. The outside is baroque, the inside classical. This connects with the Hermitage, founded in 1764 by Catherine the second for the private collections, opened to the public in 1852. It is now one of the most important galleries in the world.

St. Isaac’s Cathedral Built between 1818 - 1848 by 440,000 workers, reinforced by 24,000 pillars. Turned into a museum in 1931.

Peter and Paul fortress. Built in 1703 - 1728, same date as founding of Leningrad. In here is the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It is the burial place of the Russian tsars since Peter the Great. The dungeons of the fortress served as prison cells, now a museum. We did not see this; the group went on the afternoon that I slept.

Tuesday July 31.

Leningrad - Kalinin Route: Leningrad - Novgorod - Kalinin.

Distance: 547 kms.

The road leads through a flat terrain with many forests and lakes, straight southward. We come through Novgorod (179 kms. from Leningrad) a town in the Novgorod region of the Russian Federation. It was founded on the great trade route from the Mediterranean to the Baltic. In 864 it was the seat of Varyag leader Rurik founder of the Russian dynasty of the Ruriks. In 1478 the Novgorod republic was annexed to the Russian state. Another 358 kms. and we are in Kalinin, in the Kalinin Region of the Russian Federation. Population 380,000. It was founded by the exiles of Novgorod and first mentioned in 1135. Situated on the upper reaches of the Volga, it was a most important trade center.

The town was rebuilt after a great fire in 1763, the architecture is reminiscent of Leningrad. The oldest monument in the city is the White Church of the Holy Trinity built in 1563-64. Traveler’s Palace (Putevoi Dvoretz) dates back to Catherine II (1763). It is now the seat of the Regional Soviet. We didn't see this.

The average Soviet worker's wage is 163 rubles per month (farmer - 130). Rent on an apartment is only 5% of the wage. A liter of milk is 28 Kopeks (.28 rouble, but a farmer can get it for 10 Kopeks. 1 rouble is $1.50. Income tax 9% to 13% depending upon income.

We stopped for lunch and a walk round the Kremlin (fort) in Novgorod. There was a beach there too with fairly warm water and a number of people sunbathing. On the road we saw a lot of villages with quite a few nice looking houses, a lot with blue trim on the outside. A lot of fretwork carving around the windows. People, especially children, wave at the bus. At Kalinin we had A-frame cottage-type rooms, so we didn't have to put our tents up. We also had sheets, blankets and towels provided for us which was nice. There were 2 single beds and a table in each of the rooms (2 rooms per cottage).

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Wednesday August 1.

Kalinin - Moscow. Route: Kalinin - Klin - Moscow.

Distance 1-45 kms.

Only a short drive today through the forests and country villages down to Moscow, the capital of the U.S.S.R. and the Russian Federation, where we will stay three nights. The population is almost 8 million. It is strategically situated between the rivers Volga and Oha. Moscow was founded in 1147 by Yuir Dolgornsky. In the l4th C. Moscow united with several other principalities of the surrounding lands. In 1325 Moscow became the head of the Orthodox Church. Moscow was fortified from the 16th C. on, against the Tatar invaders. Several rings of fortifications were constructed. Although St. Petersburg became Russia’s Capital in 1712, Moscow remained important. During the French invasion of 1812, the Russians were forced to leave the town in flames, but the town was rebuilt and repaired.

Revolutionary groups united in 1894 and the first uprising was in 1905. In 1918 Moscow became the Capital of the soviet government.

The Kremlin dates back to 1156. Oak ramparts were built in 1339-40 by tsar Ivan I Kalita, but they were replaced in the reign of Dmitryi Donsky by limestone walls in the same century. At the end of the 15th C. they were replaced by the brick walls which are still there. The walls are more than 2.5 km. long. The seven towers on each side of the triangle have different names. The best known is Savian's Tower on Red Square. We bought potatoes (3 roubles for 10 kilo) from a Russian peasant beside the road. Also went mushroom picking in the woods. Tania is going to check the mushrooms out and then cook them tonight. We had lunch outside Tchaikovsky's house and museum (which was closed), picked up our mail in Moscow and went to the campsite - 4 to a hut! We managed to get a cabin for ourselves - extra was 5 roubles per night. Worth it for three nights though. Monument (see post card) 41 km. short of Moscow - we were stopped here because we were 1/2 hour late! Although I'm sure we are kept under close watch, I don't feel uncomfortable and feel we are free to walk around anywhere. Our guide told the police we had a flat tire; really we were mushroom picking! (She did look rather scared though)

Thursday August 26.

Moscow city tour - outside of Kremlin, Red Square, Lenin's Tomb (outside - very long line up), GUM store, New Maidens Church, Moscow University, view of Moscow from the Lenin Hills. We had another guide for Moscow - an English teacher, very pleasant. After lunch, we walked around the GUM store, tried to see the Kremlin but it was closed. Also raining. Went to the Russia hotel for shopping, then supper at the "Tea House" in the Metropol Hotel and the 60th anniversary circus in the evening.

Friday August 3.

Museum of the Revolution in the morning, the tour of Metro which we took to get back to Red Square. We then walked around the inside of the Kremlin, didn't go in any of the churches because the lineup for buying the tickets was fairly long. Had a good lunch back at the Metropol Hotel, tour through the Ostankino Palace (18th century), then concert of old Russian music at the palace. Supper at the campsite restaurant. We didn't particularly like Moscow - a large city, full of tourists and lack of interest on behalf of the people helping us (with a few exceptions such as the Tea House restaurant). Also we could not find a restaurant open in the Russia: hotel which is supposed to be the best Intourist hotel there! The restaurants were either serving just hotel guests or closed, even though the posted hours claimed they were open.

Saturday August 4.

Moscow - Orel.

Route: Moscow - Serpukhov - Tula - Mtsenk - Orel.

Distance: 312 kms.

Another day through the flat countryside of the U.S.S.R. Just after Tula (industrial town) we will visit Tolstoy's house (actually we couldn't get into the house so some of our group went into the grounds). The estate that is there now was only inhabited by Tolstoy during the last few years of his life. The former one is not there anymore. Tolstoy 1828 - 1910. From there it is only about 150 km. to Orel, a one-night stop. The town was founded in 1566 as a frontier fortress against the Tartar invaders. It became an important trading center in the 18th and 19th centuries. The battles around Orel - Kursh were very heavy in the second World War. The French air force squadron was based here for some time.

Had quite good accommodation at Orel - 2 beds to a room - the Russian campsites are good in that the huts and tents have camp beds in them with sheets, blankets and cotton towels (like large tea towels but o.k.) so we don't have to pitch tents or get our sleeping bags out. Also we had a washroom in between every 2 rooms in Orel,

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Sunday, August 5.

Orel - Kiev.

Route: Orel - Glukhov - Kopti - Kiev.

Distance: 518 kms.

The scenery still doesn't change today, flat countryside, only around Orel a bit up and down. When we reach Glukhov we will leave the Russian Federation and enter the Republic of the Ukrainian S.S.R. Saw some gingerbread fretwork on the houses.

Kiev is the Capital of this republic. Population about 2 million, the 3rd largest town in the U.S.S.R. Archeological finds prove an early settlement in the first few centuries A.D. Kiev is called "the mother of Russian cities". In the 9th C. it became the capital of Kievian Rus, a mighty empire found by Eastern Slavs. From this period is the 11th C. St. Sophia Cathedral, a masterpiece of old Russian architecture and also Kiev Monastery (12th C.), which was Russia’s first monastery and finally the Golden Gate, the ceremonial entrance to the City (10th C.). After the 11th C. invasions lasted for three centuries by different hordes and tribes. Ukraine became a republic of the U.S.S.R. in 1922, after a lot of fighting following the Revolution in 1917. In World War II Kiev was occupied for 2 years during which period a lot of factories and buildings were destroyed. 200,000 inhabitants lost their lives and 100,000 were deported to Germany.

We had a late lunch - finally found a place to buy bread and cheese at a shop beside the road. Poured with rain just after we had finished lunch (close call). Arrived in Kiev earlier than expected so we didn't eat before we got to the campsite. We then ended up having a make-do supper at camp. We have a hut to ourselves - generally they are 3 - person huts. Horses and wagons were used for farming on the first part of the day, more mechanical equipment used as we got towards Kiev. Also the houses were built of stone nearer Kiev (wooden earlier). Saw fields of sunflowers.

Monday August 6.

City tour of Kiev in the morning, including St. Sophia’s Cathedral and the War Memorial (which also overlooks the suburbs of Kiev). We were dropped off at a Kashtan (hard currency store) for shopping and lunch - no cafes or restaurant in vicinity so we ended up buying rolls and bologna for lunch - very friendly and helpful people in the shop. We bought some chocolate for dessert in the Kashtan. That is one thing that is a good buy in the hard currency (i.e. non-roubles, such as U.S. $s or British pounds) stores and is excellent chocolate. We then were dropped downtown for an hour for the cooks to go to the market - we went to the post office to mail some brochures and Marion's birthday card - the people in the queue were also very helpful when we said we didn't understand Russian - much nicer than the people in Moscow We then drove to a restaurant where it took Tania, Haggis and Anita 1 hour to arrange for our supper at night - 10 roubles for the meal and champagne, wine and Pepsi - we went back there at 8 p.m. - excellent meal, also some music. Also 2 policemen outside keeping an eye on us (probably so we didn't wander off to some of the apartments nearby)

Tuesday, August 7.

Day off to do as we like! Generally lazed around.

General comments on the Soviet Union - I certainly wouldn't want to live here, especially in the cities which have only apartment buildings. There are houses in the countryside and these can be owned but the land is rented from the government. Conditions are probably better than after the 2nd World war - in Kiev 5 families had to share one kitchen and bathroom then - but not up to Canadian standards. There is probably not the poverty found in places like Harlem, though. The cities do have a lot of green parks with trees and neat flower beds but the grass (and weeds) are generally not cut except with a scythe. The people here seem to use the parks a lot though, probably because their living space is so small. The apartment buildings usually have flower boxes on all the balconies; in Leningrad there are competitions for the nicest balcony. The worst “feature” we found is the toilets - very dirty and smelly, I would rather use bushes in the countryside when we are traveling. The showers are generally not too bad and the toilets at the campsite in Kiev are o.k. The ones in the hotels are o.k. but not as great as they would be in a new hotel in Canada or the USA. We liked the hotel that we stayed in at Leningrad - not too expensive I think and reasonable rooms and meals. In general, though, the Intourist hotels are expensive for meals.

The campsites are better than the Scandinavian ones. There the tents were packed in like sardines and there was usually a wait for showers.

The restaurant at this campsite is very expensive but we went there yesterday to see if we could get something to drink (in a bottle to take out) for me - liquor and beer is usually easy to get but nonalcoholic drinks, except for mineral water, are sometimes difficult to buy. Anyway we asked what was in a particular bottle that a woman there was opening to drink herself. She said sweet water and let me have some from her bottle to see if I liked it. It wasn't too bad so we got 2 bottles for later. We usually carry some beer, soft drinks, biscuits etc. with us since meals are sometimes late. Also I'm not drinking the water anymore - better safe than sorry. We understand Greece's water is o.k. though. As I said before, the police (or KGB) know where we are all the time but I don't feel we are restricted in our movements. Also we felt very safe walking around Leningrad at night. As long as we follow their rules, we are o.k. There is a black market here for jeans but it's not worth trying to sell them. There is also a black market for roubles, again it's not worth the chance - especially for us, we’re not that hard up. We had to declare all our money and travelers cheques when we came into the country and do the same on the way out. If we buy souvenirs (which we aren’t except for post cards) we should keep the receipts for them. We shouldn't have any trouble though as we seem to have managed to spend more than we expected here - on drinks and food mostly. Also some stamps for posting brochures, but not nearly as expensive as it was in Berlin. The idea of the currency check at the border is to see that you don't go out with more money than you came in with or the same money or slightly less and also have purchases with you. We found out that Russian tourists traveling in the States are restricted on their travels - an American told us. I suppose the RCMP in Canada also keeps a watch on Russian tourists.

We had a make-do supper at the campsite. Tony and I were still a little hungry, so we went to the restaurant and had bacon and eggs, beer and tea. Very good. It took us about 10 mins. to be seated, about another 10 minutes to get a waiter but after that we got good service. Part of the reason is probably that the waiter had a Canadian flag pin on his shirt. I think he had Ukrainian relatives in Canada. He traded us a Canadian pin for an Intourist pin too. We had 1 extra Canadian pin - I picked them up at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City in 1967.

We found the Ukrainian people much more friendly than those in Moscow. Also happier and better off I think. Probably due to the better climate.

Competition is being introduced into businesses here to get better workmanship and more productivity. A lot of our group were glad to leave the Soviet Union; they felt depressed about the living conditions. However, we found it quite interesting and didn't compare it to our standard of living.

There are a few supermarket-type shops in the Soviet Union where you pick up your purchases, pay for them and then get the purchases checked against your cash receipt on the way out. In general food shopping is not that easy. You buy a coupon for what you want (after you find out how much it is), then you go back and get your purchase (such as cheese). Then you do the same again for bread etc. Rather a long process. Also there are queues at the cash registers and also at the counters that have the food. We were interested in the washroom attendants - women cleaning up the men’s washrooms and an old man came into the women's showers in Moscow to close them up for the night!

Wednesday August 8.

Kiev - Odessa. Route: Kiev - Uman - Lyubashevka.

Distance: 499 kms.

Today's route runs through the endless lowland of Southern Ukraine to Odessa on the Black Sea (northeast coast). It is a relatively young city. In 1789 the Russian Army conquered the Turkish fortress Hadzhibei. 5 years later a port was constructed here and the town formed itself. From 1817 to 1859 it was an independent port and also the largest exporter of corn in Europe.

Odessa proclaimed a Soviet government in 1918. Final victory of the Bolsheviks was in 1920. Odessa was occupied for almost 3 years in the second World War. Odessa is now the second largest port in the USSR. and has a population of almost 1 million.

Potenkin staircase named after the battleship Potenkin which had an important role in the 1905 revolution. The staircase is 142 m. long, 129 steps and rises 30 m. Today the houses became much more solid looking - stone instead of wood. Also better cared for. Fields of sunflowers and corn. People selling fruit and vegetables beside the road.

Thursday August 9.

Tour of Odessa in the morning, including Potenkin staircase,

Quite a clean-looking city. We had an excellent lunch which we got by pointing at other people’s plates. We had meat in a batter, cold meats, tomatoes and then we thought we were finished. Then came beef (marinated) with a sauce. Some of our group went to a restaurant the floor below and didn't do nearly as well. Also some of the group went back in the evening and had very poor service and not much to eat. So we were fortunate. We went to the beach in the afternoon. I went for a paddle and then back to bed since I have a cold and cough! (as do a lot in the group). Tony went for a swim and sunbathed. In the evening Tony had a snack in the campsite’s cafe, I had juice and a delicious chocolate éclair he brought back for me. I wasn't hungry anyway, after the lunch.

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Friday August 10.

Odessa - Bacau.

Route: Odessa - Kishinev - Leusheny (border) - Kashni - Bacau.

Distance: 406 kms.

Our last day in the USSR. It took us 2 hours to get out of Odessa - did some food shopping and got lost! Had a late lunch in Kishinev. Tania, our Russian intourist guide, left us at the border. Kishinev is the capital of the Moldavian Republic of the USSR. The Turks held this part for centuries. It took us 3+ hrs. to get through the USSR/Romanian border. Our baggage was searched but very nicely - nothing was left in a mess. This diary was put in a brief case and taken away to be translated - came back in about 5 minutes though. Every one of my pre-addressed envelopes was looked at by the Soviet Customs on exit - I wonder if they memorized the names and addresses. Our reading material was scrutinized the most. After the border it was 146 kms. to Bacau where we arrived at 1 a.m. stopping for a light supper of sausage and bread on the way.

Saturday August 11.

Bacau - Bucarest.

Route: Bacau - Foscani - Buzau - Bucarest.

Distance: 288 kms.

A late start after a good breakfast. Meals were included with the campsite fees in Romania. Through the countryside of Romania, down to Bucarest. Saw typical Romanian houses and lots of wooden carts on the road, pulled by oxen sometimes, Also wagons with hay, wagons with cattle in them and also leading another cow (tied to the cart). Bucarest, Romania’s capital, is not very old. It was founded in 1459 by Vlad, the son of Count Dracula. It remained the prince's residence for 500 years and then became the capital of Romania. Unfortunately we weren't close enough to go to Dracula’s castle. There are about 1.5 million people living in Bucarest and there are lots of parks around. After we set up camp, we went to the Folk museum, where there are houses and farms from all over the country, of the last few centuries (similar to Upper Canada Village). Then supper at the campsite's restaurant.

Sunday August 12.

Bucharest - Sofia.

Route: Bucharest - Giurfu (border) Pluvia - Sofia.

Distance: 400 kms.

An early start this morning and a long day - breakfast at 7.30 a.m. off at 8.20 a.m. Only 83 kms. to the Romanian border. The border between Romania and Bulgaria is formed by the river, the Danube. This river has its sources in West Germany and runs through Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania and comes out in the Black Sea. From there we drive through the hills, woods and farmland to Sofia on the west of the country.

Sofia is quite an old town; it dates back to Roman times and was named Serdira. After Slav invasions of the 7th C. it was named Sredec. In the 12th C. it was destroyed completely by the Crusaders, Hungarians and Jews. In the 14th C. it was given the name Sofia, probably because of the new Sophia Church. In 1879, after the Turkish ruling power which lasted for 500 years., Sophia became the Capital of Bulgaria. The destroyed town was rebuilt completely then. The town looks quite modem.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. An important cathedral with its golden roofs, built between 1904 - 1912. In the crypt, which was a tomb of a Bulgarian tsar, is now a collection of manuscripts, miniatures, icons and the gold treasure from the 8th C.

Population of Bulgaria 8.5 million. Religion: (Bulgaria) Orthodox.

Cold when we got to the campsite, some rain while traveling. Ski jackets out again.

Monday August 13.

Went into Sofia by bus and tram, saw two churches, one of which was Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Walked around Sofia, had lunch there, did some shopping and took the bus back to the campsite. Cold but no rain. Ski jackets very welcome. Supper in the campsite restaurant.

Tuesday August 14.

Sofia - Platamon.

Route: Sofia - border (Bulgaria/Greece) - Thessaloniki - Platamon.

Distance: 462 kms.

Today's drive is going south through the woods and mountains to the border. After the border we go down to the fertile plains of Northern Greece. This part of the country is called Macedonia, which lies west of the Pindos Mountains, north of the Olympus, and stretches as far as the Yugoslavian and Bulgarian border.

Thessaloniki is Greece's second largest town, a fairly new one, founded only 315 B.C. (which is new according to Greek standards!). It is situated on the Thermau Gulf, which is part of the Aegean Sea. From here we drive along the coast down to Platamon, close to Mt. Olympus and a Byzantine castle. Excellent campsite with good facilities. (campsite on the beach). It took us about 2 hours to go through the border, including duty-free shopping and money changing. We had lunch in Seres - Moussaka (sort of a shepherds pie), salad of tomatoes and cucumber in salad oil, beer and Pepsi - excellent moussaka. We are going back to this campsite for 2 nights after Athena - it will be a welcome rest. Came through quite a bit of mountainous country soon after we got into Greece. Also the sun came out which was a welcome change from the drizzle when we left Sophia.

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Wednesday August 15.

Platamon - Athens.

Route: Platamon - Meteora - Lamia - Athens.

Distance: 593 kms.

We drive a short time along the Aegean seacoast and then go inland following the Pindos River. Through Laussa and then Meteora. In Meteora we will have a look at the famous monasteries. The monasteries were built in the 14th and 15th C. on huge rock pillars as a refuge for the Serbians and Turks. The shape of the rocks is due to erosion by the sea. Only 5 of the 24 monasteries still remain and are inhabited. After the Monasteries we will have lunch in Laussa and continue on our way down to Athens. A quick stop at Thermoplyae, where is the monument which stands for Leonidas and his 300 Spartans against the Persians in 480 B.C. Another 175 kms. and we are in Athens and a hotel for three nights, breakfast included, the hotel Cairo City.

Athens. Life in Athens goes back to about 1000 B.C. It had its golden age in the 5th C. B.C. as the leading city-state of Greece. In the 4th C. it began to decline due to fighting among the city-states. Under the Romans it remained important until the 4th C. A.D. as a cultural center. After that it came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. It was captured by the Turks in the 15th C. In 1687 parts of the Acropolis were destroyed during a war between the Turks and the Venetians. In 1834 Athens had a population of 10,000. After 1834 the city grew fast and became the social, political and commercial capital. Now it has over 2.5 million people living here.

We found the monasteries and the surrounding countryside very impressive.

We have quite a good room in the hotel - small but adequate. Also a bathroom with a sit-bath in it - luxury. Needless to say the place looks like a laundromat with jeans, towels etc. hanging up wet. I have been wearing my navy skirt for the past week and. am finding it quite comfortable so I hope to get another midi skirt in Athens or Istanbul - probably cooler than jeans and more appropriate than shorts.

Thursday August 16.

City tour of Athens, changing of the guard (the guards wear skirts, the old guards back up by almost falling backward, the new guards slowly walk and then rush up the stairs and then slowly walk again - rather a funny performance) at the Unknown Warrior’s Tomb. Took the funicular up Lycabettus Hill which has the chapel of Saint George on top - a panoramic view of Athens from the top of the hill. After taking the funicular down, the bus dropped us near the flea market - very expensive. Tony and I then walked around and to the Acropolis and the Parthenon - interesting but not one of the highlights, probably because we knew what to expect. The workmanship really was impressive, though, when you consider when it was built. Weather quite hot (81F according to the Daily Telegraph) but not too humid. In the evening we went to see the Sound and Light at the Acropolis and then to the wine festival at Daphni. After you bought a glass, all the wine was free! There was also some Greek dancing. Because of a mix-up in hotel reservations, we stayed at the Cairo City hotel on Wednesday, another hotel close by on Thursday, and back to Cairo City on Friday - a bit of a nuisance but couldn't be helped. Our room at the Cairo City hotel has a bathroom ensuite - the bath is a foot-bath type but I can sit cross-legged in it so I didn't mind, quite a treat after showers in campgrounds. The hotel today didn't have quite enough rooms so some of the rooms had boys and girls together. We got a room by ourselves though. Got 5 films back from being developed, very pleased with the results.

Friday August 17.

Took the train and the hydrofoil to Egina, one of the islands close to Athens. Took a 1/2 hour ride in a horse-drawn cart, driver stopped to buy 2 cigarettes, stopped again to water the horse (about 1 1/2 buckets of water) and again for a bush stop (washroom) for the horse! Quite a lot of fun. We then walked around the town, had an excellent lunch (I'm still full) at one of the hotels, and took the hydrofoil and train back to Athens. Sorted our films out (the 5 films were all mixed up)! - the hotel manager had looked through them before we got them back because he noted we had been to Russia and England. 4 pictures of Kathleen and her garden didn't turn out at all - it looks like there was light in the film. Otherwise the rest of the pictures are good. I stayed in for the evening (laundry, sorting out, diary, etc.) and Tony went with some of the group to a fish restaurant - multi- courses of different fishes and chicken. Tony also picked his glasses up - the frame had broken and had to be repaired - luckily he had his sunglasses; he did look silly wearing them last night though.

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Saturday August 18.

Athens to Delphi.

Like Olympia, Delphi was one of the most important places in the ancient Greek world. It was important for several reasons. First, legend has it that the god Zeus set two eagles off in flight in opposite directions and decreed that the place where they came together again would be the center of the world - this spot was Delphi, a Cradle set in amongst a circle of magnificent mountains (the highest of which was Mount Parnassos) and which looks down on a sea of silvery green olive trees to the blue waters of the Gulf of Itea. People from all over the ancient world, Greeks and foreigners alike, used to make a pilgrimage to Delphi in the same way that Moslems visit Mecca. They came to consult the oracle or High Priestess of Appolo's Temple. Her name was Pythia. She got into the right mood by drinking sacred water from the Castalian Springs, by chewing bay leaves and barley and swaying back and forth over the intoxicating fumes of a small hemp fire. She kept away from the more poisonous sulphurous fumes - some goats became somewhat intoxicated by them thousands of years ago. Once the oracle was in a trance she uttered strange gobblings, which were interpreted by the team of holy men around her and for added effect put into verse. The messages were so ambiguous that whatever was said was bound to come true. We got to Delphi before lunch and spent about 1 1/2 hours at the site - magnificent setting! After lunch we were informed that there was a leak in the power steering fluid system so we would have to stay in Delphi for the night - originally we had planned to go to Platenon for 2 nights. We got to the campsite, more or less got the tent up - the ground was almost solid rock - and then it poured with rain for 1-2 hours. The leak was temporarily fixed. Anita (our courier) stayed in Athens, awaiting money from Treasure Treks as did a mini-van also going to Katmandu. The 3 fellows in the mini-van have joined us for a few days.

Sunday August 19.

Delphi to Kavalla.

Our route at first is through rugged mountain country with long slow climbs around hairpin bends unless there are river gorges or lower passes to travel through. This is a reminder that most of Greece is mountainous with separate pockets of lowland where most of the population is concentrated. Much of the soil is thin and infertile so where they could the Greeks turned to the sea for a living - as fishermen or as traders. Even today their merchant fleet is an important source of income. The predominant tree is the olive - its roots go deep down into the soil to tap whatever water there is. The main animal is the goat - a very useful animal if the herds are kept down to a reasonable size and the grazing strictly controlled. (In contrast to Greece much of North Africa and the Middle East, which was fertile farmland in Roman times, is now desert waste because of overgrazing by goats).

After we pass by Larissa we travel along a narrow corridor of coastal lowland. Like the river valleys further north invaders have tried to seize it and Greeks defend it in time of war. In the Second World War the Greeks (with the help of British and New Zealand troops) tried to establish a defense line from Mount Olympus to the sea but they were unable to hold the Nazi avalanche that swept south to the Aegean.

Mount Olympus's summit was in clouds as we passed near it; as the home of the gods its peak is nearly always shrouded in mists and provides a pathway to the heavens. We then crossed the Plain of Macedonia, which is the largest in Greece. Kavalla is a town and port that over many centuries has looked south over the Aegean to Asia and far off lands - as a jumping off point for journeys south or as a landing place for historic visitors, including St. Paul who brought the message of Christianity to Europe. We went into Kavalla for supper. Tony and I had pizza and Greek wine, we then had very sweet pastry at a patisserie - the cashier had spent 11 years in Brampton, near Toronto. Early to bed for a change.

Monday August 20.

Day off. Laundry, swim, lazing around, marking up photographs, etc.

Our itinerary after Turkey is up in the air. We probably will not be going to Teheran or Afghanistan because of political problems there - probably south Iran and South Pakistan. Haggis, our driver, will check this out in Istanbul (Australian Embassy is the best source of information, apparently) and also with other drivers. Barbecue in evening. Tony hadn't been feeling too well all day so he had his delivered to our tent.

Tuesday August 21.

Went into Kavalla and did the food shopping for the evening meal, also went to post-office. Went for a swim and generally lazed around in the afternoon. We had a barbecue supper in the evening - it rained just as the steaks were about to be put on the barbecue. So the steaks were cooked in the rain and then brought back to the shelter of the cook tent where the rest of the meal was (salad and bread) - potatoes wrapped in foil also brought back from the fire. After supper most of the group went out for a drink - one of the fellows (Dave) on the trip had just found out that he had become a father - his wife is in Australia, he is emigrating to Australia from England. She flew there, he is going overland. I didn't go though and went to bed early - quite a thunder and lightning storm.

Wednesday August 22.

Kavalia - Istanbul.

Route: Kavalla - Alexandroupolis border (Greece/Turkey) - Tekirday - Istanbul.

Distance: 480 kms (22 kms to border)

It is a winding road to the border through the barren hills of Eastern Greece. Just after Kavalla we cross the river Nestos and enter the province of Thraki. This province is a mixture of Greece and Turkey. You see Moslems side by side with Christians. Main crops here are tobacco, cotton and maize. We pass through Alexandroupolis, a big fishing port, famous for it's taverns along the boulevard. Across the border we drive through the agricultural countryside of Turkish Thrace along the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul.

The Sea of Marmara is the link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, provided by the Bosphorous, the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara. This area has always been and still is of vital importance. We will stay at the Holiday Hotel for 3 nights in Istanbul - right in the center of town, in the area of the Blue Mosque, Aga Sophia and Topkapi Palace. Not a bad hotel - a bit run down but clean and cheap.

Istanbul. The town began as Byzantium (a Greek town) in the 7th C. B.C. Darius the Great (Persian king) came through it from the east and Alexander the Great from the west and also Philip of Macedonia. After he went, it became a Roman port and the capital of the Roman Empire in 324 A.D. under the emperor Constantine. At the end of the 4th C. when the Roman Empire was divided it was renamed Constantinople and became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and they ruled for another 1000 years and it became the greatest city in the world while Europe was in her dark ages.

In 1204 Constantinople was sacked by the Crusaders (the fourth). The city never recovered from this.

In 1453 it fell to the Ottoman Empire and became it's capital and in 1518 also the capital of the Islam, since the Ottoman Sultans also became the hereditary Caliphs, leaders of Islam. Mosques, palaces and other public buildings were constructed.

In 1923 Ataturk modernized Turkey and moved the capital to Ankara. Today Istanbul is a huge sprawling city with more than 2.5 million inhabitants and it is the bridge between Europe and Asia. Half of the town is in Europe, the other half in Asia. You can go to Asia by ferry or by the new bridge, built over the Bosphorus.

What to see: Topkapi Palace. Residence of the Ottoman Sultans, begun in the 15th C., now one of the richest museums in the world. Jewelry, ceramics, Islamic relics, fabrics, etc.

Aya Sophia. Byzantine Cathedral, built by Emperor Justinian in 600 A.D. In 1453 it became a mosque, minarets were added and supporting walls were added externally. The building became a museum in 1935.

Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) Built between 1609 - 1617, with 6 minarets. Mecca had only 5, so the Sultan built one more. It is one of the world's largest enclosed mosques. Closed during praying hours.

Yerebatan Sarayi (underground water cistern) constructed by Constantine. The ceiling is supported by 336 columns. One of the James Bond films was filmed here.

The Grand Bazaar (Kapati Cirsi) Over 4000 booths and shops in this covered bazaar, selling everything from leather coats, carpets, jewelry, souvenirs to spices.

Turkish Bath A must for everyone. There is one in Cagaloghn Hamami, 1 1/2 blocks down from the underground water cisterns, both for men and women.

Bosphorus Ferry Go to Galatabridge, there are ferries to several destinations, up the Bosphorus (have lunch in one of the villages) or to the Asian side.

Food, Doner kebabs. Thin slabs of lamb stacked and broiled on a vertically revolving spit. Usually served with "pieb”, flat bread on rice.

Sis kebob. pieces of lamb, grilled on skewers.

Kofte: minced meat balls grilled on skewers.

Dolmars: stuffed peppers with rice or meat and onions.

Patates: Chips or potatoes.

There are a variety of salads, as in Greece. In most restaurants the food is displayed and kept warm in big pots; you just make your choice and the waiter brings it to the table. Turkish yoghurt is delicious.

As a dessert you should try a Turkish pudding. They come in different colors.

Drinks. Turkey has delicious fruit drinks; if you take the bottle away, you pay more for the bottle than the drink! (Still very cheap)

Chai: tea. comes in small tulip shaped glasses, very strong and very refreshing, cheapest drink.

Kahue: coffee. small cups, very thick and strong.

The national drink is Raki, aniseed drink, like the ouzo in Greece.

Sarap: wine, very good and very cheap.

Bira: beer.

Souvenirs. Carpets, leather, teacups.

We left Kavalla at 8 a.m., had a coffee stop at Alexandroupolis and then through the border. We could have stopped for a fixed lunch just after we were in Turkey but the group decided to go on further - I think it was too expensive for them (about $4 each, quite a cheap bunch). So Tony and I went into our emergency supplies and had canned mackerel and bread. When we finally stopped for lunch at 3.30 P.M. we had a chocolate bar, coke and then an ice cream cone. We walked around the village (town) but didn't find it very interesting. I think the meals were quite expensive too. We got, to Istanbul around 7 p.m., very heavy traffic on the way in, the traffic doesn't obey red lights either! The hotel is not too bad; we originally had a room with 2 single beds and no bathroom; we changed with 2 girls that had a double bed and a bathroom, including a sit-bath (luxury last night as it was hot and humid during the day). The electricity was off when we arrived so we were glad it wasn't dark out - the stairways were dark enough! Also there was no water. However, electricity and water came on within 30-40 minutes of our arrival. We both had baths and washed our hair - the water was filthy, probably looked worse because the water is hard. At one point we ran out of water completely (the bath was half-full with hot water at the time) but water started up again in about 10 minutes. Not quite the Hilton!

After supper there was wine in the lobby, compliments of David's new baby boy. We didn't stay long though and went up to the 4th floor (roof really) to see the Blue Mosque lit up at night. Our room looks out on to a back street of Istanbul so we can hear the general noises you would expect here. We can also hear the Mosques calling people to worship 5 times a day (including around 5 a.m.!)

Thursday August 23.

After breakfast (tea, no coffee) we picked up our mail at Poste Restante - letter mailed Aug. 5 arrived on Aug. 11. Saw the Blue Mosque (rather disappointing) with all the carpets (including one from Haile Selassie) on the floor. Saw St. Sophia Museum (not too interesting) and Topkapi Palace (including the harem), which was well worthwhile, especially the jewelry and the Sultan’s palace. Drizzle in morning, pouring with rain in afternoon. After lunch we went to a carpet shop and then the grand bazaar. We had a guide with us but he wasn't very good. The carpet shop was interesting (we were served tea there) and 2 of our group bought prayer rugs, the bazaar was also interesting to wander around. In the evening we went to Galata Tower for dinner and a show - some folk dancing, 2 belly dancers, a female singer and a male singer (both sang in English) - quite an enjoyable show.

Friday August 24.

Up just before 9 a.m. Breakfast (which included a boiled egg). We were supposed to go on a boat trip but we didn't go because it had poured with rain in the night and it looked like it might still rain. Actually we got one more shower in Istanbul, those on the boat trip didn't get any. We walked around some of the streets, there were peddlers cooking fish on small boats and selling the fish with bread. A fair amount of activity around the waterfront but not the teeming masses I had expected. Some of the side streets were quite empty. Today was the start of a 3-day religious festival, which may or may not be the cause of this. We also wandered through an open-air market, mainly clothes. Late in the afternoon we had Turkish baths - Tony's massage was more vigorous than mine. Both of us took the wash (including hair) and. massage - we certainly feel clean tonight, the wash includes a “scrape-down" with a rough-surfaced type of cloth, the dead skin just peels off. The Turkish bath was built by a Sultan and is over 300 years old. King Edward Vlll, Kaiser Wilhelm, Franz Liszt and Florence Nightingale have all been there. We had baklava for dessert tonight, very sweet and good, filling too.

Yesterday we had lunch in the pudding shop 2 doors from the hotel - this shop was where the fellow in the movie "Midnight Express" picked up his hash.

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Saturday August 25.

Istanbul - Ecebat.

Route: Istanbul - Tekirdas - Kesan - Geliboli (Gallipoli) - Ecebat.

Distance: 360 kms.

We will drive the same way back as far as Kesan, and will stop again in Tekirday for wine and cheesetostis. At Kesan we turn southward, first through the hills and then along the Dardanelles, which have played an important role in history. The Dardanelles form the passage from the Aegean Sea to the Bosphorus, Black Sea and Caspian Sea. The straits are about 65 km. long and 1300 m. wide. The entrance is the Hellespont, which was used as a land bridge for invaders from the East in old times. But in 1915 tragedy found its place on the Gallipoli Peninsular and the Dardanelles. Turkey entered the First World War on Germany's side. The Allied Forces were immediately interested in the Dardanelles, Istanbul and finally the Black Sea, for wheat from Russia. Lord Kitchener decided to bomb the Dardanelles forts on Feb. 19. 1915, but they could not destroy the guns. On Feb 25th the Navy destroyed the guns on both shores. By March 4th the fleet had moved up to Chanahale. Messages were fired off to Vice Admiral Carden and his fleet to press forward, but on March 17th Carden wired back that he was sick. Command was passed on to Robeck, and he lost three battleships to mines. Other ships were ordered to join the fleet and also troops were added to the attacking force. The combined army-navy operation began on April 25th, but the Turks, under a German general, were ready for them. The British troops landed at Cape Hellas and most were killed. At another spot the British met almost no resistance, but the officers lost their heads with confusion and withdrew their troops. After days of continuous fighting both sides dug in, for months. Conditions were terrible. Heat of summer, flies, thirst and disease. The Turks kept up their attacks.

The Australians and New Zealanders suffered massive losses. On April 25th an advance force landed at the wrong place and had to go up a mountain under murderous fire. Their bravest deed was storming up a ridge called the Nek, the British softening-up bombardment stopped too soon and the Turks massacred the oncoming Australians under the leadership of Mushafa Kemal. On August 10th the Turks made a decisive attack at Chunok Bair, which dislodged the Allies from critical positions.

In November, after a blizzard in which hundreds were frozen to death, the British gave up and evacuated Gallipoli. We will visit the War Museum, Lone Pine (Australian war cemetery), Chunok Bair (N.Z. memorial) and Anzac Cove (where the Anzacs landed).

Our camp for the night will be near Anzac cove, on the beach - a cheap campsite, only one outdoor shower but o.k. for 1 night.

Sunday August 26.

Ecebat - Altin Camp.

Route: Ecebat - (Ferry) - Canakale - Troy - Edremit - Altin Camp (near Burmamye) Distance: about 140 kms.

Easy day, drive back to Ecebat and then take the ferry across the Dardanelles to Canakale (and Asia). Here is a castle, built in the 15th C . (still used by the Turkish Army) by Sultan Mehmet. It was built because the narrowest passage of the Dardanelles is here. A little bit further down is Troy, an old settlement strategically placed at the entrance to the Dardanelles - and was there in command of a trade route. The history is both archeological and legendary. The first settlement was in 3000 B.C. and 8 other towns were built over it before 300 B.C. as every town was destroyed either by fire or invaders. The most interesting time is around 1200 B.C. the time of the Trojan wars. It is not known exactly when they took place, as the story was written down 500 years later in the Iliad, probably by Homer. The war started with a beauty contest held at Mount Ida. There were 3 very beautiful Goddesses; a shepherd had to choose the most beautiful one (he actually was Paris, the son of the King of Troy). One of the Goddesses promised him the most beautiful woman in the world if he would choose her. He did, but the most beautiful woman turned out to be Helen, wife of the King of Sparta, a Greek city-state. Paris captured Helen and Menelaris (Sparta’s King) was furious and raised an army. War was declared and raged on for years. One important event was the battle between Archilles (Greek hero) and Hector, Paris' brother. The only place where Achilles could be killed was his heel as he was dipped in the sacred river Styx while holding his heel. Hector was killed and Paris revenged him by firing an arrow into Achilles heel. The Greeks still didn't get anywhere and then used the wooden horse trick. They left Troy and left behind a huge wooden horse filled up with Greece’s best warriors. The Trojans dragged it into town and got drunk. Early in the morning the Greek warriors climbed out of the horse, captured the city and opened the city gates for the rest of the Greek army.

Until the last century no one believed Troy had ever existed, except for Schliemann, an excavator with a lot of money. After several years he proved it and found the treasury in the 7th level. He didn’t work systematically and left quite a shambles but he did prove that the Trojan war had taken place.

The Levels of Troy.

Level 1 3000 B.C.

2 2600 B.C. - 2300 B.C.

3,4,5 2300 B.C. - 1900 B.C.

6 1900 B.C. - 1300 B.C.

7 1300 B.C. - 900 B.C.

8,9 900 B.C - 400 A.D.

There is a wooden horse here but it was built about 10 years ago.

After Troy we drive to Edremit and then to Altin Camp. It is on the beach. At Edremit

Tony and I had lunch; the rest of the group waited until we got to camp and then had lunch. Edremit looked like an interesting town. In the afternoon (when it was still very hot) Tony and I walked to Orem (about 1/2 hour walk) - there is an excellent looking hotel there - $20/day for 2 full room and board! - $14/day if one only takes 2 meals per day.

The weather has turned much warmer and sunny. We will probably be putting up the curtains on the bus's windows soon as the windows are not tinted and the bus is not air-conditioned. Pleasant weather in the shade, though.

We have a new tentative route through south Iran and southern Pakistan (Baluchistan) instead of Afghanistan - we are not entering Afghanistan at all (after we paid for our visas!). We probably will have some long drives, one being all night as well as most of the day but we will be able to see some of Iran and relax when we get to India. So far we have 2 private vehicles joining us in convoy, so if there are problems or we break down we have some help (also helps them). Some buses are still going to Afghanistan but they take on 10 border guards with machine guns (5 in front, 5 in back) at the entrance to the country - our driver is a little more conservative than that. He talks to the various drivers and locals to find out what really is going on and will change plans accordingly to keep us away from the trouble areas.

Only 5 more nights camping! We have managed o.k. but we will be glad not to be tenting and cooking our own food.

Wednesday August 27.

Staying at Altin Camp. We walked into Orem, a few kilometers away. I bought a skirt (T-shirt material), which should be cool for traveling. We also had an excellent shish kebob for lunch. We were invited into the kitchen before lunch to see what we wanted to eat. After lunch Tony tried wind-surfing; I did some work on the kitty books - I have taken over the money for the group, keeping the books etc., not too bad a job - an accountant in the group set them up so I can balance the cash at any time and we can also see how much money we have spent so far. Barbecue in the evening. At the post office in Orem - our mail was taken out to be weighed (in the fish market?), then the postmaster phoned Burhanyie to find out the cost - expensive, they thought, so they checked with us before putting on the stamps 75 T.L. in 5 T.L. Stamps! We were offered cigarettes at the post-office while we waited - very friendly.

Tuesday August 28.

There was a problem with the bus (springs, etc.) that had to be fixed so the group had to stay in Altin Camp one more day. We (plus another couple Russ and Betty) decided to leave the group and travel independently to Kusadasi and meet up with them. So we packed up our tent, packed an overnight bag and left. We got a ride in a car to Burhanyie where we cashed some travelers cheques and inquired about buses to Ismir - the bus went at 5 p.m. so we decided to hitchhike. It is quite easy, and safe, to hitchhike throughout Turkey, most people pick you up if they have room. It doesn't matter whether they speak any English or not. We then walked back to the main road. We got a ride for about 5 kms., then another ride the rest of the way to Ismir. Quite a few battleships from the Turkish navy on our way into Ismir. We were dropped off in the center of town, by the waterfront - we're not sure if our driver had planned to go that way or not. We stayed at the Kismet Hotel (hot water and huge bath tub). As we arrived, Betty and Russ were leaving - they had checked into the same hotel 1-2 hours before! We dropped off our overnight bag and went out for a walk - we saw the Nato building, where the British flag was at half-mast. One of the officers outside said that Lord Somebody or other had been blown up on his ship near Ireland. He couldn't remember who though (Lord Mountbatten as it turned out). We then went to the International Exhibition (including a building for Canada). I bought a T-shirt type skirt and blouse at a booth at the exhibition. Late supper on the waterfront after a hot bath. Saw men smoking hookahs in Ismir.

Wednesday August 22.

Took the local bus to Central Garage - had a few men telling us which bus to get on, also told us when to get off. The 10-30 a.m. bus to Kusadasi was fully booked so we booked on the 11-30 a.m. bus. This bus was also full, with some people standing all the way to Kusadasi (about 2 hours drive). We checked into the Kismet Hotel on a peninsular in Kusadasi; excellent hotel but we could only get a room for 1 night - $30 for 2 of us for the room, supper and breakfast. Much cheaper than in Canada. We then walked into Kusadasi (took the horse-drawn taxi for part of the way), walked around the town and the castle. On the way back we made reservations at the Akman hotel for the next night. Then hot shower and rest at the hotel; Tony read his book on the veranda overlooking the sea. Had an excellent supper at the hotel - chicken for a change. After supper the electricity for the hotel and town was off for 1/2 - 1 hour. Quite pleasant really as the moon and stars were quite bright.

Thursday August 30.

Checked out of Kismet Hotel and into Akmar Hotel. Off to Ephesus (Efes). We walked for awhile (up hill) before we got a ride with a family - they drove us right to the site- we had told them that they could leave us at the main road, 1 km. from the site, but they insisted on taking us in. We spent 2 hours walking around Ephesus (climbing up and down part of it). We then walked out to the main road and started walking towards Selcuk. After a short time a man on a tractor stopped and offered us a ride in the cart behind the tractor. Since the cart was a little sandy he gave me the cushion from his tractor seat to sit on. Only a kilometer or so on this cart. At Selcuk we had a good lunch before seeing St.John's Church, the fort with a church and a mosque inside. The only remaining part of the outer wall is Persecution gate. After seeing these sights (also the Temple of Artenis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but not much left of it) we walked a bit and then got a ride back to Kusadasi. A most welcome hot bath at the hotel. The group arrived at the campsite at 6 p.m. and we talked to them for a while before going out for supper - our waiter is going to school in Newcastle in England.

Kusadasi is the busiest tourist place in Turkey. All cruise ships stop here (and souvenirs are priced in U.S.$). There is an old caravanserai in the center of town (looks like a fort). A caravanserai is a shelter place for the caravans in old times. They are found all over Asia on the old trade routes as the caravans were safe in them during the night. One rule was no fighting or killing in caravanserais.

Ephesus - one of the best preserved ruins in the ancient world. Ephesus was settled in the 13th B.C. around the Temple of Artenis. The Ionians arrived in the 10th C. B.C. from Greece and made it a Greek city-state. In the 6th C. B.C. it was a very prosperous and a well-situated port as the sea came along Mount Pion (on which Ephesus is built).

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Friday August 31.

Joined up with the group again. Drove to Ephesus, which they then saw. After lunch at Aydin drove to Denizli and then Pamukhale, which has a fascinating landscape. Panukhale means Cotton Castle and that is what it looks like. The landscape is formed by calcium accumulating from the warm mineral springs for thousands of years. These springs and their pools attracted the Romans almost 2000 years ago and they built a health spa here, called Hierapolis (Sacred City). Byzantine took it over and then the Crusaders and Seljuk Turks. It was abandoned in 1334 A.D. due to a devastating earthquake. The cure wasn’t too healthy as there are more graves here than other buildings.

We (also Betty and Russ) got a motel room for the night (at the campsite), the rest of the group camped. Very windy and quite cool so we were glad not to get back to a tent, even though it is the last night of camping.

On the way out of Kusadasi this morning we saw a camel train - we have seen a few of these in Turkey.

Played backgammon with Tony and also with one of the local boys - very fast at the game.

Saturday Sept 1.

Pamukhale - Urgup.

Route: Pamukhale - Isparta - Koiya - Nevsehir - Urgup.

Distance: 690 kms.

The road leads through barren hills of the Anatolian Plateau. We will pass two big lakes after Isparta; Lake Egridir and Lake Beysehir, which are in mountainous areas, and popular holiday resorts for the Turks. Here were the provinces of Pisidia and Isauria, which were cut off geographically and therefore the people here are very independent.

We pass Konya, a big town, like an oasis in this dry area. The area around the town produces a lot of cereal due to excellent irrigation

After Aksary we enter the area of Cappadocia. The scenery is very impressive, weird and fantastic. Underground towns, churches cut out of rock and funny shaped rocks. Goreme valley is in the centre. Urgup is the most important town, where we stay for 2 nights. The peculiar landscape is formed by water and wind erosion in the deep layers of Sufa, a soft volcanic stone, which were laid down by Mount Erayes. Large stones in the Sufa protected the soft stone and so the pinnacles were formed. A lot of these pinnacles are hollowed out and served as churches, monasteries and dwellings. Hermits started living here in the first Century A.D. attracted by the solitude of the area. When the Arabs arrived in the 7th C. A.D. the hermits started living in underground cities, which they carved out in the rocks, as they saw the Arabs as a threat to their community. The monasteries and churches were beautifully decorated. The population was mostly Greek, then Seljuks and Ottomans until 1924 when the population exchange between Turkey and Greece took place.

Photo stops - just outside Egridir (Lake Egridir) locals winnowing corn (thrashing), beside a well, locals making bricks out of straw and mud, a caravanserai.

Some very arid country similar in some respects to Death Valley. Also some very flat country.

Sunday September 2.

Tour of Goreme valley area - underground city (I only went in a short way) - 5 of 8 levels, where 10,000 people (not all at once) (probably short) used to live and which was connected to a neighbouring underground city by a 10 km. long tunnel.

Then went to a wine shop, free wine; we bought a bottle for 50 T.L. (about $1). The wine shop is next to a superb hotel built into the cliffs; a good-sized swimming pool, taken over by Club Mediterranean. Fantastic view from there. Then to onyx shop, where we could see onyx beings ground into ornaments. Then the castle at Goreme - we climbed up to the top of this and then down the other side. Then excellent lunch in a restaurant in one of the pinnacles. Then a pottery shop, also demonstration and a couple of fellows tried their luck on the potter's wheel! Then caves in one of the valleys near Goreme, quite a maze of tunnels in these caves. Saw mushroom shaped rock formations - both Tony and I rode one of the local kid's donkeys - the saddle is quite built up with carpets on it; we would like to get one for a souvenir. Then to a carpet shop where Tony almost bought a greeny-browny runner of silk. Then to a hermits cave where we could see how he was living now - free tea here (also in carpet shop and lunch). We could also buy drinks and post cards at the hermit's cave! He also had a small black and white T.V.! Then group supper and Turkish dancing at the hotel. For most of the day one of the local women (complete with Yashmak (veil) joined us in the bus. Very outgoing woman.

General re Turkey. Istanbul - lot of army with machine guns slung over their shoulders. Very impressive shoe shine kits, brass tops on the polish bottles, found everywhere. Tea vendors with cups (actually glasses) of tea on their trays in the street. Topkapi Palace - Topkapi dagger, 86-karat diamond, diamond encrusted jewelry, tea services, etc. Very friendly people; if you want to get instructions on getting somewhere, a lot of people tend to crowd around and try and help - all speaking Turkish of course.

Monday September 3.

Saw some of the churches in caves in Goreme Valley.

Walked around town (Urgup) for a while - I bought a cotton long-sleeved blouse ($4) for Iran, also a Yashmak for my head (really for dust as well). Allan left for Istanbul, then Hong Kong he had to get back for a job. We were taken out shopping by our guide from the last 2 days - we went to a donkey saddle shop and saw the saddle maker put the finishing touches on a saddle (while we had tea) - which we bought and are carrying around with us! Hope to send it from Bangkok. Then we went to a carpet shop. After tea and much negotiation we bought a family prayer carpet, which will be sent to Canada for us (about a month traveling time). This negotiation took about 1 1/2 hours! We went back to the hotel (the electricity had gone off by this time - came on 1-2 hours later). We went to pick up our donkey saddle but we couldn't pick it up - we had been told it would be delivered and he was going to deliver it! which he did soon after, after he (the maker) had changed his clothes. Apparently he is 46 years old now and has been making saddles since he was 13 years old. He plans to retire after & few more years as he is tired - works until 12 at night each day and can make 2 saddles in a day.

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Tuesday September 4.

Urgurp - Erzuriim.

Route: Urgurp - Kayseri - Sivas - Erzincan - Erzurum

Distance: 763 kms.

A long day today and nothing exceptional on the route, but interesting scenery. We follow the old caravan route to Kayseri and that means we leave the area of Cappadocia. Kayseri is at the foot of snow-topped Mount Erciyes (3916 m). We will see more caravanserais along the road as Kayseri - Sivas was one of the busiest Seljuk caravan routes. After Sivas we leave the Central Anatolian plateau and go into the highlands of the northeast. This great east-west fault (it is part of it) is the cause of so many earthquakes. After Erzincan we go over 2 passes and come down to Erzurum, which is at an altitude of 2000 m. The surrounding mountains are 1000 M. higher, with eroded peaks. Very dry country - some of the hills are coloured, similar to Death Valley. Tony had 24-hour flu overnight in Erzurum.

Wednesday September 5.

Erzurum - border (Turkey/Iran) - Maku.

Distance: 425 kms. (to border 411 kms.)

Our last day in Turkey. We drive through Horasan, Kagizman, Igzdir and then the border. Lunch before the border. The scenery won't change, still dry mountainous. We will pass Mount Ararat, on which Noah's Ark landed. The border is not far from here and Maku is just across the border. Photo stop at Tuzluca, a typical Kurdish village. The hotel we had planned to stay at in Maku was no longer in use - bombed out. There were definite signs of previous fighting in Maku. I had caught the flu (Tony had it the night before), also some bug from food I think - up every 1/2 - 1 hour during the night. The hotel (the best in town) was o.k. (just) but one sheet to a bed so we had to take our sleeping bags in. It appears there were bed bugs too. I got 3 bites but some people got a lot.

Thursday September 6.

Maku - Isfahan.

Route: Tabriz - Teheren - Saveh - Isfahan

Distance: 1292

(Just before the border we stopped at a mosque on a hill, the Ishah Pasha complex, Dogubayazit. Took 3 hours to get through the 2 borders - they were rebuilding it on the Turkish side and difficult to find your way out! Health checks and passports but only 1 suitcase opened!)

I felt terrible (completely skipped breakfast) and just managed to get to the bus under my own steam, ignoring everyone else. However, Anita gave me some pills to settle my stomach and I sat in the front seat so I got through the day without having to stop the bus in a hurry.

The first part leads through Azeibijan where the Kurds live. There is still a lot of semi-nomadism, in summer the people go up in the mountains and in winter return to the valleys. Tabriz is still in a mountainous area at an altitude of 1400 meters. After Tabriz we go down to the Iranian plateau and the earth will become drier and drier. We are still going eastward and turn south at Karraj just before Teheran. Then we avoid all big towns and drive during the night to Isfahan.

Isfahan is a beautiful oasis 4000 ft. above sea level in a green belt due to the river Zayandeh Rud. For centuries it has been a capital, starting in 1100 A.D. by the Seljuks. The town itself was founded in 3,OOO B.C. Beautiful mosques and other buildings were built during its Golden age in the 16th and 17th C. under the Safavids. The last Safavid ceded the town to the Afghan Ebr Yah, and the capital was transferred to Meshed. This was the start of the decline of the city, around 1725 and it became a forgotten city but the beautiful buildings and wide boulevards remained.

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Friday September 7.

The overnight drive wasn't too bad. Since I was sick both Tony and I got a seat to ourselves and managed to stretch out a little. When we got to Isfahan our intended hotel was still standing (although London had heard that it had been burned down) but the door was still locked and the nightman on (about 6 a.m.). So we waited until 7 a.m., had tea in the hotel, then breakfast (boiled egg, flat bread - the regular type of bread disappeared after we left Turkey, milk and coffee (not generally available in Turkey)). The hotel owner, a friend of our driver, Haggis, came in about 9.30 a.m. and managed to fit us in - some five to a room! We got a room for 2 with another couple in a connecting room and they have to come in our room to use the bathroom so we were quite lucky. The hotel owner was also on his way to Teheran and London later in the day so we had to pay soon after we got there. He did take travelers cheques and did cash travelers cheques though. Saturday is the anniversary (lst) of the uprising against the Shah so there is to be a celebration (demonstration probably) at the university. As a result a lot of people are in Isfahan now. Finally got into our rooms (I think a few people were kicked out of their rooms early), had lunch and I had a short rest (after much-needed showers). At 4 p.m. a group of us went to the nearby Shah Abbas Hotel for tea in the Iranian Coffee house - sat on blankets, had tea served by a showman waiter (waxed mustache) and a couple of hukkar pipes were rented and tried out by some in the group (including Tony for a brief puff!). We were shown around the hotel - 15 years old, the insides took 4 years to finish. After tea we walked around Isfahan a bit, generally found the people friendly - most women are wearing the chadors (full length cloaks including head but some just have scarves on. Very, very few with bare heads. I wore a scarf, tied as the Iranians do (covers part of my forehead). We met some soldiers and after Tony's initial insult (he said they spoke Arabic when it is really Farsi they were very friendly; thought I was Iranian and couldn't understand why we had no children. Found out that I could go into the Shah Mosque (probably Komenei Mosque now as most Shah are Komenei - (except the Shah's picture is still on the money) on Sat. or Sun. if I borrow a chador (probably incorrect spelling) and then leave a donation. We then came back to the hotel, had an omelet for supper and an early night. Friday is the Moslem Sunday.

Saturday September 8.

Generally lazy day. I slept after breakfast in the morning. Tony worked on the kitty books all day, balancing, finding errors and making up a summary of what has been spent and on what. Went out for supper with most of the group 1001 nights Restaurant just across the street from the hotel.

Sunday September 9.

Isfahan. Late breakfast (9 a.m.). Went to the drug store for stomach-soothing pills in case I need any in future, then to the Shah (Khomenei) mosque but it wasn't going to be opened until 11.45 a.m. So we walked through the local bazaar - quite a maze of shops, blacksmith shops, fellows beating metal (trays), engraving metal, motorbikes being ridden through the narrow passageways. Very crowded but not pushy people. Didn't see ANY tourists. We are the first Westerners in the Iran hotel this year! We then went back to the mosque where Betty and I were lent chadors to go inside (we were lucky no-one else was lent one, the fellow (lender) later took us on a tour in the afternoon). quite different from Turkish mosques. Big, blue, mostly open-air. We then arranged to be picked up at 4 p.m. to go to some other places. We went to 1001 nights restaurant for lunch, changed some travelers cheques there (he gave 80 I.R./$ instead of the bank rate of 70 I.R./$ because he could then put it in his Barclays Bank account). The owner said that his restaurant used to have a floorshow with belly dancing and was very busy but that it not allowed anymore so business has suffered. He has applied for emigration to Canada, where he would like to open

an Iranian restaurant. After lunch I rested and slept, Tony went out for a walk. At 4 p.m. our guide (really driver) picked us up and took us to:

1. The Shaking Minarets - 700 years old and someone’s tomb, the minarets shake when you climb up them but you can't climb up them now.

2. Fire Temple, outside the city on top of a hill. Tony and I walked to the top (fast as Betty and Russ didn't come up). - very good view of the city. 2000 years old. A vendor was waiting with 2 Pepsis in hand when we got down - easy sale for him!

3. Armenian Church, but it was closed.

4. Hasht Behesht - 400 years old, a sultan's palace, now being restored by the government. The sign said no entry but our driver undid the entrance way anyway. We left a tip (or pay-off) to someone (caretaker?) of 50 rials (75 cents). Good way for him to make extra money. Excellent ceilings. Roof made out of mud and straw.

5. 40-column palace and gardens - Tony only counted 28 columns! We then were driven back to our hotel - traffic here is chaotic, to put it mildly. Omelet supper in the hotel.

Monday September 10.

Isfahan - Kerman

Route: Isfahan - Nain - Ardehan - Yazd - Rafsawyai - Kerman.

Distance: 627

Today we will see the real Iranian country life when we go south to Kerman. The first part will be mountainous, then along the Dasht-E-Kavir, the Salt Desert. Along the route you will find the "Qanats" which are Iran's national form of water supply. A quanat brings up water from underground sources through tunnels. The qanat is the tunnel. The system is recognized by the little humps with holes in the middle, from which water is taken. We drive through Yazd, in the center of the Iranian plateau, surrounded by deserts, 4000 ft. above sea level. It is the centre of the Zoroastrians. This was the ancient religion of Iran, based upon the conflict between good and evil. Outside the town is the Tower of Silence; the Zoroastrians expose their dead bodies here as long as the flesh remained, because they don't bury them. Yazd is famous for it's silk trade. We drive further south to Kerman, which is just west of the Dasht-e-hut, the great stone desert. It lies at an altitude of 6,100 ft. It is an old city, houses built of mud-brick with domed roofs. Carpet weaving and copper are important industries here. The town is about 1500 years old, founded by the Sassanins and later ruled by the Arabs, the Seljuks and the Turks. It grew quite rich as it was not too far from Portugese, British and Dutch trading posts. There is not much left now from old times. The Green Dome remains, a tomb of one of the Seljuk ladies. It has collapsed, due to an earthquake. Just north west of the town is an old fortress, from the Sassanud dynasty.

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Tuesday September 11.

Kerman - Zahedan

Route: Zahedan - Bam - Nosrofalbad - Zahedan

Distance: 533

Double room in hotel, with washbasin but no showers, in Kerman.

From Kerman we soon pass through the charming village of Mahan where you can see the Blue Dome of the tomb of Nur-ed-Din-Nimat Allah (15th C.), a famous poet.

Then the road leads through desert area to Bam, famous for it's oranges and dates. After Bam we cross the southern part of the Kavhir-e-huti the great stone desert. Date palm trees in Bam. Oases on occasion. 100 kms. from Bam we pass an 11th C. marker, built to guide caravans as there are no natural landmarks. (Photo stop, also cool down for engine). Zahedan is a small town built of mud brick houses; the bazaar has a lot of Pakistani bric-a-brac and Baluchi embroideries, red and green on black.

Baluchistan begins at Zahedan. Baluchestan is an area of mountains with narrow, sometimes fertile villages. Therefore there are fruit trees, cereals, sugar cane and tobacco. But the general landscape is very dry with an average rainfall of 0-4 inches per year. The Baluchis are nomads who live in black woollen tents. It is difficult to see them as they live high up in the mountains in summer. When the date harvest begins they return to the oases.

Arrived at our hotel about 6 p.m., sharing with Betty and Russ. We walked to a couple of shops and managed to buy 6 orange juice, in cans and 10 cokes to take out 15 for coke, 20 for the bottle, well worth it in the hot dry weather. Saw some camels today, very dry weather similar landscape to Death Valley in places.

Wednesday September 12.

Zahedan - Dalbandin.

Route: Zahedan - border (Iran/Pakistan) - Nok - Dalbandin

Distance: 395

Today the roads will really be bad, but the scenery will still be very beautiful. When we cross the Pakistani border we are still in Baluchistan and the area is mountainous. Geographically, it forms part of the Iranian plateau and shares its climate and harshness. Not many people live here, only 7.8 per square kilometer. Sheep are the wealth of the region.

The actual customs and police of Pakistan are at the border (used to be Nok). After that we will see how far we get, to Dalbandin or Fushki. Accommodation will be very basic as not many tourists visit the area.

General Information on Pakistan:-

Transport: Scooter rickshaws are very cheap. Also normal taxis, and gigs (horse drawn carts) are found.

Shopping: Cotton goods, inlaid wood, copper and brass, sandals.

Language: National language is Urdu, a mixture of Farsi, Hindu, and Arabic, written in Arabic form.

Food and drinks: There is always a service charge in restaurants, sometimes up to 15%. Food: Still kebabs but you should try the typical Pakistani food.

Curry and masala are ground spices made up of various ingredients like roots and herbs, which can be very hot! So chicken curry, chicken masala, or mutton curry etc.

Biryani: sauté rice with spices (saffron, cloves and cinnamon)

Mast: yoghurt. Pilao rice, less spicy. Chicken Landvori: a seasoned quarter of chicken grilled on a skewer. Chapah: bread.

We got up at 4 a.m. I had breakfast; Tony had tea (the rest of the group skipped breakfast). We left at 5 a.m., got to the border at about 6.30 a.m. The immigration and customs didn't open up until 8 a.m. However we did get processed through immigration before 8 a.m., then we had to wait around for a while for a customs check - we weren't really checked at all. Then we went across the border to Pakistan, through immigration and customs there - we left at 1 p.m. The Pakistani customs area was full of animals, flies and dust - just what you would expect for Pakistan. We then had about 3 hours on a dirt road (very rough and dusty) before getting to a paved road (still very bumpy but not so dusty) - through barren desert - a house or 2 appeared a couple of times beside the railway track, which we were paralleling. A fair amount of traffic - the Pakistani buses are very colourful and also very full - lots of people inside and also on the open, top deck. Also trucks (colourfull too) passing us, sometimes in a convoy of 3. We got to Dalbandin shortly before dark and stayed on the verandah (we and another couple got beds just inside a room) of a dak bungalow place - they were full. We had one bathroom available to us. Took showers in the evening - a cup of water from a bucket thrown over, then soap yourself and a couple of cups (large one) thrown over to rinse - after all the sand during the day it was very welcome. During the night some dogs and a couple of mules came chasing through the courtyard!

Haggis cooked supper from our emergency supplies - Spaghetti (made with tomato paste instead of tomatoes), some fish out of a can - edible but not too successful a meal. The accommodation was free but we gave the 2 water-carriers (from the well) 20 rupees ($2) each for their effort (a lot of water was used too).

Tony and I walked into the village after supper for cokes - no women around at all.

Thursday September 13.

Dalbandin - Quetta.

Route: Dalbandin - Nushki - Quetta.

Distance: 328 kms.

We go further through Pakistani Baluchistan and the desert; the roads will still be bad. This is the most troublesome province of Pakistan; Turbat the capital of Baluchistan (south) has a deplorable reputation for banditry. There are traces of volcanic activities in the area so there is hope that many mineral deposits exist. After several hours, we reach Quetta, situated at a height of 5000 ft. in a wide valley, lots of fruit around here. Quetta means "hivata” which mans fort. The old fort disappeared but houses have been dug up that date back to the 4th millennium B.C., this is the oldest region in the subcontinent.

Quetta is on the trade route between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley, but the town itself was never really important. In 1878 it was the base of the British army in their expeditions around Kabul. In 1935 the town was completely destroyed by an earthquake and has wide boulevards now. The temperature will probably be very nice, quite cool.

After a dried toast and jam and coffee breakfast, we left at 8 a.m. through desert land, very bumpy roads still. Arrived at Quetta (after a few stops, including a couple similar to the Khyber Pass) around 4 p.m. Staying at quite a nice hotel. We have a large living room, bedroom, dressing room and bathroom, with shower. Some have bathtubs. Supper at the hotel after a general clean up and washing of clothes. My Samsonite suitcases are showing wear after all the bumping around. One got a bit of dust inside. I am glad we don't have soft-sided luggage though.

Friday September 14.

Generally lazy day. Breakfast (cornflakes, fried eggs or

omelet, toast, tea or coffee) at 9 a.m. Wandered around the bazaar, lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Took a scooter taxi back from the bazaar in the morning. Supper at hotel in evening.

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Saturday September 15.

Quetta - Sitkkar (about 400 kms?)

We leave the desert today and go down to the Indus valley. The Indus has its springs in the Himalaya range in India and without this river the whole of Pakistan would be desert. Irrigation is therefore very important and many canals have been constructed. Very bad roads today.

In the morning we went through the Bolan Pass, quite spectacular, narrow roads, one bridge was at right angles to the road! Bad roads throughout the day so we didn't get nearly as far as we had planned.

We lost the nuts off the U-bolt in the front of the bus, but managed to get new

ones soon after. It was fixed at Templedera - Tony and I walked around looking for cokes. We met a Baluchi King, the owner (or feudal landlord as he put it) of the town. We had to get back to the bus in case it was ready but he had already sent out for orange pop. We picked it up on the way back to the bus - 2 orange pops each, compliments of the Baluchi King. Whenever we stop many people (mostly men and boys) crowd around us. Usually one of them speaks English and they are curious about where we are from, where we are going, etc.

At about 6 p.m. we drove into Sukkar (originally intended as our lunch stop!), had an excellent supper (took almost 2 hours from the time we got there until we finished), and stayed in an air-conditioned hotel. Still hot and humid out at 9 p.m. Just before Sukkar we went through the hottest place in Pakistan - 1270F. in summer, just less than 100F then!

Sunday September 16.

Sukkar - Lahore.

Route: Sukkar - Multan - Sahival - Lahore.

Distance: 813

We cross the Indus at Sakkar, where a big dam has been built, 665 ft. long, begun in 1923 and completed in 1932 and it feeds 7 main canals. We cross the river via the Bukhir Bridge.

People lived here 6000 years ago and a lot of fighting has taken place here, one ruler following another.

We drive north from Sukkar, following the Indus and later its main tributary, the Yhebem.

Maltan is a big town, about 2500 years old. Sahival, inhabited since ancient times used to be called Montgomery. Nearby are the ruins of Haruppa, a settlement that dates back to 2500 B.C. Here the Ravi River flows into the Indus.

40 miles before Lahore we go through the forest of Chanya Manga; it used to be a nursery, now it is more like a park.

Lahore: 1,500,000 pop., a bustling city with mosques, bazaars, monuments and wide green boulevards.

To see: Bahshaki Mosque, one of the largest in the world. Made of red sandstone with marble inlay. At the main entrance is the tomb of the poet - philosopher Iqbul. The Lahore Fort: Beautiful palace fort. Special is the Hall of Mirrors, Halls of General and Special Audience, all from the Moghul era.

The Bazaar, tiny shops with craftsmen in copper, brass, silver and textiles.

Shalimar Gardens from 1642 A.D. was a recreational place for the Royal family. Gardens with canals, fountains, waterfalls, etc.

A very long day, left at 6 a.m. after an excellent cup of coffee. We made only a few short stops, arriving in Lahore about 9 p.m. The roads were a bit better than the day before but still very bumpy and tiring. Lots of irrigation canals, very poor villages, people sleeping outside under the trees with the animals in close proximity.

Animals - water buffalos, camels, mules, goats, horses, birds of prey. Rushes beside the water, what I would imagine Egypt to be like. Horns going almost continuously, people, horse drawn carts, trucks, and buses on roads. Water buffalo in the water with just their eyes showing -

Monday September 17.

City tour of Lahore - very clean buildings along the Mall, saw the Lahore Fort including the Hall of Mirrors. Tried some sugar cane drink with dash

of lime. Saw a mystic man. Saw the Bahghaki Mosque and the changing of the guard at Iqbulls tomb. Saw a medicine man's shop, also a street where garlands of flowers (frangipani) are made, walked through an arch into the old city. Saw the Shalimair Gardens in the rain, the fountains were not on. Tony went out in the afternoon, bought some food (including a can of cheese!) and a couple of books; I stayed in bed, having a case of Delhi Belly or whatever. In the evening Tony went out with the group for a Chinese meal I stayed at the hotel and had an omelet.

As you can see, we got through Iran o.k. - people very friendly -and no trouble. Came through Baluchistan (southern Pakistan) - a few long drives though desert but very interesting. No post cards in Quetta where we were a few days ago.

Tuesday September 18.

We were supposed to leave soon after lunch because 2 tires from the bus were being regrooved and were due back in the morning. We walked to Charing Cross, dropping in at the Intercontinental Hotel (to buy Newsweek) and the Hilton (for a snack). It then rained! After getting more streptamagna medicine for me, we took a scooter taxi back to the hotel. Weather hot and muggy in the morning but cooled off quite a bit with the rain. At the hotel we found out that the tires were not back yet so we wouldn’t be leaving until the next day. After reading for a while we went back to the downtown area - Falettits hotel to look at the shops (an old colonial type hotel) and then the Bazaar. In the good hotels, Pakistani doormen are dressed up in native costumes. Cows wander around by themselves on the streets! Supper at the hotel - used the rest of our Pakistani money.

Tuesday September 18.

Lahore - border (Pakistan/India) - Amritsar.

Distance: about, 60 kms.

Breakfast at 7 a.m. but didn’t leave until 10:30 a.m. because Haggis had been working on the wheel bearings of the bus until late the night before. Raining turning into drizzle.

A short drive to the border, then probably a long wait. Porters dressed in blue or red carrying goods across the border. Every truck is completely off-loaded to a truck on the other side of the border! The Pakistanis are in red, the Indians in blue. All trucks are unloaded and in this case the flow was grapes from Pakistan to India. The porters carry 2 boxes each on their heads to the border line - a line painted in white! (and not one inch over the line) and then transfer them to Indian porters. A bit of grape eating was done on the Pakistani side and these porters were hurrying. On the Indian side, the boxes were being forced open at a corner and the grapes eaten (as they were leisurely walking to their destination).

The road from the border to Amritsar is the crowded GT road (Grand Trunk). We are still in Punjab (Indian Punjab). Amritsar is the most holy city of the Sikhs; it owes its existence to the religion that tried to bridge the gap between the Hindus and Moslems. Guru (teacher) Nanab founded this in 15th C. Amritsar was built around the Golden temple. Here you can buy the Sikh bracelets of steel, which are very useful as bottle openers. At the temple you have to wash your feet, cover your hair and wear no leather.

Souvenirs: each region has its own handicrafts and Kashmir is one of the best for variety.

Kashmir: wood carving, carpets, papier-mâché, shawls, clothes, and coats.

Jaipur: block printed fabrics and-stones (gems)

Khaiuraho: erotic prints.

Varinasi: silk clothes, embroidered silk, saris, wall hangings, ivory, copper and brassware.

Hindi is the national language but English is widely spoken.

4 hours in total at the 2 borders. We had baked beans and biscuits for lunch quite tasty!

Quite a nice hotel in Amritsar, the Ritz, 55 rupees or just over $7 U.S. each per night including supper and breakfast. We have a double room with bathroom (with shower) ensuite. Ants and a lizard in the bathroom but no cockroaches, really not too bad.

Good supper at the hotel in the evening. The electricity went out before supper and we were brought a candle fairly soon - very good service at this hotel.

Thursday September 20.

Packed up, ready to go to Jammu, stopping at the Golden Temple (Sikh Temple) in Amritsar on the way. The wheel bearings on the bus were giving us problems before we got to the Golden Temple so we were dropped off, went to the Golden Temple by ourselves - fascinating place, a service was going on continuously, we then went to the Hindu Temple, built on the water the same way as the Golden Temple but not nearly as impressive and then took a rickshaw back to the hotel. At the Hindu Temple, a cow was drinking from the water at the entrance to the temple - shoes must be taken off and feet washed before going into the temples.

Teeming masses! Lots of people, bicycles, rickshaws, some cars, oxen pulling carts and cows in the middle of the road. The traffic just goes around the cows!

After we got back to the hotel, we found out that someone had to go back to Lahore to get a new wheel bearing, so we were going to stay here for another day at least. So we got our old rooms back.

After supper we went back to the Golden Temple for their 9.30 service. Their holy book is read from, then wrapped up and taken out to the throne in a building near the beginning of the causeway. It is kept there until 2.30 a.m. when the procedure is repeated in reverse. A Sikh took us into the throne room, he also told us what was going on - very helpful. The people often bring food in some leaf to the Temple, half is taken from them, and the food received is then given out to anyone who wants it: a symbolic sharing. Our rickshaw driver "looked after" our sandals and also lent us hats for our heads - ensures we will go back to the hotel with him. Anyone can sleep in the courtyard around the Golden Temple. Once a month people from the local village come in and stay overnight. Tomorrow is the day they come to see the Temple, so the courtyard was quite crowded.

People sleep on the sidewalks in the city; just wrap themselves up with clothes!

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Friday September 21.

At about 11 a.m. we found out that the English fellows who had gone to Lahore had only got part of the wheel bearing parts and may have trouble getting the rest, as today is a holiday (Moslem’s Sunday).- Since we definitely were not going to leave Amritsar today, Tony and I hurriedly packed 2 overnight bags, gave the kitty books and money to Russ and caught the 2.05 p.m. plane to Srinagar. Our overnight bags were searched and we had a body search before we got on the plane. Also Tony had to check my jack-knife - he got a check ticket for it and the knife also had a check ticket attached to it when we got it back in Srinagar. The plane ride was about 50 or 55 minutes, at times the pilot banked the plane quite steeply. The pressurization was not as good as usual, either. However, the plane (737) was nearly full and only cost us $20 each for 400 kms. (about Toronto to Ottawa). The stewardess had a lovely blue sari on. We also got candies before take off.

When we arrived in Srinagar, after we collected our checked knife, we took the bus to the tourist centre. Houseboat owners all over the place, very persistent and rather a nuisance. However, we bought a map and took a taxi to the Highlands Park Hotel in Gulmarg, about 45 kms. from Srinagir. Here we got a room with a bath (+ hot water to soak in) and a sitting area, also a small heater since it is cool here for about $40 per day for both of us. This includes the room, 3 excellent meals a day, afternoon tea (jam sandwiches and cookies) and service charge for 2 of us.

We also have a very attentive room-boy. I think he comes with our block of rooms (3 doubles and a suite) but today we were the only ones in the block. We had tea in our room soon after we arrived (about 5.30 p.m.), then a bath before supper. 6 waiters at supper. While we were in the dining room there was only one other couple there. Excellent service. The lunch and supper consist of soup, then a European type meal (chicken and veg.), then Indian food (3 curries and rice), then desert (lemon cake). You can take as much as you want. I took 1 piece of chicken and was told to take another! A good way to try Indian food but not have too much of it. After supper our room-boy asked us if we wanted anything in our room later in the evening, which we didn't and also whether we would like tea or coffee in bed in the morning (part of the price of the room!) which we refused as we didn't know what time we would be up in the morning.

We picked up a guide at the village before Gulmarg on our way to the hotel and he pestered us a bit after we got to the hotel - what did we want to do the next day, pony rides, etc. We finally managed to get rid of him though.

Saturday September 22.

Our bathtub is blue, very comfortable and has an interesting drainage system. The water just empties on to the floor where there is a drain. I suppose originally the drain was there for a shower (which still exists above the bathtub) and then the bathtub was added.

. Breakfast at 8.30 a.m. - porridge (or corn flakes), fried eggs, toast, coffee. We met the golf pro (carrying a 3 or 4 iron around with him) who tried to talk us into playing 9 holes with him. We almost got away before the pestering guide from yesterday appeared. However he took no for an answer fairly quickly. We then went for a walk (9000 ft. altitude here) around the Outer Circle Road; Army nearby, also nuclear energy research centre and a school in a tent (tables and chairs inside the tent but no pupils today). Saw Nanga Parbet (26,000 ft.) in the distance; very clear. Some mist in the valley though. Yesterday was a very clear day - it had been raining for 4 days previously so we were lucky. Walked through Gulmarg village. Lots of horses for rent, quite a commotion at times when someone wanted to hire one, almost fighting to get the fare. Most of the tourists look like rich Indians. There were quite a few buses that had come in from Srinigar for the day. Back at the hotel, we had coffee and beer on the lawn outside our room - looking at the mountains in the distance. A couple moved into the room 2 away from us so now our room-boy has 2 rooms to look after. Needless to say, our beds were made today! Lunch, then a brief rest. We then walked the 3+ kms. up to Khilinmarg, probably about a 1500 ft. climb. The village (really just a few huts, is very pastoral, yellow fields, cows, water buffalo, sheep, shepherds and a tea and cold drink place in a tent. The path (really pony trail - this was one of the places that was suggested we go to) went further up, above the snow line, to the crest of the mountain. It didn't look too far but we did not have time. Came down; afternoon tea overlooking the golf course; hot bath. Tony tried to phone the Ritz Hotel in Amritsar - 3 hours wait for ordinary call, 1 1-2 hrs. for emergency! Anyway, the call never got through.

Sunday September 23.

The fellow at the hotel desk could not get the phone line to Srinigar so there was no hope of us phoning the group in Amritsar. Walked to Gulmarg village where we took some pictures of the horses and their owners trying to sell pony rides to some of the tourists (mostly Indian) that had come up on one of the buses. On the way to the village, we saw a 6-some (+ 6 caddies) playing golf on the 9 hole golf course. There used to be 18 holes and the other 9 are now being worked on. One of the caddies had a transistor radio with him. The greens had barbed wire around them to protect them from the cows etc; the caddies had to remove this before the players got to the green.

After lunch at the hotel, we took a taxi (which had been waiting for 1-2 hours after bringing up some other passengers) to the tourist centre in Srinigar; gave up trying to find the houseboat owner Raja and Son that the group had booked with, and walked to the beginning of Dal Lake where there were houseboats and hotels. At the New Park Hotel we made a phone call to Amritsar (just under 1/2 hr. to get it through) and found out that the group had left at 6 a.m. that morning. So we checked into the New Park Hotel for a night. Walked along Boulevard Road to the Oberoi Palace Hotel where we had a drink on the lawn, a movie was being made inside so there was quite a crowd there waiting for the movie stars to come out. Watched for the bus to come in but didn't see it. (It actually arrived about 11 p.m. after we were in bed).

Monday September 24.

Walked around part of Srinigar. Saw our bus parked at 11.30 a.m. Got a Shikira driver to take us to the houseboats where our group is staying. We went to Haggis’s boat where we were told (finally) where to go - our room was ready for us on the ”soulkiss", sharing with Betty and Russ. The boat has 2 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, a dining room and a living room. The cook boat is at the back. Russ had thoughtfully taken our suitcases off the bus and put them in our room. We went back to the hotel, checked out and brought our overnight bags back to the houseboat. Lunch on houseboat. The group had taken a local bus in the morning for a tour of the old city and the Indo-Kashmir Carpet Factory. Afternoon tour, taken by Shikara around waterways - wood factory, paper mache factory. Rain! Bought a bracelet with tiger eyes in it from a hawker who came on our houseboat. Plenty of hawkers paddling around and quite eager to show us their wares "looking is free" is the most used phrase. Went to bed fairly early. Had hot water bottles in bed!

Tuesday September 25.

All meals are included with our houseboat 47 rupees per night each ($6 U.S.!). Also 2house-boys to look after us. After breakfast we walked into town, saw a number of shops. In the afternoon we took a taxi to the 3 Moghul gardens and back. Stopped to see some rice thrashing beside the road. Went to a carpet shop, saw a very nice

brown wool one, had Kashmir tea and ginger cookies there. Kashmir music singing and dancing in the evening over the waterway. You must take a shikara (boat) to go to land or to another houseboat.

The post office boat came by early afternoon and I bought stamps and mailed a letter. The stamps get franked on the boat and the letter is put in a pile under a covering!

Russ got his laundry back at suppertime. Presented to him at the table, all neatly pressed!

Wednesday September 26.

Different kinds of shikara shops:-

Post office knives in wooden sheaths

Shawls, woolen goods, etc. candy and cookies

Furs, including mink biscuits, drinks and general stuff.

Woodwork, woodcarvings hairdressing and massage

Paper mache flowers

Bread (bakery) vegetables

Kodak, photography, postcards, slides etc. tailor

Fabric shop police

Went to the Indo-Kashmir carpet factory in the morning - saw carpets being made. The designers take a photo of an old carpet and from that write the instructions for the carpet - really a book because every knot in every row is accounted for. These instructions are then called out as the workers are tying the knots - the women and girls work as designers and also make carpets in the homes. The boys and men work at the factory, some of the boys as young as 7 years old. They work 1/2 day and then go to school 1/2 day.

We then took a horse-drawn cart through the old city. (A traffic policeman suggested we do this!) - The driver was fairly old and seemed to enjoy taking us around. I don't think he generally took tourists around.

Bought flowers from the flower boat in the morning.

Thursday September 27.

Up at 6 a.m., had coffee and went by shikara to the floating vegetable market. Howard and Jan visited most of the mornlng. Bought our browny carpet in the afternoon. We had some Kashmir tea and excellent ginger cookies at the carpet place. I was given a wooden bowl by the carpet man! There was an engagement party during the afternoon and evening - 2 boats away from us. The couple are about 13 years old, will marry when they are about 18 years. The engagement has been arranged by the parents. The party was on a special boat.

In the evening there was a wedding, the wedding boat went by a couple of times, actually boats - a power boat pulling a boat of army bagpipers, then the wedding and party boat. This wedding probably cost about $4-5,000 because the groom also buys the bride 7 outfits, i.e. 7 saris, 7 pajamas, 7 - etc.

Srinager is the (summer) capital of Jammu and Kashmir, situated on the Jhebum River and bordering on Dal Lake.

Road works in India - the rock is broken up from large boulders to smaller ones and eventually to gravel by hand.

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Friday September 28

Kashmir - Jammu 284 kms.

Leave at 8.15 a. m.

Tourism, wheat, rice and saffron are the main economy for the area. We went through the Banihal Pass, at a height of 7,250 feet. It is traversed by a 1 1/2 mile long tunnel cut through the mountain. The entrance is very often blocked by snow during the 4 months of winter.

The road to the next pass Patnitop (6500 ft.) is subject to many landslides and quite often blocked.

We passed several small towns, mainly military establishments of the Indian army. We actually spent most of the day passing a huge convoy of army trucks.

Just before Jammu we follow the Chenab River valley after cutting across a region of subtropical ravines and ranges comprising the Jammu valley

The drive to Jammu takes us through three district regions each with different people's customs and language.

In the "vale" of Kashmir are the dark., long limbed and very hardy Kashmiris who are predominantly Moslem and speak a local dialect - Kashmiri. Around the hills and valleys of Jammu , the submontani - we find the Pakaris, still Hindu but famous as artists and tending to be nomadic. The plains of the Indus are inhabited by Hindi speaking Dogra tribes - farmers.

Jammu is the capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This state is semi-independent and was the reason for the Indo-Pakistan war. Most inhabitants are Moslem while the rest of India is Hindu.

A fairly long drive but some quite spectacular scenery through the mountains and hills.

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Saturday September 29.

Jammu - Delhi

Route: Jammu - Pathankot - Ludhiana - Ambala - Delhi.

Distance: 609 kms.

Flat roads again through the Indian countryside. At Pathankot we enter the Punjab region. The Punjab is drained by 3 main rivers, the Beas, Sutley and Ravi and since partition this area has one of the most intricate and largest irrigation schemes in the world, including several immense dams and a projected canal of 500 miles. This is the main wheat growing area of India with sugar cane a subsidiary crop. Also the Punjab is one of the most densely populated areas of India.

Near Ludhiana we enter the state of Haryana, recently created. In 1966 the Punjab was divided into two states and a union territory, Haryana being one of the states. The capital of Haryana, the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh is Chandigarh, which we went to by mistake because the driver took a wrong turn. Haryana is the most progressive state of India, as every village has electricity.

Delhi - was the Hindi capital of Hindustan (old India) for many centuries before the Moslem invaders made it theirs as well. Shah Jahan was the first of the Moghul rulers to make Delhi capital of this rich empire when in 1650 he shifted it from Agra. Construction of a new city encircled by a 517-mile wall was soon completed around the Red Fort and called Shah Jahanabad. Delhi remained capital during the decaying Moghul empire, despite sackings by the Persians (removal of the Peacock Throne) and Afghans until 1858 when the Indian mutiny was suppressed.

Delhi’s loss of position was only temporary however, until 1911 when the British shifted their capital from Calcutta. A new city adjacent to the old Delhis (7 in all) was planned under Sir Edwin Lutens and Bake. Between 1920-1931 the nucleus of "New Delhi" came into being (a mixture of oriental and renaissance architecture) and almost completed by independence in 1947.

Today the old and new Delhis are almost joined as one due to the growth of suburbia between them. Old Delhi (of Shah Jahan) is still clustered around the Red Fort, a maze of narrow, dirty but fascinating streets teeming with people. The most famous street is Chandi Charrk (Silver Street) once the richest avenue; today a bazaar and silver smithing centre. Delhi has a population of 5 million and is situated at the head of the Gangetic plain on the banks of the Yumrming River.

Sunday September 30.

City tour of New Delhi (and briefly into old Delhi). Went to the Birla Mandir, a 20th century Hindu temple, built in 1938 A.D. by philanthropic Seth Balder Das Birla. Pink and white stone. There was also a small Buddha temple beside it. Outside the temple (near the bus) there was a snake charmer with 4 cobras. We then drove to Qutab Minar - 238 ft. high tower among some ruins. The tower was remodeled in 1199 and has part of the Koran written on the outside of it. We also drove through the Embassy area; saw the Presidential palace, government area. Then Gandhi’s pyre, through a bit of old Delhi and outside of Red Ford - where elephants' heads were being painted. Also saw about 10 antique cars on the tour (a private collection)

In the afternoon, Tony went to the hotel pool. In the evening we went to Sound and Light at the Red Fort - quite a good one, ending with the independence of India, starting many centuries ago before the Moghul invaders. Hyenas howled, horses clip-clopped etc.

Monday October 1.

Poste restante for mail at 9 a.m. Got a postcard from Victoria (our motor home has been sold) and letter 6A (letter 6 is probably misfiled, although we checked the A, B, R and T piles!

We got our shoes polished (and mended) by 2 kids - 4 rupees (56 cents) total. We also were invited to change money on the black market, but he wouldn't give us all the rupees until we had given him all the pounds and dollars so we didn’t. Obviously in the con game. We had been warned about it and later saw a notice at the youth travel agency about it. Interesting experience since we did not lose anything.

Lunch at the Hotel Imperial, an old colonial-style hotel.

Vijayadashami day - fiery end of Ravan, Kumbhakaran and Itgharad at the hands of Rama i.e. triumph of good over evil. Very crowded! Watched the fireworks and burnings from hotel 5th floor balcony.

Tuesday October 2.

Delhi - Jaipur 280 kms.

We leave the Gangetic plain again and enter Rajasthan, the desert state of India. Small villages hidden between palm trees in semi-desert surroundings. Apart from the desert, Rajasthan is a land of lakes, forts, gardens and palaces. The eastern area is considered as the "true India”, where the Rajputs (conquerors from the North) still exist, they look and behave as if the outside world did not matter. The Rajputs are a warlike race known for their horsemanship whether it be on the polo field or battle. Great warriors, their feats of valour, sense of humour and pride were famous in defending their lands. Colourful people in costume, the men wear distinctive pink or saffron turbans, the "Ragni”, whilst the women wear full skirt and half sleeve bodice abounded by unusual jewelry, which represents their wealth. Fantastic coloured dress.

Jaipur at the base of the Armvalti Range. Capital of Rajasthan in 1927. The "Pink City", due to coloured sandstone used in the buildings. streets up to 110 feet wide are enclosed in a complete wall. Many of the fine buildings were built by Jai Singh including the lovely llawa Yahal, the "Palace of the Winds". The City Palace now houses a museum and the Royal Observatory is really something special, with a sundial accuracy to 30 seconds. Also Jaipur is famous for its block-printing, beautiful printed cloth. Teeming masses coming in to Jaipur - the most people we have ever seen in the streets. Monkeys on rooftops. Vultures.

Photo stop - threshing millet, picture of old man in shelter smoking a pipe,

Stayed at Koetri house, a second-rate Maharaja’s palace - we had the Maharaja’s bedroom (Peacocks on roof). No hot water. Air conditioner's transformer blow up at night in a Shower of sparks.

Tony and I got our fortunes told - he will live to 101, me 84! He will get $85K next October, will meet a "baddy" Raymond in January ‘8O, I will meet a "baddy” woman, name starting with M in February ‘8O. Very fascinating fortune teller - he also gave us our birthdates, etc. but all this information Tony had written on a piece of paper - so he must have got it from there, somehow. I will be rich by middle age, i.e. 40 years old!

Wednesday October 3.

Jaipur - Agra 225 kms.

Amber Palace - 7 mi from Jaipur. Hidden in the hills for security and protection, built in the 11th C. during the period of invasions and upheaval in Northern India. It remained capital of Rajasthan until 1727 when the military threat of the moghuls had diminished and Jaipur was built. You can go up to the palace by elephant accompanied by musicians playing reed flutes. The palace itself is beautifully decorated inside, with many rooms and apartments. Very famous is the Hall of I-mirrors.

We leave Rajasthan again to enter Uttar Pradish just after Bharatpur, which is famous for its bird sanctuary (we didn't go there as the water is low due to failure of monsoons and very few birds). Uttar Pradish is India’s largest state and very densely populated; 20 million more than the U.K. and it is smaller! Food bowl of India, produces 1/3rd of India’s needs. The irrigation is based on the river Ganges. Not much happened in Agra before the moghuls and not much after that.

Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan as a monument to his wife who died in 1633. 20 years+ and 20,000 craftsmen to build.

30 kms. from Agra is Fatehpur Sikri, the deserted city, built by Akbar the Great in the16th C. The city was described in 1583 as exceeding London in population and grandeur, but tragically a shortage of water forced its desertion only a few years later. Today the city has changed little due to an ideal climatic preservation. Most of the buildings are of the red stone as in Jaipur.

City tour of Jaipur in morning - Robo’s group (14 in a mini-van going from Katmandu to London) joined us for the tour so the bus was full. Saw Palace of the Winds, Amber Palace (elephant ride up), Observatory (set our watches here by 2 sec. accuracy clock). Drove to Agra in afternoon. Saw working elephants in Jaipur. Saw camels pulling carts on roads Delhi - Jaipur. Not many people on the bus after Delhi. We left Anita, our courier, there to get the visas for Nepal and also to wait for the banks to open on Wednesday to get money from Treasure Treks. Three others from our group; Tim, Gay and Greg also were expecting money. Bobby and Charlie, from New Zealand, left the tour in New Delhi.

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Thursday October 4.

Tour of Agra - Fatephur Sikri in the morning. Quite a place, even a tomb for a favourite elephant!

Taj Mahal in the afternoon and Red Fort of Agra. Group picture at the Taj Mahal. Magician (excellent) show after supper.

Tim arrived back with our passports and Nepal visas. Greg and Gay are leaving the trip and will fly to Katmandu when they get their money in Delhi. Anita is still waiting for Treasure Treks money! - a loan will be arranged in Benares if necessary.

Taj Mahal at 11 p.m. - almost full moon. (one day before full moon). More impressive than in daylight, also less people.

Notes on India - There are road barriers between the states in India, for the trucks mainly. They are licensed to travel in specific states only. Very few private cars in India and most of those that we have seen have been in New Delhi. Horns are used almost constantly on the highways to pass people, animals, carts, trucks, buses, dogs, no rush to get out of our way.

Friday October 5.

Agra.

Shortly after leaving Agra we cross (hopefully) the Bhambal River by small ferry - the first ferry was no good because the ramp would have hit our undercarriage. So we had to wait for the ferry beside it - a truck was taken to the other side and emptied of rocks first. Then into Dacoit (robber) country.

Khajuraho itself was once the capital of the kings of the "Chandellall dynasty from 9th to 13th C. Here remains today the so-called "erotic" temples of which there are in fact three different groups but the main and best preserved of these is in Khajuraho village itself. We could not get on the ferry - the entrance ramp to the first ferry was too steep for the bus - the bus’s undercarriage would have hit the planks, and they wouldn’t let us on the other ferry so we turned around and went back to Agra for the day. At the ferry, we also had a flat tire!

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Saturday October 6.

Agra - Varanasi (Benares)

Long drive 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Flat country, not too interesting. Main road from Calcutta to Delhi for the first while so very busy with trucks, ox-drawn carts, lots of bicycles, cows, very few private cars. Staying at Hotel de Paris in Varanasi.

Sunday October 7.

Up at 5 a.m. Coffee and then boat trip of Ganges. People (but not as many as we expected) cleansing themselves in the Ganges, also washing clothes and cremations on the ghats. Lots of small temples. Then tour of Varanasi - Golden Temple (walked to it through the back streets of Varanasi, saw a lot of little temples on route) Mother of India Temple which has a relief map of India in the middle of it. Brass shop where we were served tea. Back to hotel for breakfast. Then Saranath where Buddha preached his first sermon - saw Buddhist Temple, also ruins of old Buddhist monasteries. Then silk factory where we saw hand-loomed silk material being made. The expensive material has gold and silver thread through it. Back at hotel by lunchtime - hot; we were glad to have an air-conditioned room.

Snake charmer - 2 full-size snakes (cobras) and one baby snake (in training, quite cute) on the front lawn of the hotel in the afternoon. Then yoga demonstration and monkey act. Saw the yoga "salutation to the sun" on the banks of the Ganges in the morning - looks very easy!

Anita joined us again, after getting money from T.T. In New Delhi. Had a small rat in our room at night, trying to get at our cheese.

Monday October 8.

Varanasi - Bharawa 280 kms.

Traveled through the plains, lots of rice crops. Weather quite hot and humid. Got to the border at 5.30 p.m. and were through it by 7.30 p.m. Lots of flies at the border. People much more Chinese-looking.

Tuesday October 9.

Bharawa - Pokhara 180 kms.

Road is winding and twisty and narrow as we go up on the foothills of the Himalayas, some landslides had previously blocked the road. Before the mountains we cross the Terai, which is part of the Gangetic plains. The Terai stretches from east to west along the Indian border and is never wider than about 50 kms. (the plain). The Terai is a very fertile, subtropical plain and here live most of the Nepalese people, all working in agriculture.

The area around Pokhara is where Tolkien lived for several years and the surroundings, houses and people inspired him to write "'The Hobbit".

Pokhara is situated at 900 m. in the valley of Pokhara at the foot of the Annapurna range with it’s peaks of more than 8000 m. Pokhara is a picturesque, friendly little town, very pleasant to wander around.

Nepalese food similar to India., but a great Chinese influence. Also can have Indian, continental, Tibetan and Nepalese.

Most Nepalese are vegetarians and their food consists of rice and "dal". Meat comes from buffaloes, goats and sheep.

Arrived in Pokhara about 3 p.m., a nice change to be in early. Ann left on a bus to go to Katmandu (her flight to N.Z. leaves tomorrow at noon.). We went down to a Lake near Pokhara at 5 p.m. but the mountains were all in cloud. Drizzled part of the day and much cooler. Supper at hotel, rained all night.

Wednesday October 10.

Pokhara - Kathmandu 202 kms.

A few kms. from Pokhara we had to go across a river - the bridge had been washed out. Most of us walked across a make shift bamboo-pole bridge and the bus drove through the river, a few feet deep in places. We were glad it didn't cause much trouble. Took 6 - 7 hours to drive to Kathmandu, through semi-tropical country, lot of terraced rice paddies. Road was narrow most of the way, very narrow in a few places where there had been recent landslides. At one place a truck had gone off the road, hit a rock and somehow managed to get back on the road - with the outside wheel turned out so that we couldn't get by until Haggis (our driver) helped to straighten the wheel - a 1/2 hour delay. Raining when we came to Kathmandu. A short tour of the city before getting to our hotel and unloading all our belongings. Sorted out kitty refunds and paid them out. Most of the group (+ Anita and Haggis) had Chinese food for supper. Collected our mail, letter #7 and 3 (Moscow).

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Thursday October 11

Raced around re trekking. The booking was o.k. but the flight to Lukla was cancelled because the monsoons are late and the airstrip is not usable. We could put it off for a week, take a helicopter up at extra expense (quite a bit) or take a bus to Pokhar and hike there! We decided to get our money back instead of these options! There is no guarantee that the airport will be usable in a week, either. So Anita sent a telex to London requesting our money here, she also wanted to know what she and Haggis were supposed to be doing. Investigated Tiger Tops and Everest View Hotel, went to the Yak and Yeti Hotel for lunch - very luxurious place, part of which is in an old palace. Tour in afternoon - Swoyambhu, the biggest stupa in the world (also with monkey temple there - monkeys all over the place, people living nearby, dirty and smelly, quite a change after the clean mosques. Then went to Pattan where we saw the Royal Bath and the Golden Temple - Buddhist. A young boy showed us around, we saw the monks chanting, a statue of Buddha with a large diamond in his forehead, the surrounding houses where Buddhists live, and prayer wheels. The boy asked us where we lived. When we said Canada, he replied - Ottawa is capital, do you speak French? He spoke excellent English and some French. We then saw the centre of Kathmandu (Durbar Square), and one of the living goddesses. Supper at K.C.'s restaurant Sizzling steak (huge) with veg. and pots. - just over $2. each, excellent meal. Farewell party for group in evening in the dormitory (10 of our group are in this room!)

Gave my sandals (that had been fixed a couple of times and had broken again) away at one the villages so arrived bare foot at the hotel.

Friday October 12.

Went to the Tibetan Refugee Camp; Haggis drove us there in the bus. We gave away some of our clothes - they were a little worse for wear from continued washing and wearing - Tony wore 2 shirts for 3 months, alternating every day and they were starting to fray. However the clothes were very well received. Went to the zoo on our way back. In the afternoon we walked into and around Kathmandu, booked the Tiger Tops and Hotel Everest View trips. Sold our air mattresses. Chinese supper in the hotel and a get-caught up evening.

Saturday October 13.

Walked around Kathmandu, sold our sleeping bags, 1 water bottle and 2 mugs. Lunch at K.C.'s. Got a rickshaw to the Oberoi Hotel where we checked out the casino and I got my hair cut. Walked back to our hotel, read, I addressed post cards and put stamps on. Ordered tea and toast in our room for supper, had that with the 2 cans of sardines we had left in our emergency supplies. The lights went out just before supper arrived so we ate the first part by candlelight. Went to bed early and read our books.

Sunday October 14.

Bus tour - Bhadgaon (Bhaktapur) - Art Gallery, Wood Carving

Museum, Hindu temples, Durbar square.

Pashupati (Hindu Temple, non-Hindu's are not allowed inside) on the banks of the sacred Bagmati. Cremations along the side of the river, one just finishing and one just being started. Beside the cremations, people are washing their hair, bathing, washing clothes, dishes, etc. Fascinating place.

Boudhanath, Buddhist monastery, huge prayer wheel inside. Blue elephants at the entrance to the stupa.

Aunt Janes restaurant for lunch. Postcards and rest later in afternoon. Casino at Hotel Saultee Oberoi in evening - we each got $5 vouchers. We came away winning!

Monday October 15.

Got Thai visas, posted (franked at post office) about 45 post cards. Apparently we need Thai visas now if we don't have an onward booked passage. Got 12 more passport photos taken, took 2 and our passports to Everest View Hotel for our trekking permit, snack at Hotel L'Annapurna (expensive place!). Chinese supper with Howard and Jan.

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Tuesday October 16.

Bus tour - (1) Dakhinkali, a Hindu temple where animals (a goat when we were there) are sacrificed to the Goddess Kali, then cleaned in the river and eaten.

(2) a Hindu temple on the way back, not too interesting.

(3) Pharping - Sheshnarayan Chonar gorge which used to be filled with water, now has only a river in it. All of Kathmandu valley was a lake at one time.

(4)The University area - 3,000 students

Most of the group on our tour had just flown here from London to hike for 2 weeks. Very white legs on some of the women. Had a few drinks in the bar with Haggis, then late lunch and pack for Hotel Everest View.

Wednesday October 17.

Up before 6 a.m., at the airport by 6.30 a.m. for our (theoretically) 7.30 a.m. flight. Foggy in the valley so at 7.30 am. it was announced that all flights were suspended until 8.30 a.m. Lots of people in the airport - some for the Everest early morning flight, 12 for the Everest View Hotel and lots of trekkers. Eventually the first plane load (6 people) went to Everest View Hotel, the pilot for our plane didn't show -up! However, the first pilot said he would make 2 trips if the weather stayed good. So we waited. At 11.15 a.m. or so the plane came back, we rushed onto the runway to talk to the pilot (Swiss). We convinced him to take us but the man from the hotel said we would have to pay for the flight if the plane (a STOL, Swiss plane, Canadian engine) couldn't land. We had to sign a paper that said “we will take the risk” before the plane was allowed to take off! We were in it while it was still being refueled! I sat in the front seat beside the pilot. A 45-minute ride, landed at 20 knots on a short, grass runway. Max. speed was 100 knots while flying. After we got in, we had a half hour walk up to the hotel, then lunch. It was suggested that we didn't do much, to acclimatize ourselves to the height (about 12,700 ft.). However, we toddled off to Namche Bazaar and back (1 hour down, hours back) - the hotel manager was very surprised that we had managed the walk - we were fortunate not to suffer from the altitude. Some people were. Supper at hotel, then a bath from 2 buckets of hot water (the water from the taps is ice cold, also water is carried up here from Khumjung by sherpa women), then shiver and got into some clothes. Bed early. No heat but electric blankets came on at 9 p.m. And stayed on all night.

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Thursday October 18.

Five of us went on a trek to Thyangboche, left at 9 a.m. Had lunch at a teahouse by the river at 10.30 a.m. The river is about 2000 ft. down from the hotel. Thyangboche is about the same altitude as the hotel. So the trek was really down 2000 ft. and then up 2000 ft. Saw quite a few trekkers on the trails, also porters and sherpas. We had a woman who seemed to run things, a Sherpa and a cook-boy and 2 oxen just for the 5 of us. The cook-boy was full of energy, we could just keep up with him going down (he was carrying pots and pans as well) but couldn't keep anywhere near him on the way up. After we got to Thyangboche we walked around the area, went into the monastery. We stayed in a trekker’s lodge, a large building (1 room) with bunks and a lovely warm pot-bellied stove. We huddled around the stove for the rest of the afternoon. Bed early (7-9 p.m.) since there were no lights in the place. We ate by candlelight. There were only us 5 trekkers and some sherpas (probably from another camping group that were in tents) in the hut for the night. Nice and warm too, we also had down sleeping bags.

Friday October 19.

Up by 6 a.m. to see the sunrise over Everest. The sky was clear, the first clear morning since we have been in Nepal. Breakfast, then off at 7.30 a.m. We started out by ourselves, the other couple came later and the 5th trekker continued on further. Our cook-boy came back with us, he left soon after us and caught up with us fairly soon. We were met partway by someone from the hotel. He had our lunch with him. However we stopped for tea at 9.30 a.m. and we weren't ready for lunch. So we had 2 fellows come up with us, following very closely - if we fainted I’m sure we wouldn’t get to the ground before we were caught by one of them.

Got back to the hotel at 10.30 a.m. apparently in very good time, walked down to the airstrip - everyone was still waiting for their flight! We had tea and cookies there and then came back to the hotel with the other people (including a 73 year-old woman who came very slowly but did make it). No planes today - one had mechanical problems, and the other one was flying somewhere else. Lunch at hotel. Bath (2 hot water buckets delivered to our room and put in the bath tub). Didn't do much in the afternoon except sit around the fire, before and after supper.

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Saturday October 20.

I have a cold! Also bed-bug bites from the trekkers lodge! We got the second flight out of Shyanboche - soon after 9 a.m. and only about 10 minutes after the first flight. We made one stop on the way to drop off a Japanese trekker, then arrived at Kathmandu a little before 10 a.m. To hotel Blue Star where there were no rooms so we are staying in the dormitory, along with Dianne, Bengt and Bengt. Tony and Anita got some of our money back from Himalayan Journeys and put it towards the Tiger Tops bill. Tony also sold our hiking boots and socks. Talked to Haggis for quite a while. To bed early. The leader for our raft trip came, brought our sleeping bags, inner linings, towels, waterproof bags and boxes in the late afternoon.

Sunday October 21.

Off at 4.30 a.m., picked up by the crew of Himalayan River Explorations in a land-rover. We also were pulling a small trailer, which had the 2 rubber rafts and equipment on it. I managed to snooze a little on the long drive. Had tea and our

boxed breakfast (from the hotel) at Muglin. Then on a little further to our put-in point. The crew pumped up the boats, put all the equipment on and were just finished when the 6 Americans arrived from Pokhara, 40 kms. away. There were 4 crew for 8 of us. Off at 11.30 a.m. along the Trisiili River. Tony and I sat in the front of our boat. Within forested canyon all day. Very high cliffs in places. Lunch on a beach, complete with blue checked tablecloth (lain on the sand). The crew did all the work; all we had to do was eat our lunch. Went through some small white water in the afternoon so we were quite wet (and chilly) when we camped for the night on a beach. Tony helped the crew put up our tent, and then we put our mattresses and sleeping bags in it. End of work for the evening. If you have to camp, this is the way to do it. Soon hot water was ready for tea, coffee or bournvita. Also papadams (crispy, thin and tasty) and 2 packages of cookies for us to nibble on. Short swim and wash when we arrived at camp. Supper was served a couple of hours later. There was a table and we sat around it on our watertight boxes. Also a campfire to keep warm. Went to bed early (about 8 p.m. I think).

TRTSULI RIVER: THREE DAY - MUGLIN TO TIGER TOPS.

DAY 1.

We leave Kathmandu at 4.30 a.m. and reach Muglin, a sizable roadside village on the way to Pokhara, at approximately 9.30. After the crew assembles the equipment, we will set off down the Trisuli River. We spend the whole day within it's forested caynon - one of the many in the Mahabharat Range. We eat lunch beside the river and have time to explore, birdwatch, photograph and learn about the local people. The area is inhabited by Yagars and Gurungs (farmers) noted for their friendliness and charm and we have an opportunity of visiting a village.

This evening we camp near the confluence of the Seti Khola. Everyone is welcome to help our crew with the camp chores. Once the tents are pitched and wood is gathered for our evening fire, a savoury dinner will be prepared over gas stoves.

Monday October 22.

Up soon after 6 a.m., when it got light. Very heavy dew in night so the clothes I washed were wetter than when we went to bed. Also our shorts were still damp. Cooked breakfast (eggs) just before 7 a.m., also orange juice, coffee etc. We drew quite a crowd - a lot of children from the nearby village came and watched us.

Didn't leave until 10 a.m., mainly because it was cool and then sun didn't start burning off the mist until about 9 a.m. After about an hour we got to the biggest whitewater rapid, stopped to check them out and then went over them, one boat at a time. Unfortunately one of the waterproof boxes leaked so one of the fellows' camera, binoculars and book got wet, soaked really.

Glad ours were o.k. Continued on our way to another white water rapid. The lead boat (Sham’s) went over O.K., then we went - broke an oar, got caught in a wave and looked as if we might go over but one of the extra oars was unstrapped quickly and put to work so we were o.k. Lunch on a beach, clean tablecloth! After lunch we visited the religious shrine Devghat, crazy Baba lives there. He is supposed to be 83 years old, and had since age 30 or so cut a part off his left arm, starting with the fingers and working up, about once a year, as a personal sacrifice. Different anyway. Saw some langeur monkeys on our afternoon trip (black face, grey hair). Camped on an island for the night. We had sat in the back of the boat and didn't get as wet as the people in the front. Again, afternoon tea and then supper - excellent meals and different foods at each meal. All the food was brought on the rafts in iceboxes.

DAY 2.

Our second day has a leisurely pace. After breakfast we continue down the Trisuli, stopping to suit our interests. Lunch is served en route. All our meals are tasty combinations providing a balanced diet.

In the afternoon we visit a unique religious shrine, Devghat. Each year in mid-January, thousands of Hindu devotees make a pilgrimage to the ashram to worship. A cluster of temples, guesthouses and meditation schools, it is set amid gardens and cobbled paths.

At this point the Kali Gandhaki joins the Trisuli and becomes the Narayami. We camp on one of the islands below the town of Narayanghat. There we have time to relax and enjoy the expansive locale.

Tuesday October 23.

Smooth trip down the river, also very sunny. Saw 2 Gharial crocodiles. Lots of birds. Stopped for about 1/2 hour at the Tiger Tops Tented Camp in the mid-afternoon, then on a little way and picked up by land-rover for a 35 min. drive to the Lodge. Tea or coffee and cookies and check-in. The form asked (among other questions) what other countries we were visiting! In the early evening we saw a leopard (not a very good view without binoculars) and a tiger (excellent view). The animals are baited and if they kill the bait, the lodge guests are taken to the blinds where they can view the animals. A spotlight is shone on the animal but it doesn't seem to bother them. The leopard blind was a brisk 5 -10 mins. Walk, the tier blind 20-30 mins. walk. Slide show (1/2 hr.) before 8 p.m. supper and then to bed. The dew was so heavy in the night that it sounded like rain. No electricity at lodge, solar heated water (really works too) and kerosene lamps.

DAY 3.

After the crew breaks camp and repacks the rafts, we begin our final day on the river. This is the day for waterfowl, Gharial crocodile and Gangetic dolphins an exceptional one for photography.

As we enter the Royal Chitwan National Park, the riverine forest offers a contrast

to the plains and mountains behind us. The Tharus, an indigenous tribe, present a colourful change from the people of the middle hills. It is interesting to note that for generations the Tharus were the only ethnic group who could survive in the malarial infested Terai Plain.

This afternoon we arrive at Tiger Tops Tented Camp, a delightful conclusion to our three days on the river, then on a little further, picked up by a land-rover and a 35 min. drive to the Lodge.

Wednesday October 24.

6.15 a.m. knock on the door, I got my bites and blisters on my left leg dressed by the doctor as they had become infected. Apparently that is not uncommon in the damp climate. The river trip probably didn't help either, as they were often wet. 7 bandages! Then breakfast and off for a 2-hour elephant safari, I saw the top of a rhino but that was all. The ride itself was interesting though as the elephants went through grass taller than themselves, just plowed ahead. We then (after tea or coffee) were taken to the elephant camp (2 min. walk from the Lodge) where a naturalist talked about the elephants and then some of them were bathed. Then a 1 hr. nature walk, just the two of us and a naturalist. Lots of birds, different types of trees, termite hills, a spotted deer, a barking deer. Lunch and then a rest. Land-rover safari to a lake and the Gharial crocodile farm - saw lots of baby crocs Saw a wild boar, a turtle on the road and a bird swimming (looked like a snake with its head and long neck out of the water). Tony went out to see the leopard again as he hadn't seen it the night before.

Thursday October 25.

After breakfast, Tony went on a nature walk up to a ridge. I sat at the Lodge because of my bites. The doctor dressed them again; Christina, the manager, suggested I go to the hospital in Katmandu for antibiotics. At 11:30 a.m. we got on our elephants, some 4 to an elephant. We were lucky, we asked for Crisjen Bahur, a small male and got him. Because of his size he only takes 2 passengers. 1 1/2 hour elephant ride to the airstrip at Yeghali. Had lunch at the air-strip, lots of locals there watching us. Twin otter (Canadian!!) back to Katmandu and the Blue Star Hotel where they had a double room for us. Off to the Bir Hospital where I showed my bites to a doctor (and he told me to cover them up again quickly!) got a prescription for Tetracyclin and got them washed and dressed by a nurse. Not really a prescription as drugs can be bought over the counter in these countries. To get the bites washed and dressed, I was taken into another room where a fellow on a bench had a bloody foot and was being worked on - good thing I don't have a queasy stomach! On the hospital grounds, a soldier with a gun stood outside the psychiatric ward, we didn't bother to find out if he was keeping people in or out. Bought the drugs (cheap, also the doctor was free) and went back to the hotel for supper and a bath without getting my log wet (awkward but easier than the shower at Tiger Tops).

Friday October 26.

Packed and read and did odd jobs (e.g. post office) in the morning. In the afternoon we played Nepalese poker with Mannix (hotel manager), Haggis and for a while Anita. I liked the game since I won 25 rupees, no intelligence needed - 3 cards are dealt und the best poker hand wins a rupee from the rest of the players A relaxing way to spend the afternoon. In the evening we went to a group meal of the Sundowners Tour. They had just arrived from London, following essentially the same route that we had. We (T and I), Haggis and an Indian friend of Haggis' sat at a separate table. The hotel also paid for our meal - nice to know the manager.

Saturday October 27.

Haggis drove us, Anita, and 3 of the English fellows to the airport in our "Blackpool" bus. Took a Thai flight from Katmandu to Bangkok, with a Short touchdown in Calcutta. All the women on the flight got purple orchids, very smooth flight. Also free drinks with meals. Got an airport limousine to the New Imperial Hotel. Some fruit was delivered to our room, compliments of the hotel.

Sunday October 28.

Picked up many brochures, walked around a bit, bought a pair of sandals each, looked at shops. Glad to get back to air-conditioning at the hotel. Supper (excellent meal) in the hotel restaurant. Read our travel brochures. Saw some birds being released at a small Temple near the hotel.

Monday October 29.

Tony used Lomotil! About time, too!

Walked up to Scotty’s apt., fortunately found her in and had coffee there. She arranged to have our donkey saddle and a suitcase picked up at the hotel and she would take it to a shipping firm (friend of her's) to be shipped. She is also using her address as the sender. We are invited for supper on Friday. Lunch back at the hotel. Asked to stay longer and were told we would know if o.k. later. I gather the hotel is full, although it hadn't looked too busy over the past few days. Now staying until Sunday. Temple City Tour in the afternoon - through Chinatown, Government buildings, etc. Three temples -

(1) Wat Traimet, monastery of the Golden Buddha

(2) Wat Pho, Monastery of the Reclining Buddha and

(3) Wat Benchama Bophit, the marble monastery.

In the evening we got 3 of our developed films back. Put 10 more in to be developed.

Tuesday October 30.

Floating market and Rose Garden Tour. After a 6 a.m. breakfast in bed, we finally were picked up at 7.15 a.m. for our tour. Stopped at a place in the country where salt is derived from the seawater. Next stop was at a place where brown sugar is made from coconut trees, the juice from the flower is boiled. This was beside a canal, with some houses alongside. Then Nabom Pathom, the largest Pagoda in Thailand. Weather getting hot too, glad the bus is air-conditioned. Then to the Rose Garden Country Resort for lunch and Thai Village Show - Ordination into the monkhood, Fingernail Dance, Thai Boxing, Hill Tribe Dance, Cockfighting, Bamboo Dance, Sword Fighting, Thai wedding Ceremony, Yoey dance (from the central plains of Thailand, elephants at work and Soeng Dance. Lunch was a Thai meal, cucumber soup, sweet and sour chicken, rice, deep-fried shrimp, and a meat-stuffed omelet. Fruit, including papaya for desert. The show was a good way to see a lot in a short time.

Picked up our 10 films that had been developed and looked at them. Forgot - after the floating market, we went to a snake show - (1) Cobra versus mongoose fight (2) python enclosure (3) getting venom from (milking) a cobra (4) jumping snake. Actually quite a good show, the announcer was good, kept saying "be careful" to the fellow in with the snakes.

Wednesday October 31.

Dropped my passport off at Scotty’s - she needed it to send the donkey saddle and suitcase. Saw Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha. Then walked to the Temple of the Golden Mount. Walked up to the top, a good way to get an over-all view of Bangkok. Lunch at Oriental Hotel. Australian embassy was closed, went to some tour companies re Chiang Mai and Singapore and Australia. Booked the Chiang Mai trip..

Thursday November 1.

Booked our Chiang Mai, Phuket Island trips. Met Koui; she took us out for lunch (buffet) at the restaurant here - excellent service, the waiters really looked after us when we were with her. She has had (and still has) a very bad cold so had been home earlier in the week. She said she had intended to meet us when we arrived but wasn’t well enough. However, we were sent the fruit specially when we arrived - we thanked her for that. Tony bought a watch in the afternoon, had a small supper in the room. We tend to be tired in the evening after walking around all day.

Friday November 2.

Booked our flights to L.A. via a number of places. Hope they will be confirmed - we will find out on Thursday when we are back in Bangkok. Touchdown bar for lunch - U.S. football helmets in the bar! Supper at Scotty's - pate, spring rolls for appetizer before the meal, excellent beef, salad, hot potato salad, and other vegetables. For desert - ice cream with crushed macaroons and sherry mixed in with it and put in individual bowls. - tastes very good, a Greene specialty, and can be made ahead of time. She had her cook there to look after us, that is the way to entertain. She is going to be in Singapore the same time as us (U.S. Thanksgiving) so we will probably see her there. She also gave me a Thai silk skirt and top, it is too small for her now, too big for me but easy to take in. Pinky colour.

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Saturday November 3.

Tour - bus trip from Siam Inter-Continental to Ayudhaya and return cruise to Oriental Hotel by the Oriental Queen. Saw a number of places at Ayudhaya (the old capital on an island), then to Bang Pa In King's Summer Palace, with brief trip to Chinese Pavilion. Lunch on the Oriental Queen on the way back to Bangkok. Dropped in on Fred Wong - Scotty had phoned him earlier in the week - bought a sapphire. Walked through the Pat Pangarea, had a drink in Bobby’s Arms (English pub, even with darts being played), Finished marking up our photographs - we have been doing this all week. The "booked" phone call to Ottawa at 10 p.m. never materialized!

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Sunday November 4.

Phoned Ottawa at 10-30 a.m. (10-30 p.m. there) - took 1 3/4 hours to get through. Checked out of the hotel. Walked around. Stopped for a while at the small temple on the corner near the hotel. There were 4 Thai girls dancing there. There were plenty of people in the temple. Lots of flowers and food (including a whole chicken, 2 bottles of beer, some of which was poured out into a glass, a crab, a duck, etc.) for the gods.

We had lunch at the Touchdown restaurant - sweet and sour soup, rice, Chinese broccoli, and some Thai dishes, all suggested by the barman/waiter - interesting and filled us up.

Wrote letters and watched T.V. (U.S. football game and then a Western rock group!) in the New Imperial Hotel lobby. Picked up at 8 p.m. and taken to a bus station where we caught the overnight bus to Chiang Mai. We had a pillow and a large towel (for a blanket) each. There was a stewardess and 2 fellows (flunkies) on the bus as well. Soon after leaving we got a box snack (an orange, 2 pieces of cake and a fig-like thing), which we had early the next morning. We could also have coffee, tea or coke. After 3 hours we stopped for a rice-soup and cold weak tea at a bowling alley complex. After this break we could have coffee, tea or coke again on the bus. In the morning (about 6 a.m.) we got coffee or tea, this is when we ate our box snack. The stewardess was dressed in a blue uniform and cap and gave a spiel about our trip to Chiang Mai (in Thai and a shortened version in English). We were the only non-Thai or non-Chinese on the bus. The bus trip (air conditioned) is normally about $20 return including all the food and drinks.

Monday November 5.

Arrived at 6.30 a.m., were picked up and taken to the Prince Hotel where we had breakfast and got our room at 8 a.m. We’re on a package deal, bus, hotel, meals (including 1st breakfast and last supper), and bus back to Bangkok, also 3 tours (1/2 day) here for $70 each. Very organized people here too, really looking after us. The food is Thai or Chinese, different and interesting for a few days. Took a Cottage Industries and City Tour in the morning - Thai silk and cotton weaving, silver shop where the girls were making some complicated jewelry, lacquer ware - black and gold on a bamboo-based item, umbrella making, wood-carving, jewelry shop. Mixed Chinese and Thai lunch. The soup was quite hot, the Thai soup having quite a strange taste. In the afternoon Tony walked around. At Wat Prasingh he talked to a monk in training, who couldn't understand why we didn't grow rice or have a rainy season in Canada. He had never heard of wheat, or bread. I slept in the afternoon.

Today is Loy Krathong - celebrated yesterday in Bangkok, today in Chiang Mai. We bought small krathongs from the hotel and put them on the river along with everyone else. The krathongs have a candle and incense in the middle, they float down the river and make quite a sight with all the candles burning. Parade with floats afterwards but we didn't wait until the end. On the way back to the hotel we ran into one of the 4 English fellows - he had left Kathmadu later than the others, joined up with a German, and came up on the overnight bus the day before us - small world! Lots of fireworks and sparklers around - just like Guy Fawkes Day!

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Tuesday November 6.

Breakfast at 8 a.m. Just after we got downstairs, we were told that someone had just phoned our room to make sure that we were awake. We were given an American breakfast today, rather than the Chinese one we were supposed to have on our tour. We are not given our meal tickets but are escorted into the dining room each time. Also our bus tickets were taken away from us when we arrived - we won't have to get our seats assigned - the fellow from the hotel will do it for us. Talk about a worry-free holiday!

Morning Tour - Meo Teo hill tribe, about 10 kms. further (1/2 of which is very bad road, impassible except by walking in the rainy season) on than the Doi Sutap Temple. Saw an "opium den" at the Meo hill tribe, also lots of stalls, plenty to buy (if you have room in your suitcase). The Meos were in their black local costume. Then back to the Doi Sutep Mountain Temple where there is (among other things) a statue of a white elephant over the grave of the elephant that brought the relics of the Lord Buddha to the temple. 300 + steps up to the temple. Nuns (female monks) dressed in white around as well as monks dressed in saffron coloured robes. Good view of Chiang Mai (although misty) from the grounds outside the temple. Drove through Chiang Mai University- (1,OOO students) on the way back to the hotel. At one place the driver put his hands together as we passed a temple - one of the drivers in Bangkok did this a lot on our tour. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents. Lunch.

Afternoon tour Pasang - cotton weaving; I tried it, not too bad I suppose but the girls only average about 35 Bahts/day (about $2.00). Also saw batik on cotton material - the design is drawn on the material free-hand, then wax is put on the design, then the material is dyed (the waxed part will stay white), then boiled to get the wax out - result is that the design is white, the rest of the material a colour. Tony bought a shirt in the market - B30 ($1.50), hope it washes o.k. Very light cotton material should be good for traveling. Then we drove back to the Royal Haripoonchai Temple with Gold-Chidi (pagoda) in Lampoon. Buddha’s footprints (very large!) were also at the temple. Our guide bought some local food for us on our tour - interesting but not something I would go out and buy again. One of the fellows on the trip also bought some food - a type of hot pancake (very small) - rice mixed with coconut juice and sugar heated - not too bad. We tried coconut juice at the Temple in the morning. We always have pineapple for desert at this hotel.

The 4 fellows on the tour with us this afternoon (also were with us this morning along with another 3 people) are from Singapore - one of them especially was quite chatty, telling us about Singapore. In the evening we walked to the night market where Tony splurged - B55 on a shirt. We also saw some local dancing, put on every night near the market for free.

Pasang is supposed to have the most beautiful sales girls. Didn't really notice this - a lot of the Thai girls are very pretty and graceful.

Wednesday November 7.

Packed, walked around Chiang Mai to Wat Phra Singh in the centre of town. Pedicab to Chiang Inn where we had a drink. Walked back to the hotel and lunch. Checked out of our room. Read beside the pool and in the lobby. Night bus (8 p.m.) to Bangkok.

Thursday November 8.

No rice soup on this trip. Drinks and snack though. Arrived at Bangkok at 5 a.m. (at a bus station we didn't recognize). After we (and a group of Japanese who also didn't understand Thai - nobody around really spoke much English) finally decided that this was the end of a line and not a sub-station we tried to find out if some one was picking us up. We had just decided to get a taxi and Tony had just arranged a price with one when our driver arrived - he had been at the wrong bus station! (It was 6 a.m. now.) He took the Japanese to their hotel and then us to ours. We went to the New Imperial, Tony checked around to see if we could get a cheap room for the day but couldn't find one. So we had breakfast and then went out beside the pool. We took 2 of the lounge chairs and I had a little sleep - while I was asleep Tony left, got our photographs. Later he went to the travel agent re our airline bookings to L.A. Had the buffet lunch at the New Imperial Hotel. Read in the afternoon. Picked up at 4.30 p.m., had a tour of Bangkok picking up other people, in an un-air-conditioned van, arrived at the bus sub-station at 6 p.m. Bus left at 6.30 p.m. went to the main bus station where we waited until 7.20 p.m. and finally left (7 p.m. bus!). Not one empty seat. 2 stewardesses, 2 drivers this time, no window cleaner boy. Snack and coke. Stopped at midnight for rice soup, which we didn't have this time. I kept walking around; I was uncomfortable from sitting so long. At that stop we met a young Vietnamese fellow - one of the boat people. He landed in Thailand last April, stayed a month, was sent back to sea, but managed to get back again so was sent to a refugee camp. He had 2 children, a girl and a boy. He and 17 relatives are now on their way to Marina (near L.A.), California. He had also been offered a place in Canada. He had been studying in the U.S. about 1968 and the communist later accused him of working for the C.I.A. Very pleasant fellow, still smiling!

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Friday November 9.

Arrived at Phuket at 8 a.m., taxi to Phuket Island Resort where we are staying for 3 nights - booked and paid for in Bangkok. Both here and in the hotel in Chiang Mal we are provided with 2 pairs of flip-flops (Thongs - shoes) for use in the bathroom. The bedroom and here a small enclosed sitting area have hard wood floors (as does Scotty's place) that you walk on in bare feet. It's quite a nice Thai custom and no cold floors here. After a most welcome shower, we had a bacon and egg breakfast (at least I did, Tony had a Thai breakfast with rice soup, an omelet, some meat and greens!! then went for a short walk.

Afternoon tour - Chalong monastery which has molded likenesses of 2 monks (the 2 most respected monks in all Phuket) rather than Buddha (The Japanese tried to bomb the monastery during the war but it has special powers so it was safe!, i.e. the Japanese missed) tin mine (very primitive operation, men with hoses mix up the tin and sand, then it is pumped up to a wooden structure where it is filtered and then run down a long incline where the tin stops and the sand keeps going), view from top of hill, Phuket town (not too impressive), gypsy village (near our hotel. Supper in the restaurant. Hot and sticky. View from hotel is of offshore islands, palm trees, generally tropical, very pleasant and peaceful. A nice respite after 2 nights on a bus.

Saturday November 10.

Pang-Nga Tour (all day). Bus to Pang-Nga area, then a boat trip - very narrow boats with a motor at back. Saw limestone formations, mangroves, and palms, generally jungle country. Caves, including a cave we could go right through. Stopped at James Bond Island (Koh Tapoo island) where the movie “Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed. Lunch (seafood - delicious fried-rice, shrimp, crab and an unknown fish, orange and pineapple) at a gypsy village near the island. The village was all on stilts going into the water. A small piece of the island beside the village could be walked on but mostly it was a very steep rock. T.V. aerials at the village though! Back by boat to the bus. Visit to a monastery that had a number of Buddhas, including a fairly large reclining one, in a cave. Then to a rubber plantation. Fairly primitive operation - the men go out at 4 a.m., cut a very small piece off the bark, then go back 1/2 -1 hour later and collect the white rubbery substance that has collected in a 1/2 coconut shell. This substance is then put in pans, mixed with water and acid (formic, I think) After a while it is taken out of the pans (rectangular, a few inches deep) and a woman treads on it to reduce its thickness. Then it goes to wringing machines to be flattened even more. Then it is dried, part of the time in the sun and then sold to the local markets. A worker makes 100-150 bahts/a day and can support a family on this (U.S.$5 to 7.50). We then went to a pearl shop near Phuket. Lots of people bought something. We then watched while the guide was paid his commission - this generally happens and this time we were keeping an eye open. We didn’t think the prices were cheap, either. Much cheaper in the gypsy village at lunchtime. We watched as locals collected water from a hose near the pearl shop, put it in containers and then carried (or pushed on a cart) the water back down the street. Didn’t look very light! 2 pails were carried, one on each end of a stick over the shoulders. Then to town (Phuket) for 1/2 hour as some of the people on the tour wanted to do some shopping and then back to our hotel where we had tea and beer in our enclosed patio while we read the Bangkok Post, my favourite paper so far. Thai food in the pavilion for supper.

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Sunday November 11.

Tony rented a small motorbike, I went for a ride with him in the morning but he went off by himself after that so I could read, laze, get caught up with diary, post cards, etc. Had buffet supper overlooking the water.

Monday November 12.

Went to the Phuket Island airport hoping to get on the Thai airways flight to Had Yai - we had confirmed bookings for Nov. 14. We were put on the waiting list and got on, actually there were empty seats! Propeller plane. At Had Yai we booked on the Malaysian Airways flight to Penang (In Phuket Tony had been told that this flight was full for the next week but there were empty seats). 3 1/2 hour wait at the Had Yai airport, 737 to Penang, 1/2 hr. flying time. Staying at the Bayview Beach Hotel, a new place, the swimming pool is not yet finished - presumably that is why it is cheaper. Not many people staying here either. Thunder and lightning storm in the evening, also rain.

Tuesday November 13.

Weather: From Bangkok Post Nov. 10/79. Forecast for Bangkok

Metropolis until tomorrow morning: Fair and cool with light fog...... min. 22 c (72F) max. 36 c (93F)! Probably cool in Ottawa too!!

Tour - we took a car (Mercedes) for ourselves and made up our own tour, a combination of 2 tours. Saw a fishing village, batik factory (where I bought a sundress, hat and matching purse, all brown and white for $10. I really only wanted the purse but it came as a package and the sundress certainly was cool later in the day when the electricity and A/C was off. The batik factory made batik of more than one colour, unlike the previous one we went to in Chiang Mai), cloves and nutmeg plantation (where we were given a very interesting talk on the cloves, nutmeg, fruit etc. of the area. The fellow opened up a nutmeg for us, showed us nutmeg oil containing the red outer covering of the nutmeg which was a general cure-all, gave us each a very small banana, fried banana chips both salted and sugared, and the dried outside of the nutmeg which is used as a snack), rice fields under water, Snake Temple (Buddhist) (where there were a few snakes - Wagler's Pit Viper variety, coiling around the altar intoxicated by the smell of the burning incense, not nearly as many snakes as the books and post cards led us to believe), Keh Lok Si Pagoda (reputed to be the largest and finest Buddhist temple in Asia. To get to the temple you have to climb lots of stairs passing by numerous stalls. The stalls are either side of a covered passageway. There is a pond full of turtles outside one of the temples, we bought some greens and fed them, so the gods will look kindly on us. After going through a number of buildings with alters, Buddhas, Buddha’s followers or disciples etc. you get to the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The Buddhas are mainly in the tiles on the walls. The tower is a combined effort of three countries, the lower section is Chinese, the middle section Thai, and the uppermost Burmese in design. We walked up to the 6th floor (the 7th floor isn't open to the public). A Chinese fellow picked us up and started telling us about the place, an unofficial guide but a good knowledge of the place and very informative so we did tip him. Didn't have to take our shoes off in this temple, or the snake temple), drove through the Botanical Gardens (nothing too special but interesting to drive through), the temple of the Reclining Buddha or Wat Chayamangkalaram (a major Siamese Temple. The temple houses a 108 feet long statue of the Lord Buddha, the third largest in the world. Here we did have to take our shoes off. Around the reclining Buddha there were other Buddhas - each with different hand placements and each representing one of the years of the Chinese calendar. You pray to a specific one for e.g. good fortune, or health or etc) Tony says you pray to the one for the year in which you were born. We were then dropped off in town. Walked around in the heat, saw Khoo Kongsi (a clan house for people with the surname Khoo). The Dragon Mountain Hall was built in 1906, renovated mid 1950's, contains excellent samples of Chinese Art and sculptures created by master craftsmen from China, one of the most intricately decorated kongsis in the whole of Malaysia. Really too much to take in on one visit. There are plaques on the walls containing the names of Khoos that are justices, or have degrees and the place of the degree. We were let in to the Dragon Mountain Hall by a Sikh with no bracelet - he noticed Tony's though. Then walked by the Kapitan Kling Mosque. Then to the Kuan Yin Temple (Goddess of Mercy), the oldest temple in Penang, built in 188O by the first Chinese settlers. It is the busiest in Penang as it also houses other deities like the God of Prosperity. Puppet show outside, lots of incense inside, monopoly money burned outside, signs both outside and inside telling you to watch out for pickpockets. A monk inside ringing bells and saying prayers, I wasn't that fond of the place - too noisy and busy; Tony liked it. Lots of Chinese in Penang, much more than we expected. Then a drink and snack (lunch at 3 p.m!) at the Jetset Lounge where we saw an in-flight movie - Elvis in concert, a shortened version of the T.V. special. Back to hotel where the electricity was off - stayed off until 10 p.m., so we had supper by candlelight. Read the newspaper by flashlight - lots of Canadian news too.

The hotel is building a pool - while we were eating breakfast we watched some of the construction crew - a woman mixing the concrete and carrying it in 2 buckets hung by a rod across her shoulders. Then the men arrived and did the “heavy" work - operated the small concrete mixer!

Wednesday November 14.

Generally lazy day. Walked to some hotels near ours, had shark fin soup and some Chinese dishes for lunch. Went down to the beach for a short while, quick dips in the water. Saw 2 pet otters being exercised in a creek that runs to the sea.

Thursday November 15.

Our rented car (from Avis) was waiting for us at our hotel at 8 a.m. Off at 8.30, ferry to the mainland (Butterworth), then south to Cameron Highlands. Stopped at Perak Cave Temple on the way down, just outside Ipoh. Very winding road up to Cameron Highlands, rained very heavily at times - water in large pools on the road and also a stream down the side of the road. Stopped in at Foster's Lakehouse for tea - Devonshire tea! We were shown around the hotel by Mr. Foster - a Tudor mansion with only 12 rooms. Also empty. We then went on our way, looked at some of the hotels in Tanah Rata and decided to stay at Fosters since his was much nicer for the same price.

When we checked in we were the only ones here - another couple checked in later in the evening. We were given the bridal suite (bedroom, bathroom and sitting room) for the same price as a regular double room. Hot bath, tea in our sitting room, then supper and a chat with the other couple - Americans (Texas) working for Esso in Thailand. Flowers in our sitting room, white frangipani.

Friday November 16.

Our car wouldn't start! 2 young fellows came, one with his tool kit (a handful of tools) and fixed it - wire loose in the distributor. Then went for a drive - to Sam Poh Buddhist Temple, Kampang Raja Village (road was only one lane a lot of the way) and to a viewpoint 6,666 ft. high. However all we saw was mist! Back to Tanah Rata for lunch - steam boat a Chinese-style fondue, and then back to our hotel to escape the drizzle. Walked along the road a little later in the afternoon in between rain showers. Devonshire tea again, this time in front of our gas fire in our sitting room. Yesterday the British High Commissioner phoned and wanted a room at Christmas - full so he was turned down.

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Saturday November 17.

Had to get the car started again. No charge this time though. The mechanic arrived in a Mercedes this time. Drove to Kuala Lumpar. Stopped for a fried rice lunch at Templar Park, a National Park but not much to see except tin mines. Poured on our way into K.L. Finally found the tourist office and it was closed! Stayed at the Hotel Sungei Wang, 2 months old and just the type of hotel we have been looking for - $15/night, small room but clean and quite adequate.

Sunday November 18.

Checked out of the hotel, drove around K. L. (1) City Mosque (Masjid Jame) where there was a man climbing a coconut tree and throwing down branches and coconuts, (2) Railway Station, (3) National Mosque, (4) Lake Gardens and National Monument. Also drove through a housing development north of the Lake Gardens. Some houses on stilts with bridges to drive across to get to the houses. I don't think the houses were cheap. Not too much traffic in K.L. - much more pleasant driving around than the day before,

Left K.L. and went to the Batu Caves - 272 steps to the Cathedral cave and then some more steps inside. A Hindu shrine but not too impressive. Also went inside the "Dark Cave”, a long winding cave with stalactites, stalagmites and lots of squeaky bats. Also nothing special. Then drove to Genting Highlands. On the way we were stopped at a roadblock by the army with machine guns. They were looking for something or somebody, we couldn't decide which. The view at Genting Highlands is spectacular but we didn’t like the place crowded, Very crowded. Also we couldn't even get in the casino, Tony needed a tie and shoes (not sandals). So we decided not to spend the night there as originally planned but drove back through K.L and on to Port Dickson where we stayed in a Chinese hotel ($10/night). Had authentic Chinese food for supper, overlooking the water. A cockroach in our bathroom for a while but otherwise clean.

Monday November 19.

Drove to Malacca, a very pleasant drive. Saw Ching Hoon Tbig Temple, the oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia, built 1704. Checked into hotel, had lunch. Drove to Portugese village and further out where there was an interesting village. Saw Porto de Santiago, a fort with a good view over the water. Bought 3 watercolour paintings from "Larry” at the top of the hill. Drove around Bukit China, a very old graveyard, now mostly in disrepair. Saw some old sailing ships in the canal in the old section of town, quite an interesting place. No rain in the afternoon either, unusual.

Tuesday November 20.

Drove from Malacca to Singapore. Raining a lot of the way. Very busy with traffic near Singapore. Lunch at Raffles. Looked at places to stay for about 2 hours. Found a Chinese hotel, (7th Storey), not bad and quite adequate for about $20 U.S., walking distance to Raffles. Found the Chequers Inn, quite far out, for the same price and a bit nicer. Most of the nicer hotels are very expensive. We had been warned about this by the Singapore fellow who we had met in Chiang Mai but we had hoped to find a hotel in between the cheap and expensive. We finally settled on the Garden Hotel, with a room with balcony overlooking the swimming pool. S$78 + 13% but still cheaper than the Hyatt, Hilton, etc. and much more pleasant than the new 7th Storey down town.

Wednesday November 21.

Breakfast in bed! Drove to Tru Travel Agency, in the banking area of Singapore. Went to Tiger Balm Gardens, a Chinese-style Disneyland. Went to the Chinese gardens and the Japanese gardens, both very pleasant to wander through. Then a thunderstorm and buckets of rain - the streets became rivers in places, went to the Sian Lim Sian Si Temple (Buddhist, Chinese) - Tony didn’t go in as it was still raining fairly hard. Then to Temple of 1000 lights. A sitting Buddha (with lights around it which would be put on for $3.), at the back there was a small room (inside the sitting

Buddha) which had a reclining Buddha in it. Also a mother of pearl replica of Buddha’s

footprint! Walked around the handicraft centre, had supper at the food stalls there,

walked around Orchard Road and back to hotel.

Thursday November 22.

Car wouldn't start again! So we phoned Avis to pick it up as we were returning it today anyway. Walked to the Indonesian Embassy to get visas - will be ready tomorrow. Taxi downtown. Walked around the downtown area - Sultan Mosque, many temples including Sri Yariamman temple, (Hindi Shrine), Raffles place, Change Alley, Chinatown (lots of it torn down for high rises). Walked around the shops. Picked up our airline tickets. Pouring with rain, also thunder and lightning. Taxi back to hotel. Supper at hotel, then watched T.V.

Friday November 22.

Breakfast at hotel across the road. Tony went shopping for the morning - bought me a new watch. I stayed in the hotel and read. Phoned Scotty who is staying in Singapore with friends for the American Thanksgiving. Met Tony for lunch - pizza at the Jockey Pub. Went to the James Bond movie “Moonraker". Had supper (3 Chinese dishes) at a restaurant on Orchard Road, then walked back to the hotel. Read and watched T.V.

Saturday November 24.

Drizzled off and on all morning, poured with rain after that! Walked around some shops in the morning, bought Christmas cards. Saw the movie “Singapore Experience", a 45-minute movie about Singapore. Quite interesting, especially since we have seen most of the places in the movie. Lunch at food stalls. Taxi back to hotel where we read, drank tea (Tony had beer bought in local shop, much cheaper than the hotel’s beer), had a snack of cheese and crackers, and watched T.V. Very miserable weather.

Sunday November 25.

Went to an 8 a.m. bird concert! The locals bring their birds in cages which are then hung on hooks provided (on a mesh above an open area at a restaurant) The birds then have a communal sing-song while their owners sit around and talk or have coffee or tea or breakfast. When their owners are ready to go home, the cloth coverings are put back on the cages and zipped up and then the birds are taken home. Another bird, which has been waiting, is put up in the departing bird's place. We saw one man taking 3 birds home with him. 2 of the cages were attached to the end of a pole so he could carry all 3 cages at once.

After listening to the birds for about 10 minutes we walked to Raffles Hotel for coffee, then taxi back to our hotel. When we had left at 7.30 a.m. for the bird concert the weather was quite pleasant, hot and sticky later in the day.

Went to Raffles for "traditional afternoon tea", - cucumber, salmon, cheese and one other kind of open-faced sandwich, curry puffs, apple pie and tea. Prefer Devonshire cream teas. Wrote Christmas cards in the evening. Watched "All the Presidents Men” on T.V.

Wednesday November 26.

Mailed our Christmas cards. Lunch at a very popular Chinese restaurant - we had hoped to eat there the night before but they were fully booked. For lunch we had a mixture of foods (Tim Sum) - trolley came around with various foods and we just took what we wanted. This way we at least saw what we were getting before we got it.

Tony traded some books in at a shop in the afternoon; I sat in the hotel lobby and read. Took an evening flight to Jakarta, Indonesia. The flight was almost an hour late (DC-10!!).

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Tuesday November 27.

Raced around Jakarta looking for ways to get to Yogyakarta and Bali. The train (A/C) that left at 4 p.m. was fully booked, the other trains were non-air-conditioned. No tours to Bali of any interest. Finally decided to get the one A/C bus to Yogya, so we checked out of the hotel, left our suitcase there and went to the bus station with our overnight bags. Got tickets for the bus which left at 4.50 p.m. - the only A/C bus going to Yogya. We haven't seen any A/C taxis in Jakarta either. The taxi we took to the bus station from the hotel had to stop for gas - 2 scoops from a large bucket or barrel beside the road! Since then we have seen quite a few "gas stations" consisting of barrels of gas. There are also gas stations with tanks and meters as we know them, though. We had to wait at the bus station for about 3 hours before we could get on our bus - found a bench and sat on it and read (in the heat). We had to buy a ticket each before we could get into the bus station area. I don't know why, but it didn't cost much. We got a snack on the bus - 2 cakes and an orange drink. No smoking on the bus either, which was nice. It took a long time to get out of Jakarta - lots of buses and trucks, very slow moving. We stopped about every 3 hours - washroom break and we could buy food at these stops (even in the middle of the night). There seemed to be people walking around the streets all night - at least when I was awake to see them. The bus driver drove fairly fast, I managed to sleep off and on most of the time, Tony was watching the road at times and had more trouble sleeping. The driver did slam on the brakes quite sharply a few times!, No other foreign tourists like us on the bus, not many people speak English either but in general people are very helpful and want to know where we are from. A fellow talked to us at the bus station in Jakarta - he worked for a French company in Surabaya.

Wednesday November 28.

Arrived at 5.30 a.m! Plenty of pedi-cabs around. Here the peddler (of the bicycle) sits behind the passengers. Tony looked around the bus station area but couldn't see any hotels so we took a pedi-cab to one of the hotels in one of our guidebooks. The hotel seems empty. Checked in (6 a.m.), had a bath and slept for about an hour. Breakfast.

Morning tour

- Sultants Palace where he lives when not in Jakarta. The sultan doesn't really have any powers any more, just an administrator.

- Batik factory, batik on silk as well as on cotton material

- Silver factory

- Prambanan, the largest temple complex in Indonesia, with 14 intricately constructed

Hindu temples, dating back to the 9th century.

In the afternoon I slept, Tony walked around town trying to find ways to get to Bali. Buffet supper and Ramayana ballet at the Hotel Ambarrukmo Sheraton. There were quite a few people at the hotel, much more than other hotels in town.

Thursday November 29.

Morning tour - Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut Temples (Buddhist).

Borobudur (Boro-monastery, budur-hill, i.e. monastery on the hill) is the largest Buddhist sanctuary in the world. Built in 850, it stands over 125 feet tall. There are three stages to this temple dominated by the main stupa on top.

At the Pavion temple, we saw a village. Water from the well is brought up by a bucket, and then poured into a bamboo pole which is at 45 degrees to the level. When water is wanted the plug at the other end is pulled out and running water comes out!

We could see a volcano in the distance - active about every 4 years. Apparently on a clear night you can see red lava or flames coming out of the top - this can be seen from Yogya!

Also saw a Chinese cemetery and water buffalo plowing a rice field, full of water. Supper at Puri Artha Cottages restaurant.

Friday November 30.

Flew from Yogyakarta to Denpasar, Bali with Garuda Airlines. Taxi to Sayara Village Hotel where I sat with a coke looking after our 2 overnight bags while Tony checked out the hotel prices. Checked into the Gazebo about 10 minutes walk away. Had lunch, then walked to the Bali Beach Hotel where we checked out tours around Bali. Evening tour to a dance show. Three separate dances.

(1) The Kechak Dance - performed with a special story chosen from the Ramayana saga. Similar story to the ballet we saw in Yogya but performed very differently. Many men surrounded the performers all the time. The men sang (or chanted); a lot of the time they waved their hands in the air - they were sitting down.

(2)Sanghyang Dedari Dance - performed to exorcise evil spirits that may be infesting the community in the form of sickness or death. The dance we saw is a ritual dance where it is believed that a divine spirit temporarily descends to a village and reveals itself through the entranced dancers - which are 2 young girls. They sway listlessly. The male choir is on one side, female on the other side.

(3) Sanghyang Jaran Dance - an entranced man dances (on a hobbyhorse) through a fire of

coconut husks. He kicks the husks sometimes as he goes through the fire and spreads them out, other times he just meanders through the embers! His feet are not marked in any way afterwards. Rained in the evening we used our umbrellas! Supper after dance show.

Tony apologized for not having any cockroaches in the hotel. However I found one waiting for me when I went to take a bath. Tony put it outside, no more since then (yet).

Saturday December 1.

All day tour.

(1) Barong and Kris Dances. - The Barong Play represents an eternal fight between evil spirits. Barong (a mythological animal) represents a good spirit and Rangda (a mythological monster) represents an evil one. Great costumes tiger, monkey, witch, etc. The show lasted about an hour.

(2) Celuk - gold and silver works) just a quick stop*

(3)Temple festival at Mas - lots of offerings, women make the offerings and take them to the temple on their heads. Some of the offerings were elaborate fruit pyramids. The temple has no roof on it, easier to communicate with the gods.

(4) Penelokan - view of black lava streams from Mount Batur. Fortunately the weather was clear so we could see the volcano and lake well. Had lunch here.

(5) Holy springs of Tampaksiring - believed to possess curative properties. People bathing in one of the pools.

(6) Bedu (Elephant Cave) - a huge cavern with an entrance carved in a fantastic design

of demoniacal shapes, animals, leaves, and crowned by a monstrous gargoyle-like head.

(7) Urbud - artists centre, paintings, both old and new style.

We had an excellent guide, very informative and always smiling. Today is a special festival day (twice a year) - everything has offerings on it, including motorcycles, cars, etc. We saw a motorcycle with a cloth on its seat and then some flowers.

The stone pillars in the temple have black and white check material wrapped around them. Black and white represent good and evil.

We bought temple sashes (for around our waist) before we went in any of the temples -

not strictly necessary but a good idea as the Balinese people wear them.

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Sunday December 2.

Walked down the road a short way and picked up our rental car - a VW safari with convertible top. Drove around most of the day. First to Kuta Beach where I had a massage (30-40 minutes long I would estimate) for 1000 rupiahs (about $1.60). There were quite a few older women giving these massages - you get it on the beach, lying on a sheet. After taking all your clothes off but underpants she puts a number of oils on you and massages you. Quite good and relaxing but rather an oily feeling afterwards. I went for a dip in the water, fairly strong waves on this beach, but still felt rather oily. Then we drove to Benoa and Nusa Dua (where there were a number of boats on the beach). Uluwatu (temple on the southern tip of the island - the temple is perched on top of a 100 meter cliff face with a sheer drop to the blue and green waters below). Large waves breaking on the rocks below. A lot of Balinese people there, no tourists. Some of the Balinese people travel in the back of a truck, squashed in like sardines. In the morning we saw some boats going to an island for the temple festival there - these boats were also packed with people.

Drove back through Denpasar, found the place that books bus/ferry/train from Denpasar to Jakarta. Arranged to go on Dec. 8 (at 2.30 a.m.!).

Back to hotel, Tony had a dip in the ocean; I tried to rid myself of the massaging oil in the bathtub. Thunder and lightning, as there was last night - the rainy season is about to start.

Monday December 3.

Drove into Denpasar - bank and then picked up our tickets for the bus and train (and ferry) trip to Jakarta.

Self-guided tour.

- Bat cave at Goa Lawah, bats are in a cave behind the temple.

- Padang Bai, small fishing village perched on a perfectly shaped bay. Cruise ships anchor offshore, here, but none when we were there.

- Tenganan a Bali Aga Village, reputed to be the oldest on the island. The Bali Aga stayed relatively isolated from the Hindu-Javanese impact and still retain traditions not found elsewhere in Bali. A very peaceful village, 219 people at the end of a road, no traffic as no streets through the village. We were walked around by the boss-man of the village. Hindus, but of a different sect, bury their dead, not cremate them. They eat beef.

- Besakih, the mother Temple of Bali, whose origins go back to the 10th century. A massive complex of more than 30 temples, but mainly 3 - Siva, Brahma & Vishnu. Great ceremonial splendour on festival dates. On the slopes of Mount Agung (Volcanic) but the mountain was in clouds when we got there. The 1963 eruption destroyed some of the temple but since restored.

- Temple festival procession traveling along the road. Quite a long procession with music, offerings, everyone all dressed up.

Went for supper at a restaurant across the road - Rijjstaffel - soup and 8 Indonesian dishes. An unexpected bonus was the show - frog dance and then a batik fashion show. After the frog dance, I (and 3 other tourists) got up to dance with the 4 girls. Needless to say, we were not as graceful as the Balinese girls (to put it mildly). The movements with their fingers, bending the finger knuckle backwards, is impossible. Tony refused to get up and make a fool of himself.

Tuesday December 4

Drove around in our rental car - through some rice fields where they were threshing the rice. Later in the day we saw rice paddies being edged.

Mengwi - royal water palace and temple. Across the moat is a fairly new arts centre and restaurant. We had lunch later in the day at the restaurant, hard to say if the arts centre is still in use.

Sangeh - sacred monkey forests nice and quiet to walk through the forest to the temple, plenty of monkeys around looking for nuts. Tony bought some nuts and fed them.

We then drove up to Puri Batukan, on the slopes of Mt. Batukan, quite a bad road getting there but parts of it have been re-paved and the "construction crew" was at work. There is a parking lot about 1/2 mile from the temple. It looks as if this will become a tourist attraction. We were told by the men in the parking lot to ignore the no-entry sign and drive up to the temple. It is in the middle of the jungle - a man-made lake (-we think man-made) is off to one side, an island with temples on it in the middle. A path goes around the lake. The paths to the various temples are trodden down as some people must go to the temple. When we were there, there was a Balinese group having a picnic lunch - they were going to stay the night. They came to pray. There is a cook building to one side, which they were using. We couldn't see the mountain, as it was very cloudy, some thunder while we were there and started to rain when we left.

We then drove to the sea temple of Tanah Lot on the West Coast. The temple is on top of an offshore rock. We were there at low tide so we could walk over to the temple. There is to be a temple festival tomorrow (Weds.) so preparations were well under way. Just up the coast there was a group on the beach making offerings, also in the sea. We stayed at Tanah Lot until after sunset. On our way back to the car we saw a pig on it's way to the temple, presumably to be sacrificed. On our drive back we saw another one.

Dropped into the Arts Centre in Denpasar on our way back, a monkey dance in progress. Not much to see at the shops so we didn't stay long.

Pizza for supper, then dropped off our rental car.

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Wednesday December 5.

Generally lazed around and read. Went into the water a few times. Walked down the beach for a pizza lunch at La Taverna Hotel. Wandered around the beach market.

Thursday December 6.

Lazed around again. Walked down the beach to the Hyatt Hotel in the morning and had a grapefruit juice - very expensive and not as good as the ones at our hotel, where ice and the pulp of the pineapple is mixed up with the juice in a blender. The sand was very hot under our feet during the walk. My top is a little pink so I kept it covered today. Walked to another hotel (Bali Beach Hotel) for newspaper and to mail postcards.

Friday December 7.

Generally lazed around again, preparing for our bus/ferry/train/train trip back to Jakarta. Tony checked out in the afternoon, saying that we would be leaving later tonight. We expected to have to pay for the night but didn't, which was a pleasant surprise. I don't think he realised later tonight was midnight though. Went over the road for supper and saw part of a Legang dance - interesting but not as much as some of the dances. It probably would have helped if we knew the stories. Went to bed and slept for a couple of hours, left at midnight.

Saturday December 8.

Tony had arranged for a taxi to pick us up at midnight and he drove in right on time. Only took about l0-15 minutes to get to the bus station where we had to wait around for 2 1/2 hours or so. The bus left (nearly full) soon after 2.30 a.m., arrived at Gilimanuk about 6.30 a.m. The bus wasn't air-conditioned but it didn't matter at that time of the night. Managed to sleep off and on most of the way. We took the ferry (still on the bus) over to the island of Java. Quite a delay getting on the ferry because a truck got stuck coming off and it took about an hour to get him off - he was half on and half off the ferry. Finally the truck was unloaded and then pulled off by another truck. After the 15 min, ferry ride we drove to Banyuwang (Java) where we arrived at the train station with the bus horn blowing, just in case the train was in the process of leaving - we were there 20 minutes after the train was supposed to have left. We got seats and left at 8.30 a.m. We were in 2nd class, (non air-conditioned train), fairly comfortable as the seats across from us were vacant most of the time and we could put our feet up. The parrots that got on the bus earlier in the day were fortunately at the other end of the carriage; they were a little noisy at times. We could get food and drinks on the train, delivered to us. We just bought drinks and used up all our emergency supply of food since we should not need it any more. At a number of stations we stopped for a while and food vendors came on selling food - fruit, including bananas, other food - probably rice based. However, we didn’t get any. Arrived at Surabaya at 3.58 (for a 4 p.m. Train!).

Note-: Both the bus and train were local. The bus rattled a lot and was rusty, not surprising considering the bad roads. We didn't see any other white tourists on our trip to Jakarta, just locals and dark-skinned tourists.

After we arrived at the train station in Surabaya we quickly got on to the next train, the Bima for Jakarta. Air-conditioned train, all first-class. We had a small room - 2 seats which made up into 2 bunk-beds and a washstand, which folded up. Luxury. We left at 4:30 p.m., half-hour late. Our whole trip is a package deal put together by the railway, so we weren't too worried about the delays along the way. Had fried rice and coke/beer soon after we were moving. This was delivered to our room (and we weren't asked to pay until the next morning). We were tired so we pulled out

the beds and lay down. Soon we were told that our beds would be made up when we went for supper. Between 6-6:30 p.m. we were told to go for supper - this was included in the price of the ticket. We thought supper was included but when we asked when we got on board we

were told no, probably the fellow didn't understand us as English was only partly spoken by some people. Anyway we went for supper and had a small meal, took the bananas back to our “room”. Our beds were made up, so we went to bed and read for about 10 minutes then slept off and on all night.

Forgot - when we got on the train we were given "wet and dry" type towelettes, then a snack of spring rolls and coffee. We were still glad to have our fried rice though as we really hadn't eaten too much during the day.

The first train had a fan going in it and windows open, but still fairly hot by the time we got off it.

Sunday December 9.

Porter woke us up at 4:30 a.m.(!!) with warm, damp towels, with lemon, i.e. the towels had been soaked in a warm lemon water. Very refreshing. We went back to sleep afterwards. Breakfast call at 5.30 a.m. When we got back to our seats, the beds had been put away and our seats up again. Arrived in Jakarta at 10 a.m., taxi to our hotel (Marco Polo, the same one as before), picked up our suitcase which we had left here. Had an early lunch in the hotel. Took a taxi to the dock area. After walking through some of the worst living conditions we have seen on this trip (water supply a filthy sewer and garbage all around, although the people looked healthy enough - surprised to see us too; I don't think we were on a tourist route) we came out to the sailing ships - lots of working wooden sailing ships. When we were there some were getting in line to go out to sea, pulled by hand along the dock. Walked back through the market where Tony bought a new pair of sandals for 2500 rupials (about $4) as his old ones were falling apart. I got my sandals fixed - new heels put on them by a mobile shoemaker. He carries his box around with him. He spoke no English and couldn’t write. Fortunately soldiers were nearby to tell us the cost - 300 rupials (about 50 cents!). He did a good job too; he put in a wedge where it had worn down and then new heels, cutting the material to fit the shoe. No pre-cut materials here.

Walked through the Dutch section, not too impressive. Went to Ancol Dreamland, a 551 hectare recreation complex. Wandered around the oceanarium, casino, supper at Hotel Horizon, dropped into Jai Alai fronton, but not playing until 8 p.m. Back to hotel and bed early.

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Monday December 10.

Took a tour of Jakarta.

(1) National Monument, 137 meters high crowned by a symbolic flame clad with 33 kg. of pure gold. In the basement is a museum containing 48 displays of Indonesia’s historical events and her struggle for independence.

(2) Sasmita Loka Museum, converted from the residence of General A. Yani, who was assassinated at 4.35 a.m. on Oct. 1 1965 during the abortive communist uprising.

(3) Panca Sila Monument, commemorates the 7 generals and military leaders of Indonesia

who were assassinated by the communists (and then thrown down the well!)

(4) Indonesia in Miniature, a park with buildings and displays from all parts (27 provinces) of Indonesia. We had lunch out here. Madame Suharto thought up the park after going to Disneyland. Quite interesting, could spend a long time wandering around the park. We were the first pick-up for the tour so we got a good tour around Jakarta, going to the other hotels. Saw the embassy area, including the Canadian Embassy.

We were dropped off near the UTA (airline) office; we changed our last flight from Feb. 2nd to Feb. 7th so that we have longer in Tahiti (and surrounding islands). Also checked our flights - economy booked all the way now.

Back to the hotel for a snack and drink and (for me) a snooze. Supper in hotel.

Tuesday December 11.

Breakfast in our room. Then haircuts downstairs ($8.00 for wash, cut and dry for both of us) - we had it done at the same time as there are 2 chairs' in the beauty salon. Very relaxing as there is no rush to finish the job. Quite a bit taken off for both of us too.

Taxi to the Hilton where we had a pizza lunch, walked around the Indonesian Bazaar, hit 40 balls at the driving range and had a drink in the air-conditioned bar. Taxi back to hotel where we read and rested all afternoon. Taxi to jai alai fronton, supper (fried rice, what else?) at the bowling alley there and then watched 11 out of 14 games of jai alai - minimum bet is 200 rupiahs (about 32 cents). We lost 3000 rupia over the evening ($5). Since it didn't cost to get into the games, not a bad price for an evening's entertainment. Taxi back to hotel, late to bed (midnight)

Wednesday December 12.

Went out for a walk, saw the Antique Market (not too interesting), a row of suitcases where there were some good brand names. Spent the afternoon in the hotel lobby, reading our books. Went to the airport early, had supper there, probably our last fried rice for a while - 10 p.m. flight to Noumea in New Caledonia.

Thursday December 13.

Arrived Noumea about 10 a.m., left at 2 pm. Tony broke all regulations, "escaped” from the in-transit lounge and got some brochures on New Caledonia, also arranged for a rental car when we get there. To get back to the in-transit (the adjoining door had been locked up since his escape) the airport security chief had to be found! One of the stewardesses called him "le villain". However, worth it because we can now plan our New Caledonia stage (when and if we get a few spare moments). Plane to Sydney, arriving 4.30 p.m. A German shepherd dog sniffed our overnight bags, checking for drugs.

Phoned rental car companies, arranged for a car the next day and took bus to hotel arranged at airport. Light supper for me at hotel, short walk to harbour (cool breeze.), watched T.V. in bed.

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Friday December 14.

Coffee in room (most hotels and motels have tea and coffee making facilities in the room with packets of coffee, tea, sugar and cream, also refrigerators). Car (rental) arrived at 8.25 a.m. checked out of hotel. Drove into Sydney, picked up mail at Poste Restante (5 days from Victoria, B.C.), Tony went to Automobile Association and got lots of information.

Drove west out of Sydney to Katoomba where we took a drive (Cliff Drive) in the

Blue Mtns. Saw the three sisters rock formation. Went down in the World's steepest railway into Jamison Valley (400 meter ride includes an almost vertical descent of 250 meters. The greatest incline is 52°). Very pleasant country but not spectacular. Lots of flies buzzing around spoilt it too.

Back to hotel, I slept; Tony planned our route (mad dash!) to Alice Springs - and back to Sydney. Used suggested times from Auto Club so shouldn't be too bad.

Chinese food (including special fried rice) for supper. We put our jackets on to go out to supper. Heater and electric blankets in hotel room.

Saturday December 15.

Breakfast in room at 7.15 a.m., ordered the night before. This is quite common here, sometimes supper is served in the room only, saves restaurant space.

Drove from Katoomba to Cobar. Coffee and scones at the Yarn Market at Molong. Saw Old Dubbo Gaol at Dubbo (built 1887). Lunch at Nyngan. Lots of Australians with stubbis (shorts) and flip-flops (thongs) on.

At Cobar we drove up to the Water Filtration Plant Hill where we saw 20-30 kangaroos also lots of rabbits. Also saw a camel in someone’s back garden!

Lots of cars Have roo-bars on the front, also wire mesh windshield screens. Good

roads today, very little traffic and not much in the way of settlements. Bush country.

Sunday December 16.

Drove to Broken Hill in the morning, stopping for coffee about 1/2 way. Had lunch (Kentucky Fried Chicken) at Broken Hill and saw the outside of the wooden Afgan Mosque. It was open later in the afternoon but we decided not to wait around. The Flying Doctor service is also open to the public but only on weekdays. Decided to continue on to Port Augusta - arrived here about 6 p.m. Total of about 900 kms. for the day.

The Roads were excellent all day, could drive 100-120 kms./ hour nearly all the time, very little traffic. Shrub countryside. Saw Kangaroos, emus, sheep, cattle and a few horses. Broken Hill is a very pleasant, clean town. Very few people around on the streets.

Bush country. Shrub country. Very barren flat land. Hills with shrub (end of Flinders Range) - similar to S.W. U.S.A.

Monday December 17.

Drove from Port Augusta to Coober Pedy (623 kms), about 500 kms. of that on unpaved road. The road was quite wide which helped, some sandy sections, some gravel and some washboard. Very little traffic though.

Coffee at Pimba, pop. unknown. Lunch at Kingoonya, pop. about 100, has 2 gas stations, a motel, snack bar at one of the gas stations, a camping ground and a few houses. The railroad goes through it. Saw Emus on the way to Coober Pedy. At the beginning of the day we saw a road sign - warning, road works for next 1500 kms!

Generally, bush country all the way, very little population, a homestead off the road every 30-50 kms. or so. A mule, camel and white kangaroo in a pen at our lunch stop at Kingoonya.

Drove around at Coober Pedy saw 2 underground churches (Catholic and Anglican), an underground motel and an underground house. These underground places stay the same temperature all year, 70° - 80° F., while the outside temperature varies from 10° C - 50° C. So no heating or cooling bills. Water is trucked in from the water purification plant (which desalinates the well water). The underground houses have wind-generators (windmills) for electricity. One of the houses we were in - the people living there are German, the husband came here about 5 years ago, the wife 2 1/2 years ago. He mines, first in the mine which is now their house, now in another mine. There are no large mining companies in Coober Pedy, most are one man or small partnerships.

Tuesday, December 18.

840 kms. today!

Dropped into a mining company, tour wasn’t until 11 a.m. so we just saw the museum there. Bank at 10 a.m. and then off onto the gravel road again. Picked up a couple of girls (their gas tank had sprang a leak, presumably from a stone) and drove them from their car to Maria Bore where they got help. We had lunch there. It is going to be a town, very much needed along the real. Planes fly in/out twice a week from Adelaide and there is accommodation there now.

Drove to Victory Downs (about 1/2 mile on paved road in Northern Territory and then off on gravel again) where we had planned to spend the night but she wasn't open for business in the summer. So, back to the main road and up the paved road to Kulgera where we got a drink and considered staying the night - fairly expensive $9.50 each for a room with 2 beds in it. We were told there was accommodation further on at Mt. Ebenezer, and also Curtin Springs so we decided to continue on to one of these homesteads. We had gained an hour because N.T. is not on summer time. Anyway, neither of the homesteads had accommodation at this time so we ended up driving all the way to Ayers Rock. Fortunately part of the road in was paved. Unfortunately we ended up driving into the sun! Arrived at Ayers Rock at 8.45 p.m., had a drink or two in the bar and to bed.

Wednesday December 12.

Climbed up Ayers Rock! 348 meters high. For the steepest part there are chains to help - a help on the way up but more so coming down. This climb (1 3/4 hrs. up and down) did us in for the day! After getting down and quenching our thirst (fortunately we had a water bottle with us on our climb too) we drove to and around the Olgas, 25 kms. west of Ayers Rock. Very short toddle at one of the gorges. Drove all around, including the part of the road not recommended for conventional cars (very rocky) and back to Ayers Rock. Slide show at the Visitors Centre then meat pie for a late lunch at our hotel. Rest (I slept for awhile) and drove around the north part of Ayers Rock. Saw the sunset - Ayers Rock changes colours, then supper at the Redlands Hotel (rabbit stew). Back to our hotel (Ulura). 4 hotels here, reception in bar, all have pool tables, very friendly people. Saw a dingo (wild dog) on our way to supper. Lots of colourful birds all the way up the highway. Pink and grey bird (paraket?) seen a lot.

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Thursday December 20.

Drove from Ayers rock to Alice Springs. Small side trip to the meteorite crater, not too interesting. Nice to get back on paved surface again. Crack in windshield though, after no cracks all through the unpaved section! Swim in pool, rest, short drive through Alice Springs to Anzac Hill and School of the Air (closed until Feb.11 for summer holidays). We are both very sore from climbing up Ayers Rock.

Friday, December 21.

After breakfast in our room (breakfast tray of cereal, bread, toaster, coffee etc. delivered to our room soon after 7.30 a.m.), we checked out of our hotel and had a self-guided tour of Alice Springs.

- Royal Flying Doctor Service.

- book exchange to get a fresh batch of books.

- Post office for stamps, having bought many postcards.

- coffee

- bought some films.

- Centre for Aboriginal Artists - good quality stuff - bark paintings, carvings, weapons, didgeridoos, etc. Fairly expensive, though.

- Panorama Cuth, owned by a Dutch artist who now lives in Alice; the gallery has a huge circular panorama, which depicts points of interest around the centre, about 20 meters in diameter.

I then went for a camel ride; Tony didn’t so he could take pictures of me! Comfortable when the camel was walking, not so comfortable when it ran.

Drove out to Ross River Tourist Camp, stopping at Emily Gap, Jessie Gap and Corrobores Rock on the way. After it cooled down a bit, we went for a short walk by the river. Wild horses (wild according to Tony because they aren't tied up) and cows around. Saw a large lizard - (about 4+ feet long) - type creature (a form of monitor lizard) just before supper. Before we left Alice Springs we went to the old Telegraph Station (and the original Alice Springs) north of town.

Saturday December 22.

Drove back into Alice Springs and continued westward. Went to Standley Chasm - very narrow, only around noon does the sun illuminate the bottom of the gorge. We were there soon after 11.30 a.m. Most of the road was paved, then about 3 kms. along a rocky creek bed and a 20 mins. walk. Quite an impressive chasm.

We had planned to continue further to Glen Helen Tourist Camp but decided we didn't want to go another 90 kms. on un-paved road (and back again). So, we went to Simpson Gap (paved road and then a short walk on very hot sand) on our way back to Alice Springs. the hotel we had planned to stay at was full so we stayed at the Telford Territory Motel instead, closer to town.

Tony went to the car races in the evening; I watched T.V., read, etc.

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Sunday December 23.

Drove from Alice Springs to Tennant Creek. Drove over the Tropic of Capricorn (23rd parallel). Coffee at Ti Tree Roadhouse. Coffee and meat pies at Barrow Creek Pub (in the middle of nowhere!). Overcast and windy weather on our way into Tennant Creek. Devils Marbles 100 km. south of Tennant Creek - huge, round granite boulders scattered over the area, some on top of each other. Also saw lots of big anthills bedside the road. Tony saw one of the ugly pre-historic lizards early in the day while he was driving. Later in the day a dingo crossed the road in front of us.

Monday December 24.

Left at 7.20 a.m. (breakfast and tray of cereal, bread (with toaster), coffee, juice delivered the night before so we could have it when we wanted, an excellent idea). Drove about 680 km. to Mt. Isa, Coffee at Frewena, gas at Barry's Caves (both places just store, gas, small hotel in the middle of nowhere). Lunch at Camoorweal, slightly larger place, pop. about 1500. In between these places there was nothing on the highway, except a few animals. At Mt. Isa we looked at a few places before we found one that takes Amex. Credit cards - very necessary as banks are closed for 5 days. Also don't want to run out of cash. Stayed at Verona Hotel, a very comfortable room to spend Christmas in; radio, colour T.V. (2 channels), A/C, fridge, coffee/tea making, etc. Also had a U.S. style socket for Tony's razor - the first we have seen in Australia. They have their own

style - 3 prongs (at an angle!). All controls by the bed, including the A/C (2 speeds).

Bought some cheese and crackers for supper tomorrow night. Arranged for lunch tomorrow with Inland Motel (everybody else is closed for the day!). Supper at the hotel. Put our Christmas cards on top of the T.V.

Tuesday December 25.

Went for a short walk in the morning around Mt. Isa. Lunch at the Inland Motel (11-30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.). Oysters, fruit cocktail, fried barramundi (fish), turkey, pork, ham with veg. and potatoes, Xmas pudding with brandy sauce (no hard sauce), trifle, fruit and ice cream. Also wine and bronco champagne. An excellent meal, well done, and easy to eat as it was stretched over such a long time. We had crackers with hats and (whistle). Also balloons, Santa Claus came with presents for all - Tony got a bottle of cognac, I got a small glass dog with a pincushion on top.

Tried boomerang throwing for a while after lunch. Then back to our hotel room, wrote post cards and watched T.V.

Wednesday December 26.

Drove from Mt. Isa to Townsville (about 900 kms.). Short stops - coffee, gas, cheese and biscuits (left over from last night's supper when we weren’t very hungry) and gas and coffee again. We had planned to stop at Charters Towers but the motel there didn't take Amex credit cards and we had no Australian cash, so we continued on to Townsville.

Stayed at the Town Lodge motor Inn - got a room overlooking Magnetic Island and the water - saw the sun go down from our room. Cold meat and salad and ice cream for supper delivered to our room.

Thursday December 27.

Drove around Townsville - Castle Hill, downtown area for bank, post office and automobile club (re New Zealand), then Town Common which has a lot of wildlife (but not while we were there). Drove south, stayed in Prosperine. Poured with rain. Thunder and lightning. Had planned to drive to Shute Harbour but decided not to because of the rain. 124 mms. of rain in 24 hours!

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Friday December 28.

Still raining so decided not to go on a day cruise. Drove to Shute Harbour, saw the Mandalay Coral Gardens - coral and fish. Drove to Mackay, very heavy rain at times so decided to stop at Mackay. Investigated New Zealand tours at a travel agency in Mackay. Supper in our motel room.

Saturday December 29.

Note: In the fairly deserted sections of highway, train engineers waved as we passed them. This doesn't happen now we are in more populated sections of the country.

Up early, off at 7.10 a.m. to avoid the heavy rain. Raining when we left Mackay but not too heavily. Lunch at Yeppoon, a seaside town, quite busy, a lot of "No Vacancy" signs, brisk breeze blowing, ocean muddy looking from the sand being whipped up with the wind. Coke break at Miriam Vale, "fresh mud clam” sandwich a specialty but Tony didn't try some (neither did I). Stopped for the night at Childers. Had Indian curry and Kashmir curry for supper - different but not like the curries we had in India, not hot at all. Not raining but still cloudy. A lot cooler though, none of the motels have A/C so it probably never gets that hot.

Sunday December 30.

Drove from Childers to Brisbane, where we stayed the night. On our way we dropped in at Scarness for a book exchange. Saw boats on their way out to Fraser Island. Also drove along the Sunshine Coast - Noosa Heads, Tewantin, Caloundra. Lots of people on the beaches and in the water. Also "no vacancy” signs on all the hotels/motels.

Saw black swans, also black and white pelicans during the day. In the afternoon we saw the end of the days play at the Brisbane Cricket Ground - Queensland vs. England. The cricket ground was about 10 minutes walk from the motel.

Saw a program on the Great Lakes on T.V. in the evening!

Monday December 31.

Drove into Brisbane, very little traffic, probably most people on holiday. Reconfirmed our Sydney to Noumea flight at the UTA office. Went to the Newmans office re New Zealand trip, found out we were booked on it and our flight from Christchurch to Auckland has been booked. Will drop in at Sydney to pay because we want to pay by Amex - the travel agent in Mackay should really be paid because they would then take their commission before sending the rest to Newmans.

Went to the Lone Pine Sanctuary just outside Brisbane - koala bears, kangaroos, emus, and a platypus. Drove down the Gold Coast, not as busy as we had expected. Drove further south to Grafton. Chinese food for supper.

Tuesday January 1.

Drove from Grafton to Newcastle. Long drive as there was quite a bit of traffic. Grayish weather, spots of rain in Newcastle as we walked along the front. Tony went to the stock car races in the evening.

Wednesday January 2.

Rained all day! Drove from Newcastle to Sydney. Checked into Hotel, went downtown to Newman’s re New Zealand trip. Newman's did not take Amex so we went to American Express to pay for it. Shall pick up tickets etc. on Friday.

Tony bought a new pair of sandals in Newcastle - his old ones had holes in the soles. The new ones are Clarks so they should last for a while.

Thursday January 3.

Poured with rain all morning, sunny later in afternoon. Drove around Sydney - the Rocks, where Sydney started, past the Sydney Opera House. Back to Hotel for a while. In the afternoon, drove to Mrs. Macquarie’s Point for a good view of Sydney, the opera house and bridge. Then drove downtown and out to Bondi Beach, some surfers out. Took the car back to the rental company, walked back to the Hotel.

Had Peking Duck for supper at a restaurant that specializes in it.

Friday January 4.

Rain (drizzle in morning) so breakfast in bed, read newspaper.

Taxi to Sydney Opera House where we took a tour. Walked to the Rocks area, had lunch at Pancakes on the Rocks. Walked to downtown, picked up 3 developed films, collected Newman’s voucher from American express. Taxi back to hotel. Chinese food for supper - restaurant just up the road.

Cricket (England vs. Australia test match) on T.V. in afternoon - delayed start due to rain.

Saturday January 5.

Checked out of the hotel at 10 a.m., took the bus to the airport for our 3.20 p.m. plane. Had a light lunch, then found out plane would not leave until 7 p.m. However we were given a free lunch - smorgasbord by the airline. Waited around the airport! Left, around 7 p.m., arrived New Caledonia about 9.50 p.m., picked up Hertz rental car (Fiat 127) and drove to Noumea. The first hotel was fully booked so we stayed at Le Lagor, which seems fairly empty. Drink in bar and to bed quite late (around 12-30 p.m.).

Sunday January 6.

Breakfast on the 5th floor of the hotel, overlooking the bay.

Went to the Tourist office where we arranged to stay at 3 hotels around the island.

Drove around Noumea and surroundings - Mt. Dore, St. Louis Mission, up Mt. Koyhie

(jungle walk here), then to the Aquarium (tropical fish and lots of corals), then back to the hotel for a rest. Chinese food for supper.

New Caledonia is extremely expensive. A continental breakfast at the hotel is about $4. - juice, 2 croissants each with butter and marmalade, and coffee. Lunch (we had appetiser only (fish salad) and desert) was about $20 with 2 beers and 1 coke. The contrast between here and Asia probably makes it seem -much more expensive to us. Even Australia was not too bad; we quite often had meat pie for lunch (about 50 cents each). However the scenery here is magnificent, well worth seeing.

Monday January 7.

Drove into Noumea - reconfirmed our UTA flight, went to post office, bank. Drove along the west coast about 400 kms. to Koumac. Stopped at LaRoche Percoe on the way, just before lunch. Not much habitation along the way, only small villages and towns. Fairly hot and sticky. Saw some Joshua trees in bloom (white flowers) Very mountainous countryside, a mountain range seems to exist in the middle of the island for all of its length. The country varied from good grazing land for cattle to almost scrub.

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Tuesday January 8.

Checked out of our hotel. Bought mosquito repellant - they are very small but quite active around me. Arranged with Hertz (Madam Glad) to keep the car another 2 days and drop it off at the airport instead of in town.

Drove to Hienghene on the east coast, through a mountain pass, also 2 ferries. Both ferries were raft-type, pulled across on a cable by a small motor. The second ferry, over the larger of the 2 rivers was also helped by man-power-pulling the cable. More lush vegetation, very colourful flowers and flowering trees. Very friendly natives, wave to us as we go by. Bought a drink at a local store.

Checked into our hotel, Maitre Pierre, on the bank of a river, a thatched roof Melanesian style bungalow for our room, view of mountains and jungle from our door. Went for a drive - Pang nga - type scenery (large jagged cliffs). Rest (snooze for me) in afternoon. Hot in the sun, quite muggy. Overcast skies in late afternoon. Bread and cheese from the store for lunch. Supper at hotel.

Wednesday January 9.

Saw local cowboys on horses yesterday and the day before. Had our mix-up orange drink, some bread for breakfast. Stopped at Koulnoue Hotel for Coffee. This was the hotel we had hoped to stay at last night but it had been full. Drizzle and cloudy most of the day.

Drove down and then across the island to Sarramea. Stopped at Bourail on the way for post office, milk shakes and gas. Had bread and cheese again for lunch. We don’t like to eat lunch and supper in the hotels, much too expensive. Besides, we are trying to lose a little weight. Had dips in the pool in the afternoon, sat around the pool and then our room reading. Sunny in afternoon but heavy rain just before supper, so was driven to supper.

Thursday January 10.

Bread from last night's supper and coffee (for which we were not charged!) for breakfast.

Drove through the island to Canala, through rain forest (complete with rain), then to Thio, a nickel-mining town. Part of the Canala-Thio road is one way during the day, 50 minutes Canala-Thio, 10 minutes entry closed and then 50 minutes Thio-Canala. However it took us about 30 minutes to travel the road, fairly narrow in places, with a steep drop off at one of the sides.

Drove up to a mine at Thio, we thought we were on the main road, but it was an interesting side trip anyway. (quite a bit cooler up the mountain with a thick mist at the top.)

Drove from Thio to Tontouta. Stayed at a new hotel near the airport, bathtub and air-conditioning. Even a T.V. (1 channel) - Sesame Street in French!

Took the car back to hertz at the airport at 6.30 p.m. Taxi back to hotel. Tony sick (flu?) so I went for supper by myself.

Friday January 11.

Tony sick today (flu?) so he spent most of the day in bed. I went for a short walk in the morning. Poured with rain after lunch. 7.20 p.m. flight to Auckland, New Zealand. We were able to stay in our hotel room until 6 p.m. when we checked out - very nice of the hotel. Plane left a little late, full. Arrived Auckland 12.10 a.m., very quick through customs, found Newman’s representative and he got us a taxi to our hotel - the Vacation Hotel. Drizzle and cool.

Saturday January 12.

Drizzle off and on all day. Saw the Newman's rep. in the hotel (a tour left today) and got our mail, also maps and a description of our itinerary. Took the hotel bus downtown, did some shopping (including stamps for post cards - post office was open until 11.30 a.m.!) although most shops were closed, as is usual here on Sat. and Sun, lunch downtown, including thick milk shakes. Bus back to hotel (I enquired about the bus terminal in a Greyhound place and a bus driver drove us to the bus!) In room in afternoon. Started our tour at suppertime, from now on all meals and rooms are included. Buffet supper - excellent. Watched T.V.

Sunday January 13.

Start of Newman's tour - breakfast, then pick up our overnight bags and on to the bus - left at 8.15 a.m., right on time. All of our baggage was tagged and numbered so our driver (Lew) knows if he has all the suitcases in the mornings. 39 of us on tour, 2 other Canadians (from Thornhill!), mostly Australians. The uniform for bus drivers is shorts and long socks.

Went up a hill in Auckland to get a view of the city. Lunch at Waitomo Caves, then saw the caves and the glow worms (boat ride on the underground river to the outside).

Drove to Rotorua, drove past one of the geysers, which was erupting. Stayed at Travelodge, supper cooked in a "thermal oven", Maori Concert afterwards.

Monday January 14.

Tour of Rotorua - thermal area of Whakarewarewa by a Maori guide. Saw the woodworking at the Maori Arts and Crafts, also a last century Maori fortified village.

- Agrodome, 19 different kinds of sheep on stage, sheep shearing demonstration and a sheep dog demonstration.

- Rainbow Springs, trout from few months to 2 years old. Also kiwi birds.

- lunch at Travelodge, then a few of our group went for a flight in a seaplane.

- carving shop, Maori village including church (new Anglican) with window with sandblasted design of Christ as a Maori - from the inside it looks as if Christ is walking on water because the lake is behind the window. Also meeting place in the village. Short stop in Rotorua for shopping, etc.

Drove south for 55 miles to Wairakei, where we saw a geothermal power station. Also Kuka Falls and Craters of the Moon (bubbling mud-pots). To hotel.

Tony thought he had a fish bone (eel from last night) stuck in his throat, so we went into Taupo, saw a doctor, had Tony's neck X-rayed and got some gargle stuff. It appears the bone has gone but left a scratch, which is causing the pain on swallowing. Should be better in a few days. Hospital was empty.

Back to hotel in time for a late (8.15 p.m.) supper. The oldest person on the tour is an 83-year-old woman, the youngest 2 11-year-old girls with their grandparents.

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Tuesday January 15.

Wairakei to Wellington, past Lake Taupo, the active volcano Mt. Ngauruhoe (7515 ft.). At a military museum for morning coffee break. Just before the break we saw some of the New Zealand army with tanks doing some exercises. Drove through Wellington to the airport, which had been closed due to fog earlier in the day. Boarded our 6.40 p.m. flight and then found out Wellington airport was closed again due to rain and fog. So back to the waiting room, finally our flight was cancelled and we were put on the 8.30 pm plane. Got on and were then told that the Christchurch airport had just closed so off we got again Taken to a hotel near the airport and had supper at about 10 p.m. Newman's re-booked us on the 8.50 a.m. flight the next day. Saw some sheep being herded by dogs and horses at morning coffee break.

Wednesday January 16.

Our 8.50 a.m. flight left about 10 minutes late so we arrived in Christchurch at about 9.45 a.m. Met by Newmans and the 7 of us that were booked on the south island tour were hustled onto the bus - only 2/3rds full (25) until Queenstown, then will be full, 39 people. At the airport, saw a plane (U.S.) that goes to the Antarctic - Operation Deepfreeze.

Drove through the Canterbury Plains, through spectacular mountain scenery, Arthur’s Pass. Unfortunately it was raining and cool.

Shanty Town in late afternoon, panned for gold, both of us got a little bit. Stayed in Greymouth for the night. Weather wet and cold. 3 Americans, some Australians and quite a few English on our bus.

Thursday January 17.

Drove from Greymouth to Fox Glacier, stopped at Hokitiba in the morning - greenstone (jade) factory and glass blowing factory. View of Franz Josef Glacier in the afternoon. Short downhill walk to view Fox Glacier. Unfortunately both the roads to Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier are washed out, also people aren’t allowed on Fox Glacier due to instability right now so we didn't go for our glacier walk as per itinerary.

Rain forest scenery (lots of ferns) of Westland during the day

Friday January 18.

Drove from Fox Glacier to Queenstown. Drove out a little way to get a good view of Fox Glacier, ML. Tasman and Mt. Cook since the weather was clear, although still cool. Stopped at a rest area for coffee or tea - hot water, coffee tea etc. produced by the driver since there wasn’t a place to buy tea or coffee! Also delicious cookies. Drove through Haast Pass Road, still being built (or repaired.) due to landslides. We had to walk across a bridge before the bus because of cracked piles in the bridge causing problems. Lunch at Wanaka at 2 p.m. Nice peaceful place. Drove through Kawarau Gorge, over the 45th parallel. Drove through Queenstown and back to Franktown to the Vacation Hotel.

Saturday January 19.

Rain in the night, light drizzle and cold during the morning.

Drove up Coronet Peak, we didn't go on the chair lift as it was too cold. Then to Arrowtown, an old gold-mining town. Then Packers Arms restaurant for barbequed beef and salads for lunch. The Shotover jet-boat ride for the afternoon was cancelled due to the rain last night so we booked (or Newman's booked for us) on the heli-jet at 4 p.m. Walked around Queenstown for a couple of hours. Then the heli-jet - a helicopter ride (4 passengers) to the boat, a jet boat that can ride on very little water. Jet boat ride on Kawarati River and then helicopter back and mini-bus back to hotel.

Washed Tony's jeans - washing machine and laundry soap free!

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Sunday January 20.

Went to the Cattledrome in Queenstown in the morning - beef and dairy cattle on stage, then tried our hands at milking a cow - very placid cow, easy to milk. Lunch in Queenstown. Rain and brisk wind.

Drove to Te Anau - Tony went on a launch trip to the Te Anau Caves and glowworms,

I stayed at the hotel and then went for a walk around Te Anau and met the boat coming back.

Monday January 21.

Day trip to Milford Sound - went for a short walk to the Chasm just before Homer Tunnel. Rain a lot of the day there but cleared up after lunch for our 1-hour launch trip on the sound. Saw Mitre Peak, also saw Bowen Falls, some seals and had the boat washed under some other (Stirling Falls) falls. Sunny most of the way back to Te Anau where we are staying for another night.

Tuesday January 22.

Drove from Te Anau to Dunedin. Saw lots of sheep all day. Drove past Manapouri (hydro station area), 1/2 hr. break at Gore, lunch at Clinton. Drove around Dunedin; most of the group went to a tour of an old house; we went to the hotel and then for a walk (about an hour). No rain all day but started to drizzle just as we came back from our walk.

Wednesday January 23.

Dunedin - Mt. Cook. Rain most of the day, ending just before we got to Mt. Cook. Benmore Hydro dam early in the afternoon, a part of a large undertaking. Went to the Hermitage (hotel) at Mt. Cook, the Visitors Centre, then the Governors Bush walk. Darts and talked to some of our group after supper as some of them leave tomorrow. Booked to go on a ski-plane, landing on the glacier but not running due to weather conditions.

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Thursday January 24.

Mt. Cook to Christchurch. Hydro dam at lake Pukaki, Church at

Lake Tekapo. Still cloudy and pouring with rain when we left Mt. Cook but sunny and warm within a few miles of Mt. Cook. Quite warm in Christchurch.

Only 10 of us stayed at the Shirley Lodge in Christchurch the rest flew out today or stayed at other hotels.

Friday January 25.

(1st time) Took the courtesy coach from our hotel in Christchurch. Went to UTA, changed our Papeete to Los Angeles flight back to February 2nd again and booked a flight L.A. to Vancouver, which was only $59 each because we got a 40% discount in conjunction with our UTA ticket. Back to hotel by taxi, then to airport by Newman's bus (all to ourselves.). 1 p.m. flight to Auckland via Rotorua on Mt. Cook - Hawker Sidley 748, 2 propellers. Small plane, about 40 + seater. Arrived in Auckland at 4.30 p.m. or so, walked to the international airport and waited and waited. Spent part of the time (about 3 hours) in the UTA (and Air Pacific) lounge - an Air Pacific person took pity on us and said we could use it, have free drinks, coffee, etc. However a UTA stewardess kicked us out because some first class passengers were going to use it and it really was a first class lounge. By then (about 1O p.m.) the UTA counter was open so we could check our suitcase, also the airport was not so busy. 00-55 a.m. flight left at I.30 a.m. Sat.

Friday, January 25.

(2nd time) Crossed the International Date Line. The plane was nearly empty - I had 5 seats to myself -to stretch out on. Arrived in Papeete at 7.15 a.m.

I stayed with the luggage while Tony checked re hotels. Very expensive! Decided on one, checked in, I had a short sleep. Went to the Travelodge for coffee to check it out then into Papeete to reconfirm our flight, check out other hotels etc. Took "le trucks”, the local form of transportation. Wanted to check out the Hotel Tahara’a but thought it was near our hotel so ended up traveling around quite a bit of the island! Back to Papete and out the other direction. Finally found the hotel, very nice location (if it wasn't raining) and had tea there. Then back to our hotel, found out they had changed our room (new room’s A/C didn't work!) and so another change of room. Supper at our hotel. Tahitian dance show after supper.

Saturday January 26.

Slept in until 10 a.m. Drizzle outside! Bread and butter (from last night's supper) for breakfast. Walked to the Maeva hotel for coffee. Then back to our hotel and to the Travelodge Beachcomber hotel for buffet lunch and Tahitian show - Tamure dance (I was one of the ones to go up on stage afterwards to show how not to do it), making coconut milk, basket weaving. A woman came up to me before lunch and wanted to know if I had bought my sundress (the one from Penang) in Tahiti as she would like one. They were traveling around the world in their own plane, from L.A. They also found Tahiti expensive, must be able to afford it though.

Read in our room in the afternoon. Tony tried to go on a glass-bottomed boat trip from the Travelodge but they wouldn't take the boat out for only 2 people - him and an American fellow. Poured with rain most of the afternoon. Supper at our hotel - I went barefoot so that my shoes wouldn't get wet from the sizable puddles. Settled up our hotel bill as we are leaving early in the morning.

Sunday January 27.

Went to the airport, there was a vacancy on the flight to L.A. (we were originally booked for the next Sat.) so we took it. Very heavy rain when we left (our flight was delayed due to the late arrival of an incoming flight from Moorea (Moorea airport had been closed). Movie "The 39 steps" on the flight.

Stayed at Ramada Inn in Los Angeles.

Monday January 28.

Slept in!! Up at 7.30 a.m. for 8.05 flight to Vancouver. 6 minutes to get dressed, check out and be at the hotel bus. The bus broke down on the wav to the airport so we got out, were picked up by another bus (mini-bus). Got to airport at about 7.45 a.m., fortunately our flight was delayed so we had to wait for the plane. Flew to Vancouver, very clear, very good view of the mountains, Crater Lake on flight. Then flew to Victoria where Marion picked us up at, the airport.

THE END.

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