Uluru….Alice Springs….Australia

I was looking into my old diaries and found the write up on my trip to Uluru.  Flew to Alice Springs from Melbourne

on a cool day in July 2005. Alice Springs is the closest airport to Uluru or Ayer’s Rock in the Red center of the Outback. Alice Springs became famous during the WWII when Australia and USA set up a communication hub.Another fun part is one can find camels roaming in the wild. These animals were brought from Afghanistan to carry loads for military and rail road construction. They were abandoned in the wild to become happy campers! 

My first stop is to visit the Anzac hill a monument for the soldiers. Next day went on a day trip to the Emily Gap and the National park. Our guide  is from the Arrernte tribe the original inhabitants of this region. The Arrernte art is now World famous with its unique colors and dots. 

After familiarizing with Northern Territory, I headed off to Uluru Kata Tjuṯa National Park in a tourist van equipped to handle the red dust of the desert. Uluru has a circumference of 9.4km and 348 meters high. This monolithic sandstone rock is about half a billion years old. The Anangu people who live around this area consider Uluru as their most sacred place and they do not like people climbing on it. Hiking around the circumference is ok for them. The name”Anangu” sounded very familiar to me as it is a Tamil word. Also the tradition of not climbing or walking on something which is considered sacred whichever religion or belief is also part of the Sanatan Dharma. Hence I decided to hike even though some people from my tour group chose to climb. 

The hike around the rock showed its hidden treasures like the rock art and the impression of the wave with fish preserved in the fossilized rock. 

The rock changed its color from orange to crimson red along with the sun slowly getting ready to set. I just watched with awe  and wonder. I heard the Nature whispering “Everything is dynamic. Once I was a shallow sea in the Gondwana stretch” Now I aam a desert and the hidden rock emerged as Uluru”. 

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Prague....Cesky Krumlov......Bohemia.....

The red tiles and the church steeples looked gorgeous in the golden autumn sun. The concierge at the Hilton Downtown Prague suggested that I will enjoy the walk in the old town. Czechoslovakia formerly Bohemia had suffered wars and splitting the country itself when Slovakia was formed in 1939. The capital city Prague or Praha is a typical Central European city with opera houses and theatres.

 

Prague is preparing for the weekend and with precision the open street market began to emerge on the cobblestone streets mixed with music and dance. I started walking after a great lunch with a non-alcoholic slivovitz! 

Franc Kafka lived in the Renaissance house in the old town square. Now it houses a museum and his famous books The trial’s original manuscript was kept,  walked along the banks of Vitava river towards the Charles bridge and like all the visitors do dropped some coins into the river! Of course to come back again.

 We drove to Cesky Krumlov a beautiful UNESCO heritage town near Prague.  There is a beautiful Baroque theatre. This town is famous for yearlong festivals. Artists and craftsman are seen everywhere displaying their creativity. Tasted the best cinnamon tredelnik, a traditional dessert. The setting sun’s rays made the city filled with radiance and the birds are sounding in unison go back and we all need to rest. We started our journey back to Prague.

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Baltic countries ....Estonia... Tallinn......

Visiting Tallinn came up during the conversation in the Hilton lounge Helsinki. A young Estonian joined us for the drinks and gave us the snapshot of the Estonian history. Tallinn is only 87km by ferry from Helsinki and no visa is required for US citizens. 

The decision is unanimous, must go!

Next day we boarded the ferry and arrived in Tallinn. Our guide was waiting at the port and took us to vist the palace and Peter the Great’s summer residence.  A very rustic and small structure converted into a museum in the middle of a beautiful garden. The palace is now turned into the Government house. The well kept gardens, fountains reminded me of Vienna. The maritime museum near theTallinn port show case EML Lembit the submarine that survived the World War II. The Seaplane Harbour museum has 100 years of history. Peter the Great built this as his naval fortress with its column less thin shell concrete structure. Amazingly preserved and our guide was very proud to show us around. 

Old town Tallinn is the tourist hub and the cobble stone streets remind the heydays of the Merchant guild or Hansa. The well preserved 12th century St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Russian orthodox Alexander Nevesky’s church display the contrast in the architecture from the gothic to the domes of Eastern Orthodox tradition.  Estonia is now a secular state after the fall of communism in 1991.

It is in a strategic point connecting St. Petersburg in Russia and also a vantage port in the Baltic Sea.

There are many restaurants and our guide recommended the Olde Hansa with a medieval menu. Vegetarians have no choice only salad! So we browsed around the adjacent shop that has so many varieties of candles, soaps and medieval Estonian artifacts.  Walking around the old town smelling the food, made us feel hungry. Time to relax and rest our feet. The unanimous choice was Chakra an Indian restaurant situated in the old town. Very nice ambience. The food and the service was great. The hot ginger tea energized us to explore the history around us. After visiting many cities in both western and Eastern Europe, I understand pattern of wars, the personas and human aberrations. Every war or migration provide lessons. Looks like we are in that eternal learning! Hopefully peace will prevail.

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Magyar....Budapest.....Hungary......

Hungary located in Central Europe came to organized power during the 9th century. A country famous for paprika, Dobos Hungarian sponge cake, music, folk dances, spas etc.  First time I visited Hungary in 2003 and  later in 2014.  Budapest changed from a cultural city to a high tech city in 2014. The Lion's Bridge, the palace and the museums remain the same. It was poignant to see the Shoes on the Danube Bank in memory of the Jews killed in the holocaust.  In 2003, there were only few Indian restaurants. Now, Budapest has all types of cuisine served by the Restaurants. The best ones are the cafes and eateries along the banks of the Danube River. The best paprika krumpli can be found here. I ordered the vegetarian version with potatos.  The liberty square and the monuments remind the struggles of Hungary during the World War II and the Hungarian revolution in 1956. 

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Mermaid.....Danish......Copenhagen....

Denmark reminds me of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid".  I have to admit that I like Danish cheese also. In 2018, decided to visit this country again as a tourist. Last time I visited it was a business trip and hardly had time to visit the castles. This time a much-awaited vacation and stayed in the Marriott Copenhagen. 

The Baltic Sea breeze was soothing. the sail boats, trawlers, the ships and the usual harbor hustle bustle were perfect setting to visit the Viking Museum. After the museum visit, we headed to see the iconic Mermaid.  The little mermaid is a bronze statue set up on a rock in the harbor facing the Langelinie promenade. Edvard Eriksen sculpted the statue. The sad look of the Mermaid or I could be imagining that she looked sad. 

The next day visited the Kronborg Castle popularly called as the Hamlet's castle immortalized by the English bard Shakespeare!  It was about an hours' drive from Copenhagen winding thru the farms and the coast. The guide narrated the history of the castle from 1400's, the fires that engulfed, rebuild, Swedish control and how Danish took it back etc.. etc.. 

Enjoyed a nice lunch in the city of Elsinore with a veggie wrap and the famous Danish Havarti cheese.  The concierge in the hotel recommended VeVe a Michelin starred restaurant near the promenade for dinner. The best in the menu is the special Danish Cake Lagkage. The stars in the sky were competing with the modern lights in the harbor and the promenade. I was thinking about Hans Christian Andersen and the fairy tales I read when I was in kindergarten. 

PEACE ON EARTH

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Seoul.......38th Parallel.........DMZ.....

In June 2019 boarded the flight to Hong Kong  enroute to Seoul. After a stopover, took a flight to Seoul. The airport is far from the city. The chauffeur from the Marriott welcomed me and gave a small pamphlet on the city attractions.

Korea’s history dates back to 12th century BCE with the Joseon dynasty and another prominent Jin state I the 3rd BCE. The Dutch named it Manchuria for Korea and some provinces of the.northernmost China. The pattern of European powers conquering and dividing the ancient kingdoms of Asia continued along with the inter dynasty clashes between the Han dynasty from China and Korea. Finally in 1945, the country was divided into North. Korea and South Korea at the 38th parallel.

“Welcome to the Gangnam district and the Marriott”!, the concierge welcomed me with a big smile. I must have of dozed off while reading the history.
Next morning, my guide took me to see the infamous tunnels, DMZ, and Dorasan the last train station at the border. The poignant history of families divided between the two countries reminded me of the Berlin Wall. Hopefully, one day the sense of humanity prevails that will wash away all the petty feelings of differences. 

Near DMZ one can find the signs of land mines. The yonder Mount Kumpang looked beautiful reminding that nature does not divide or discriminate people.

Our guide gave us the precautionary warnings and the strict guidelines when passing thru the demilitarized zone. We passed the strict passport control process and also received the stamp for our DMZ visit.

The Dorasan train station was opened jointly by the then American president George W. Bush with a good intention that a day will come when North and South Korea will be connected by rail. There is a good contingent of American military personnel at the base supporting S. Korea to control its borders. The wish list is endless to see peace in this part of the World. We all boarded the bus to go back to the city.

                                                              PEACE ON EARTH
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Zambia....Zimbabwe....Mosi-oa-Tunya.....

The dream to visit Victoria falls and to see the Zambezi river started when I read about David Livingstone's journey in search of the falls. July 4th holidays in 2018 we planned to visit the falls shared by two countries Zambia and Zimbabwe. We took a flight direct to the Victoria Falls airport in Zimbabwe.  The main falls and the view points are amazing on the Zimbabwe side. The Zambia side is more scenic and it is an amazing experience to go near the edge called as the Devil's pool. Technically you just cross the bridge to go to Zambian side.  Thanks to our guide Brighton we learnt a lot about the history of the falls Zimbabwe in the south and Zambia on the north. 

Interestingly, the falls was there for eons and the locals prefer to call it with the original name Mosi-Oa-Tunya meaning "The smoke that thunders". Livingstone the first European to witness the falls in 1855 did this with the help of the local Tonga people. Eventually, the falls was named after Queen Victoria.

I think pictures speak better than my words. Let me stop here and later will write about the encounter with lions and the visit to the national parks in Zimbabwe and Botswana.

PEACE ON EARTH

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Gandhi…. King……Mandela….

January brings the memory of great souls like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  King followed the footsteps of Gandhi invoked the nonviolent civil rights moment in the USA which resulted in removing the segregation completely from the southern states. Nelson Mandela fought to remove apartheid following the nonviolent principles of Gandhi.   2018 is the birth centenary year for Mandela.
My travels in 2018 culminated in S. Africa. Landed in Johannesburg in December.  It was great to pay homage to Mandela by visiting his house in Soweto. The house where he grew up is now a museum well maintained by the Mandela foundation.  

Another important place to visit is the Apartheid Museum that chronicles the poignant history the fighters, supporters, gruesome details that is an eye opener to everyone and the future generation as how apartheid, segregation and discrimination are the three evils that humanity should avoid at any cost.

In Gandhi square there is a statue of young Gandhi as a barrister. This is a

unique statue with his barrister robes. The Gandhi museum keeps the history of the civil disobedience moment he started first in S. Africa.

Salute to these three great souls.

PEACE ON EARTH 

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Cape Town…. Cape of Good Hope…. Cape Agulhas….

Last time when I visited S. Africa in 2008 missed Cape Town. The stories I heard about the Table Mountain park, Cape and the wineries beckoned me to visit this beautiful town. Finally, in 2018 I could put a check against this in my bucket list!  Cape Town has a unique coast line and famous for the Natural reserve park in the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point and Cape Agulhas where the Atlantic and the Indian oceans meet. Cape Agulhas is the southernmost tip of the African continent.  Bartholomew Diaz, the Portuguese explorer first named the Cape as “Cape of Storms”. Vasco Da Gama came around the Cape of Good Hope and reached the west coast of India landing in Calicut in 1498.

Indeed, a long history of loot, wars, colonization of the African continent and setting up trading posts in India followed by the English, Dutch, Danish and the French who later colonized many countries in Africa and Asia. The Cape was witnessing all this and the ships crossing the southern tip of Africa ceased when Suez Canal was opened in 1869

From the Hilton City Centre, we drove along the coastal route and took a ferry to hop into the Seal island. Cape of Good Hope Natural reserve park is the best with the lush green trees and provide sanctuary to many birds and animals. The African Penguin whose ancestors must have migrated from the Antarctica have adapted to the warm weather of the African coast.

The vista from the Cape Agulhas is breathtaking. One can see the two different currents of the Indian and the Atlantic Ocean with distinct hues of blue. The clouds, rocks, wind, ocean and the sand take you to a World of awe and wonder. I felt like melting away into the nature leaving everything. The thought was pushed away when I looked at the light house. Oh! Yes, need to climb.....

PEACE ON EARTH

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