Round the World

Doha to Sharjah to Kathmandu

glacierdaz2 — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 22:07:00 GMT

Sometimes things move quickly. You are here you are there. I left Doha in the 44 C heat yesterday. Just to keep it interesting, the cab driver forgot about a previously arranged appointment. Alls well, ends well. There was just a little bit of drama.

The flight to Sharjah was uneventful and quick. Once at the airport in the UAE, I slept on the luxurious airport floor. At least it was carpeted. After some light sleep, I awoke again at 530. About an hour later there was the boarding call for the Kathmandu flight. About 4 hours later, I bought my visa and cleared customs. What a piece of cake.

The landscape around Kathmandu reminded me of Bolivia. I checked in to the Kathmandu guest house just a little haggered. After a shower, things got a little better. I had some Indian food and went for a wander in Thamel. About 2 blocks away from the hotel, there was some kind of disturbance or protest. I was not sure what it was all about. A Tibetan Monk approached me and said a nice friendly hello. Geez, what a change from Morocco! He spoke broken English and I thought it might be a good idea to invite him for a cup of tea. What an interesting experience...he wrote my name in Tibetan script and proceeded to bless the tea. About 10 minutes into our conversation at the cafe, the REM song "Losing my religion" played over the loudspeakers! Really strange and surreal. He asked for a small donation for badly needed repairs to his temple. I was happy to hand over a few dollars, just for the experience.

I was pretty beat up from travelling and lack of sleep. There are all kinds of massage places here in the Kat. I went upstairs and 2 local ladies worked on me. One for the head and shoulders and one for the feet. After about an hour, I walked out of the place feeling like a million dollars. The whole vibe here is completely different again. Lots of traffic and lots of action. Kind of a good energy.

My mission tomorrow is to find interested parties for the Everest Base Camp Trek and Annapurna Circuit. I ll buy some knock off gear at bargain basement prices and arrange the necessary paperwork. I ll also take a wander around town and see the local color. Im sure I will have more stories and pictures soon.

Hasta luegito

Daz

Gallery: Qatar

glacierdaz2 — Sun, 7 Sep 2008 19:24:00 GMT

Qatar

Turkey to the UAE and Qatar

glacierdaz2 — Sat, 6 Sep 2008 19:05:00 GMT

I caught the airport shuttle bus in Istanbul at midnight on Wednesday. The airport was quite far away and I made it to Air Arabia with only seconds to spare. I was very lucky they let me on the plane. The flight was pretty unpleasant with people fighting and arguing. There was also a choir of crying babies. I got to Sharjah and passed through their immigration. The place did not seem particularly friendly. I had the whole day to wait. I considered going to Dubai, but the taxi driver wanted 100 USD for the 15 km journey. Ahhhh, no thanks! Hurry up and wait. Because of Ramadan there was nothing to eat or drink and most of the airport shops were closed. I was tired, hungry and thirsty. I finally found a duty free shop and bought a liter of water. I asked the cashier about the best procedure. He said that if I drank where people could see me, the police would arrest me immediately. Hmmm, plan B - to the washroom stall, where I closed the door and enjoyed my water. Stangely enough, in the departure lounge, all restaurants and shops were open. It was busines as usual.

I met Rainer at Doha airport in the evening. We went to the Souk and had dinner at a Moroccan Restaurant. I had a Moroccan salad and camel burger. Not bad! The next day we took Rainer s 4 by 4 for a desert tour to the south of the country. In fact, at times the border for Saudi Arabia was only a few kilometers away. It was an interesting experience. The tires for the SUV had to be deflated to 15 psi. Sand, heat and quiet. Everything looks the same in this landscape. It looked like the classic postcard shot of the Sahara Desert. In fact, this part of the world is the Arabian Desert. In the evening, we rented some quads and drove around the sand dunes. That was a very cool experience.

Each Qatar citizen gets 10,000 USD a month to live here. There are no taxes. Education and housing are free for citizens. It is a place where money does not seem to be an issue. Yet, on the other hand it is unpleasantly hot with average temps between 35 and 50 degrees. It is also very, very humid. The other strange thing here is that there is no cold water. Even tap water comes out luke warm.

Today we will tour to the west coast of Qatar. Rainer says that you can see Bahrain in the distance. I look forward to seeing something new, getting some more photos and having a swim in the sea. Tomorrow it s back to Sharjah and onward to Kathmandu.

Round the World Week One

glacierdaz2 — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 00:16:00 GMT

Round the World Week One

It has been a long time since last writing, but I promise it will become more frequent in the future.
Last Saturday, I escaped from Morocco. My contract had finished and everything was in order to turn the page.
I will miss many good friends and coworkers. In typical Moroccan fashion, nothing was easy. I wanted a first
class train ticket to Tangier. Of course, they were all sold out. second class train travel in Morocco usually
involves sitting on the floor near the bathroom with maybe some chickens. THe washroom on the train reminded me of the movie
trainspotting...no pun intended. On top of this, they tend to overbook the whole system. Add plus 40C temps, well you get
the picture. After about 2 hours on the floor, I did a recon trip to first class. At least there, even the hallways had air con.
Lukcily for me, somebody in a first class compartment had left. I scooped the seat! Aha, problem solved.

Tangier was busier than normal. I had my last Moroccan meal in a typical street cafe. I got a place for the night and decided
to get an early start on Sunday. The port area was pretty quiet until passport control. The area sees alot of "action".
While I wwaiting in line, a Moroccan lady completely "lost it" with a border guard. Lots of yelling, screaming and crying!I cleared Moroccan
customs and spent another two hours waiting for the first available boat. I swapped stories with Spanish and American travellers. The boat finally
set off for Spain about 1130 am. The scene was utter chaos. Kids running and screaming, while the parents slept on the carpet. The washroom was also quite
the scene with the Moroccans washing their feet in the sink.

Algerceras, Spain was very quiet. On Sunday in Spain, things literally all shut down. You are hard pressed to find an open Hostal,grocery store or restaurant.
I managed to find a place to stay for the night and also a bite to eat. The food in Spain is really delicious! After 11 months in Morocco, it was time
for a cold beer (just one!) and pork chops. On Monday, I took the train to Cordoba. Once I got there, I met Janet..a fellow Canadian teacher from Casablanca.
She had just finished a teaching contract in Madrid and had a few days off. We explored the old city, shared some laughs and generally enjoyed what
Cordoba had to offer. It was kind of like a mini version of Seville. It was hot!!!! Mid afternoon heat was pushing plus 40 C. On Tuesday afternoon, I took
the bus to Granada. I stayed in a motel near the bus station. The next morning I took a cab to the airport. My Ryanair 2.5 hour flight would take me to
Frankfurt Hahn airport in Germany.

My father's cousin Detlef and his wife Sabine picked me up about half past twelve. He said we would spend the night camping in a small town near the
Mosel River. We had some wine and an excellent meal in the small town. This was wine country. The vinyards streched for miles on the steep slopes.
The next day we drove to Kaarst, a small village near Dusseldorf. The last time I had been here was about 25 years ago. Everything was so green and
organized. The people seemed really laid back compared to Morocco. Yet, something was missing....the energy of the people! This was more like Canada.
Strange how cultures can change in the matter of hours. The next day Delef took me for a ride on his BMW 1200 motorcycle. He also has a 94 Harley Davidson.
Its pretty interesting doing 195 kph on the Autobahn! I asked whether I could drive their little car. They said no problem and I drove on the Autobahn for
the first time. No big deal really, just a little faster than you would normally drive back home. On Sunday we went to a festival called Schutzenfest |
"Shooting fest" I think in English. There were six thousand musicians and approximately one million people in town for the festivities. Lots of colorful
costumes and horses. Unlike Morocco, the Germans like to start drinking beer about 10 am. We wandered around in the +31 C heat and saw the sights.
Tomorrow I will organize my gear and get ready for the next leg. On Tuesday morning I have a flight from Dusseldorf to Istanbul, Turkey. I spend one night
there before heading to the UAE and Qatar later in the week. Ahhhh, back to the heat! It is also Ramadan in the Muslim world. I will be careful to plan
my meals carefully. After that its off to Kathmandu, Nepal on Sept 7th.

Please find attached a few photos from Spain and Germany.

Keep in touch!

Darrel

August 29th in Germany

glacierdaz2 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:28:00 GMT

August 29, 2008

Germany seems very organized, civilized and BORING. It does have some advantages over Casablanca however. Everyone seems well behaved and you can tell that is a western society. The houses and gardens are well cared for. The people seem ok, but lack the kind of energy that you might see in Spain or Morocco.

Today I tried to change some Euro cash into travellers cheques. I thought this might be a fairly simple process here, but I was wrong. I visited six different banks and they all told me that they did not offer this service anymore. Hmmmmm....German efficiency. No problem, I went back to Detlef and Sabine's place to look up American Express on the internet. After a few phone calls we found a bank in town that could help. Detlef and I hopped on the BMW 1200 motorcycle and went to the bank. They said it would not be a problem. No worries it all ended up well.

My other highlight was when they let me drive their little car on the Autobahn. It was kind of like driving in Canada only just a bit faster. I also spent a lot of time walking around.

Gallery: Turkey

glacierdaz2 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:59:00 GMT

Gallery: Germany

glacierdaz2 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:58:00 GMT

Gallery: Spain

glacierdaz2 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:58:00 GMT

Day Three

glacierdaz2 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:51:00 GMT

uesday August 26, 2008

I spent last night with Janet wandering around the narrow streets of Cordoba. The city is a really nice place, kind of a smaller version of Seville. We ended up having some tapas and beer followed by a flamenco show. The setting was in a spectacular open air courtyard. Despite being quite late, the heat was still pretty noticeable. By the time the show was over we negotiated our way back to the Youth Hostel. We were both pretty tired! Our Spanish neighbors next door still had the energy to carry on a loud conversation until the wee hours. Eventually, I passed out and had the best sleep I have had in a long time. All this while Janet was talking in her sleep!

In the morning we explored the city some more. The breakfast was included at the Hostel with a reasonable serving of fresh toast, orange juice, cereal and coffee. Really not a bad deal at 20 Euros a night. We bought tickets and walked around the Mesquita, an old Islamic Mosque. It reminded me of the Mosque in Casablanca. In the afternoon, we had a bite to eat at a Moroccan style tea house. The potato tortilla was delicious. After that it was back to the bus stations where we went in opposite directions. I was off to Granada and Janet was going back to Madrid. I hope she has a positive experience when she moves to Kenya in September.

I had a non eventful bus journey to Granada, I even had a sleep for about 20 minutes, The Spanish heat can really zap your energy. I had a meal at the bus station and walked down the street to a motel/campground place. I have set up here for the night and will take a Ryanair flight to Frankfurt Hahn in the morning.

Day Two

glacierdaz2 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:49:00 GMT

August 25, 2008

Spent last night in algerceriaets. The hostal was pretty basic but all I needed for the night. It seems that most of the budget accommodation in Spain has some kind of funky smell. Maybe its just the building construction. Its pretty hot and the room did not have any air conditioning. Like the Moroccans, Spanairds also love loud lively conversation until the wee hours of the morning. Last night it was in stereo...Arabic one side and Spanish in the other. It seems Sundays are the true day of rest in Spain. Absolutely nothing is open and you have a hard time finding a convenience store or an open restaurant.

Got an early start today and hopped the train from Algercerias to Cordoba. I am supposed to meet Janet here at 1345 when her bus gets in from Madrid. It will be good to see her and hang out together. Her plan is to move to Kenya in September. The train ride here was very civilized and uncomfortable, unlike the Moroccan experience a few days ago. I could not get over the beautiful and rugged mountain and canyon scenery along the way. This part of Spain is hot and dry, well known for the production of olive oil. The food here is tasty as well. Last night I indulged in a cold beer and a plate of pork chops....something I have not had in quite some time. I look forward to exploring the narrow streets and corners of Cordoba.

I checked on the bus service to Granada. Last bus leaves at 1900 on Tuesday.

Day One

glacierdaz2 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:46:00 GMT

August 24, 2008

Utter Chaos at the Harbour.

August is high season for tourism in Tangier. I woke up this am, wandered down to the Ferry terminal and bought my ticket for Algercieras, Spain. The prices have certainly gone up since Christmas. A ticket used to be 38 Euros, now it is 50. Neverthless, it is better than swimming! The border control area was complete chaos. Moroccan nationals are sometimes denied passage for the Euro zone due to bad paperwork or for a variety of other reasons. Needless to say, these people are not very happy when this happens. During my hour wait for the boat, I saw no more than two very pissed off people having EXTREMELY heated arguments with Port Staff and Immigration. All this action is actually quite normal in these parts of the world. I just want to get the hell out of here........I have done my time.

I look forward to Spain for a few days. I am supposed to meet Janet (a former co worker from the ALC) in Cordoba on Monday afternoon. Here I sit on the ship and wait to leave for a more civilized part of the world. The weather is beautiful and sunny, a perfect day for a boat ride to Europe.