Shubo Nobo Borsho 1418

Wow, I have been so busy at work (and admittedly, traveling) that I haven’t updated my blog in well over a month.  The year is flying by – I leave for Canada in less than two months!

Happy Bengali New Year (1418) to all.   The Bangladeshi celebrate New Year’s Day in the early morning (which I much prefer to trying to stay up past midnight).  We were invited to a block party in Danmundi.  It was quite a celebration.  Almost everyone dressed up in red and white.  They had set up a stage and had local singers and dancers perform.  The event was televised on Bangladeshi TV, and was also filmed by a crew from Canada.  They interviewed my friend Stella and her visiting Canadian friend as well.  Here are some images of the singers, dancers and crowd.

 

 

ElephantStay

A few years ago I spent some time at ElephantStay in Ayuthaya, Thailand.  It's a non-profit that rescues and rehabilitates elephants.  You're assigned to an elephant and care for it during your stay.  My elephant was Ramruay.  It was really interesting bonding with her, and seeing how she really began to recognize me after a few days.  They also had a number of baby elephants that would travel around like a pack of 500 pound puppies, constantly getting into mischief.  For example, one night, they took all of the clothes that we had left out on the clotheslines overnight.  I just received an e-mail that Ramruay had a baby.  You can see pictures of her and her daughter at http://www.elephantstay.com/Elephant-nursery-2011.html.  I highly recommend a visit there if you have at least three days.  It's not cheap, but it's a lot of fun and the money goes to a good cause.  Here are a few pictures from my visit there.

Ramruay:

The babies:

 

Singapore

Two friends and I attended a conference in Singapore last weekend.  Unfortunately the only direct flights from Dhaka arrive at 4:15 a.m., but we had booked our hotel for the night before and were able to sleep until breakfast.   Since we had one free day until the conference started, we met up with my friend Randy for a tour of the city.  He lives in the new marina area, which we toured first.  Chinese New Year is the next week, so we then went to Chinatown to see the decorations and booths.  Then it was off to the shopping malls for cameras and electronics.

The conference got off to a bad start.  The host school didn’t have any signage to direct us anywhere, and no coffee or breakfast to start the day.  They did offer to sell us coffee though.  At lunch, after very long lines, there was only water to drink.  Apparently they didn’t realize that hosting a conference or sporting event is a way to show off your school and make people want to enroll/work there, and not a way to make people think you're cheap and disorganized.  They must have received a lot of complaints because the food and beverages improved dramatically the second day.  The purpose of the conference was to introduce us to changes in our subject areas for the upcoming school year.  All of us found the conference to be quite successful in that respect.

I had not previously been a fan of Singapore.  I found it too sterile and commercial, and lacking in the energy I sense in the rest of Asia.  Having the chance to spend a longer time there, and now being a resident of a developing country, my opinion has changed.  The restaurants were fantastic.  I was able to purchase everything I needed for school and for my upcoming juice fast.  It definitely helped to have a friend to show us around as well.

Here are some pictures of Marina Bay and Chinatown.  Don't be fooled by the sunny skies.  After the first nice day, it pretty much rained constantly for the next three days.  And forget about getting a cab in Singapore if it is raining.

 

 

 

Cappadocia

With only eight days in Turkey we had to choose between Ephesus and Cappadocia.  Since I’d just spent some time in Paris, I voted for nature over culture.  Unfortunately our flight on New Year’s Day was canceled, but the friendly folks at Turkish Airways managed to get us to a nearby town three hours later.

We stayed in Goreme at a wonderful little hotel (Guven Cave Hotel) in which all of the rooms were either caves or made of carved stone.  We chose the castle-like arch room over the dungeon-like cave.  The owner, Mustafa, was incredibly friendly and helped us to plan our entire trip the first night.  His right hand man, Jihan (below), then made sure that every day of our stay was pleasant.

Mom convinced me to take a balloon ride the first morning.  It was ridiculously expensive, horrifying for the first few seconds, and then one of the best hours of my life.  It was so peaceful and beautiful in the air.  The pilot had amazing control over the balloon and was able to slip into canyons like he was threading a needle.  The strong winds resulted in a bit of a crash landing (“crash positions everyone”), but then he was able to gently lift the balloon and set it down on the trailer.  Most people I know can’t park a car as easily or accurately as he parked that balloon basket.

 

 

 

 

The mountains, rock formations and caves were fascinating.  I particularly liked the paintings (some dating back to 900) in the various cave churches.  Many had been defaced, but some were in amazing condition.

 

We also visited one of the underground cities (nothing like climbing down a very narrow stairway 200 feet underground to flare up the old claustrophobia), and hiked a beautiful canyon.  At the beginning of the hike the guide said we wouldn’t have time to stop for photos.  Hah!  Mom and I just let the rest of the group race on ahead and enjoyed our walk.

 

We also saw Alvalos, the capital of pottery.  There's a sandbar in the middle of the river covered in clay pots and ducks.  There's a story there, but I'm not sure what it is.  While there, we ate lunch in a women's cooperative.  You just walk into the kitchen, see what they made that looks good to you, and point. 

Oh, and no visit to Turkey could be complete without a few visits to the baths.  I have now been pummeled in public by a hairy, fat Turkish man.  Life doesn’t get any better than that.  Well, maybe the hot rock massage by a much cuter massage therapist that followed was more to my liking. 

And the food.  Each meal better than the last.  My favorite dessert was the rice pudding, which was so unlike the lumpy paste we get at home.  This was cooked in individual clay pots, with a crusty top and creamy bliss inside.  I bought a set of the pots so that I can spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to make it.  I have a mission.

Writing this makes me want to go on-line now and book a return trip in April.  Turkey, I will be back. 

p.s.  I didn't need a doll.  I didn't want a doll.  But I bought a doll so I wouldn't feel guilty about taking this woman's picture.

 

Istanbul

Cultured and stuffed after Paris, we next headed for Istanbul.  Swiss Air had decent food and wine, and we had the lounge in Zurich all to ourselves.  We stayed at a hotel recommended by a friend – the Girmin Palas.  It had an antique feel, and the most amazing breakfasts I’ve had in any hotel.  The sights in Istanbul were surprisingly crowded given the cold and time of year.  I can’t imagine being there in the summer.  We hit all of the major tourist sites, and ended the year cruising up the Bospherus.

We both loved the food.  The people were very friendly, especially the men.  They were gregarious and funny, and many of them flirted with mom.  I was starting to get tired of them asking if she was my wife (or sister) rather than my mother.  She does look rather young for her age (which is actually quite young), but does that mean I look that much older than I am?!  And I don’t think we had one meal at which they didn’t offer us something extra for nothing (tea, appetizer, dessert, etc.).

The mosaics in the Haggia Sophia were stunning:

It was quite nice on the outside as well:

The Blue Mosque:

It was so cold the wild cats were huddled together:

The haggling has been going on for 15 minutes.  Mom is getting tired.  The salesman moves in for the kill:              

 

Up the Bosphorus:

Christmas lights in the square:

Paris

My mother met me in Paris on December 26 for a two week European trip.  After six months in Asia, I was looking forward to some museums, great bread and rich desserts.  After a very pleasant trip to Paris on Gulf Air (which had a chef on board for business class, and great service), I had an eventful arrival on Christmas Day – on the train into the city, a kid grabbed my backpack and made a run for it at one of the stations.  Fortunately, he hit a patch of ice, fell down and crashed into a light pole.  I was able to grab my bag, fend off his punches and get back on the train.  I was so lucky not only that he slipped but also that the train didn’t leave with my other suitcase.  The other passengers had watched the drama unfold, and applauded when I got back on.

We had a few days in Paris first – filled with museums (I adore the Musee D’Orsay), great meals and long walks.  The weather was chilly (a nice change from Asia’s heat and humidity), but mostly sunny.  Despite my unpleasant experience on the train, I do still love Paris.

One of millions (billions?) of photos of the Tour Eiffel: 

The city of love, with condoms for sale in the metro:

There always seemed to be someone playing music in the metro.  This time it was a small orchestra:

Oh to be five again and believe in Santa Claus: