Dear all,
Please post entry 4 here. If the entry is too long, cut it in half and post the second half below the first half.
Thank you.
Mrs Gougeon
Please post entry 4 here. If the entry is too long, cut it in half and post the second half below the first half.
Thank you.
Mrs Gougeon
Entry 4 Day 3
ReplyDeleteTime is irrelevant
“I will try western!” I attempted to declare that as loud as possible, but I forgot that I was talking to myself.
“So, how about we eat western today?” I repeated.
“I thought you said you don’t like western.” Stef Said.
“That was 2 years ago. I do believe people can change during that period of time.”
“Well then, we can try if you want to. We’ve just found a very nice restaurant over by the mall.”
I agreed wholeheartedly, not knowing what I was about to get myself into.
Later, we entered the restaurant, which despite its small size was very cosy with a cottage-like theme for its décor. It had red bricks and wood with yellow lighting and dark wood furniture.
I decided to try out their lamb steak with mashed potatoes. When it arrived, I was amazed at how well they cooked it. When I asked for medium-rare, I received a medium-rare. Not overcooking it or undercooking it, instead it was cooked finely, fading smoothly from a deep brown to a red tint. The taste was, put it this way, much like strapping a physical manifestation of your stress and despair to a rocket and sending that rocket on a crash course to Jupiter.
The mashed potatoes were great as well, with white peaks of mash with the occasional chunk of unmashed potato mixed with the mushroom sauce combined with the lamb, it made me want to perform a backflip over the table into low orbit.
Essentially my dinner went terrifically, but what happened afterwards was terrible.
It started at home, while I was reading a book. I was fine until I felt a crippling pain in my abdomen. It was much like a mixture of stomach cramps and a body blow from a professional boxer.
I crawled to the toilet, but that wasn’t much help either. It till felt like I drank a whole 1.5l bottle of carbonated water and I fell over face-first in a pool. It certainly didn’t help that I stubbed my toe against the door either.
So now here I am on my mattress with a laptop and a bucket next to me and a bottle of water. I’m not sure how I coped with it last time.
I think I heard Stef taunting me as I fell asleep. Ugh
I was still mad at him but I pushed that aside because we’re going to Everland Park!!!i still remember it now, flowers, gardens, everything was just gorgeous. I went back to the travel advisor to seek my revenge, this time with no respect for that racist guy……and a manager on my side. I first went to the manager so he can help “hello, um could you help me with an employee please?: I asked politely
ReplyDelete“NO! NOW GO AWAY. “ he said with a sharp tone
I guess EVERYONE in the hotel was racist (which was ironic how 70% were tourists). I went to the desk, to my relief he wasn’t there but a younger, nicer looking guy was there. “hello, could you tell me ho-” I was interrupted by his reply which made me think everyone in Korea was the same
“y-you-ah-de ching-chong person yes, yes?” he replied with an even more racist grin “y-you eat the monkey brain and dog yes, yes?”
I didn’t even bother talking, I just went straight to my room grabbed my things and went.
Travel buddy brought a friend along who knew the area better, I wouldn’t say he was a “friend” but all I remembered was a hint of evil in his eyes. We got to the park and I recalled Travel buddy calling me a 3 year old, I kept jumping around while taking a bunch of pictures, all was going great until Travel buddy left my side to go get hot dogs, then it was just me and “that” guy, never liked him one bit, he kept glaring at me, it was pretty freaky. I still remembered his voice saying “ what does your parents do for a living to help you afford you going to korea?”
“my parents own a restaurant” I replied in the fastest way possible
“are you the only child?” he questioned once again
“no, I have an older sister but she’s studying in Australia so it’s just me” I replied again.
Suddenly all went black and I remembered nothing
I regained consciousness however found myself in a neglected bush in central evergreen park with a sash around my mouth, ankles and wrists. I struggled to freedom and crashing onto the cobblestone pathway. The park was dead silent. Until I heard a murmur in the neighbouring shrub. I squirmed out of the sashes and found a group of teens my age and set them free, we arrived at the entrance finding police cars, Travel buddy with different people getting held back and “him”. He was there with a gun in one hand and a little girl in the other. I started jumping wildly behind him not saying a word and getting attention, I signaled me grabbing the girl and running behind the shrub. I, almost, died. The guy was sent to jail and I returned to my normal life. (well, THAT was fun)
Entry 4
ReplyDeleteDay after our somewhat strange time. We had sought out a more relaxed area, somewhere quiet, calm. Somewhere to unwind after the stresses of work. Apparently to our parents that spells Hot Springs and Volcanoes, perfect. With the explanation out of the way, we just packed our bags and left on a train, stuffed to the brim with tourists to Hokkaido. To be honest, our family doesn't like mingle with others, we think that if you mix with them, you won't be able to come out. Which I guess would sound very strange, but the thing is we met two Italian men on the Eiffel Tower, who took a picture to us and eventually said that Milan was cattle poo, I'm not exactly too keen on that happening again, so I'd rather stay closed up.
When we arrived at Hokkaido, we took an age long ride on ANOTHER train to the mountain, again stuffed with tourists who took pictures at nearly every tree that they could find. During it we saw some amazing waterfalls falling from possibly the tallest mountain I've seen down to a very steep ravine below, it was a pretty sight to see.
After squeezing out of the tourist train and climbing up the an abnormally large hill all the way up to our hotel, we walked into a thick odor of bath salts and tatami, then to wear some sandals and walk into the room. It was a really empty room, all it was, was some walls, a paper door and a table with a tea set on it. I couldn't really make for the toilet, mainly because of how it camouflaged with the walls, but the beds were impossible to find, the staff showed me with a grin as a hidden panel reveals the bed sheets, on the top shelf, darn.
Soon after stretching up to get my good night sleep, we decided to go to a volcano, because everybody knows volcanoes are relaxing, you know, having a giant pit that you can fall into to your horrible burning death is totally relaxing. I wasn't really entertained by the volcano really, because, volcanoes. But I was really entertained with Mount Fuji, which suspiciously looked like a paper cut out of what you would expect it to be stuck on a giant piece of grey card. Fantastic.
In the late afternoon, we climbed up our giant hill and then decided to get cleaned, how were we? Hot spring baths, I wasn't entirely keen with the idea, but I had to do it because, well, there was no other means of hygiene besides a sink. After that we got some food they offered us at the restaurant. I was really excited to see what it was, greeted with a fantastic sight of... seafood. Oh great, I LOVE seafood... no I don't. But I had to eat something so I had to eat the strange suction cuppy like tentacle and eat some shellfish which I do not know in my life how to eat, and then later walk into my room and collapse on the top-shelf bed sheet and sleep.
In the morning i found myself staring at the magnificent historical Den Gamle By. It is an open air musuem that is near the Aarhus Botanical Gardens. 3.5 million visitors from all around the world visit this musuem.
ReplyDeleteThe Den Gamle By is a small recreation of a Danish town which consists of buildings made of half timbered structures. There are 27 rooms and kitchens, 34 workshops, 10 shops, 5 gardens, a post office, a school and even a theatre. This place gives you a historical feel. There was no particular smell and it was very quiet, you can only hear the sounds of birds chirping and cars zooming past by.
I got back to my hotel, packed my luggage and got ready for my two and a half hour drive to Legoland in Billund. Legoland was opened quite recently here in Denmark and is the first Legoland in the world. Legoland is a themed park and is 100% lego themed and has rides such as the pirate 360, a firefighting game, a cruise to see caves, a boat ride for children where they can control their own little lego boat to go down a little track and see iconic landmarks and animals made out of thousands of pieces of Lego.
On my car trip to Billund I saw a lot of convenient stores. It is a very quiet place unlike Coppenhagen. I stopped by Domino's Pizza and ordered a takeaway slice of pepperoni pizza. I saw something I never saw before. Maybe it is common to put a slice of pizza into a little cardboard pizza holder here in Europe or maybe I'm just dumb. The little holder was very cute and held my pizza well.
I was quite confused at first
"What is this for?"
"To hold the pizza of course." the person serving me replied impatiently.
"I've never seen this in Asia."
"Have you been living under a rock? How can you have not seen this before in your life?" he snapped back at me rudely.
--
I arrived quite late at legoland so the park is closed and so is the shopping mall near by. I stayed in a hotel which is near the Legoland "village" (The village is basically just houses near Legoland. There is nothing lego themed about it.) I took a little stroll down the road and saw little restaurants and cafes which were country themed and other convenient stores. It was very very quiet, There were no cars around.
"HELLO THERE LADY!" I heard a man cry out.
I screamed and had a jumpscare. The man offered me a flyer to a pizzeria.
"EVERY WEDNESDAY WHEN YOU BUY 2 PIZZAS YOU GET ONE FREE! EVERY THURSDAY YOU BUY 3 PIZZAS YOU GET 2 FREE! EVERY.."
"OK I GET THE POINT. WHENEVER YOU BUY MORE THAN ONE PIZZAS YOU GET FREE PIZZAS."
"YES GOOD JOB LADY! PLEASE DO COME" he smiled and handed me the flyer.
On my walk back I still had a mini jumpscare. Suddenly I heard a noise coming from the bushes. Then out came a cat who ran out as fast as it could, chased by a barking mad dog. I let out a scream (again) and my heart raced. (Well this is a good night.)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen Annie was feeling better we took a taxi to Khoa San road which we heard was the best market to shop and eat for all tourists. According to travel websites Khoa San road was the cheapest market street in Bangkok and was the least ‘touristy’. Well we were completely disappointed. The first thing we noticed was the smell. Oh God, the smell. I expected it to smell a little bit because, well, it is an outdoor market. But it smelt like rotten garbage and feces, not just in one particular area of the road it stank everywhere and the stench filled our nostrils.
DeleteThe travel websites online made me believe that the prices and things they sold would make up for the fact that Khoa San road smelt like a dumpster but it only made our experience worse. Everything was overpriced and not even authentic. The stores mainly catered to tourists and I couldn’t see any locals shopping. The restaurants were the most disappointing.
We went to a Thai restaurant called “NOODLES, NOODLES, NOODLES”, as the name suggests the place only sold noodles. Annie remembered how the pad Thai noodles we ate on our first day in Thailand were sensational, so she ordered them again. When Annie took her first bite her face said it all; her eyes narrowed, her lips pursed and her brows furrowed. I tried some and I gave the same response because those noodles were unbelievably sour, it was like I had just drank concentrated lemon juice. Even though the noodles were nothing compared to the pad Thai we ate previously, it was so overpriced, almost double the price in the food court.
After we begrudgingly finished our lunch, we walked around in the scorching heat of the afternoon sun looking for anything worth buying. The market was crowded and packed with other tourists and backpackers. I held on tightly to my bag because everyone was so close together someone could easily pickpocket. We came across a lady who was selling key-chains and other knick-knacks.
“60 BAHT FOR ONE, 60 BAHT. 60 BAHT FOR ONE, ONLY 60 BAHT!” the woman shouted.
The lady was standing in one of the stalls made of faded blue plastic. The walls were covered with millions of small knick-knacks. We wandered closer to the stall.
“Ah! You want a key chain? A key chain for the pretty ladies?” the woman said, obviously trying to flatter us.
“Yeah, we want some key chains for our friends back home” Annie said.
“Ah! Okay! I got many, many key chains! Only 60 baht!” she said over excitedly.
We wandered around the stall each of us picking out a few key chains, occasionally the woman said things like “Good choice, you have very good eye” or “That one! That one is a very popular!”
“60 baht for 1, 200 for 4, only 300 for 5! Special price for you only 599 for 10!” The woman reminded us, again.
“How much for all this? Umm… 8 key chains?” I asked.
“You want 8 key chains? You are sure? Better buy 10 key chains, for a special price!” The woman suggested.
“No. We only want 8. How much for 8?” Claire asked.
“Ah, Okay. Special price! Only 450 baht!” the woman said.
“Can’t you go any lower? I’m sure you can take 400?”Claire bargained.
“No. No. I already give you special price!” she said.
We were about to walk away when the woman finally gave in then shouted “Okay! Okay! I take 400 baht! Special discount for you only!”
We bought the key chains and continued walking around the crowded road.
Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit, Khoa San road was not THAT bad. The prices were mostly cheap although it does smell like a dump though and there was nothing much on sale. It doesn’t live up to the expectations we had. At the end of the day we ended up with a couple of key chains, some knockoff brands of bags, and blistered, sore feet. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to visit it.
I didn’t stay at the monastery in Chios for very long, as there was only one boat leaving Chios that day and I was about to miss it, but I wish I did. It was abnormally quiet and peaceful; serene. There is only 1 nun living there now but she doesn’t seem lonely. The walls of the monastery are all covered with colourful mosaics that have seen everything, and its beginning to show. In fact, a lot of the monastery showed and represented what has happened on Chios in the past. There is an old, glass cabinet filled with human skulls. According to the nun, they represent that thousands of people that were killed by the Ottomans in 1882, during the Greek War of Independence. I couldn’t decide how I felt about the yellowing skulls of all different sizes, but he nun seemed to be proud of them and care for them an awful deal.
ReplyDeleteAfter my short visit to the monastery, I rushed back to the ‘port’ and hopped onto the same little boat that I arrived on. By this time the sun was setting and so on my ride over to Mykonos, I was lucky enough to catch a sunset. The sky turned from bright blue to florescent orange, to a golden yellow, luxurious purple and finally, black.
It was already almost 11 when I arrived in Mykonos but the island was wide awake! I could hear blasting music from the moment I got there. There were white lights filling the black sky, with the occasional flash of red or green or blue, and shrieks of what I hope was laughter. Pulling my heavy suitcase behind me, I walked up the metal ramp, leading from the dock up to the island, and started to battle my way through the crowds. Everyone was having so much fun; dancing, giggling, shouting, but not me. I was defiantly not having fun.
“Hello! Welcome to Mykonos! Come let me show you around!” A Greek man, probably in his late forties, came up to me, reeking of alcohol. I hadn’t organized a guide thank you very much, so I just pushed past him. I heard him laughing as I walked away.
“Aiye! Would you like a drink?” another man, this time probably in his late 50s, barged into me and shoved a cup of something into my face.
“No thanks” I didn’t even look at him.
“It tastes good!” he extended his arm and offered the drink again, but someone must have bumped him because as he gestured for me to take it, for the third time, he spilt it all over my side. “Sorry, girly” he looked sincere, but cheeky; I didn’t like it. Just let me get to the hotel.
I was sweating, I was sticky from that nasty drink all down me, and I was bothered, but when I finally got to the hotel, it felt like the best feeling in the world. The bed was like a white, fluffy cloud and of course I just couldn’t resist. I leaped onto it and dived under the blankets and let my head wander back to Chios.
We were returning from the Louvre and the cold was still biting into me. Even through the jacket, the sweater, the T-shirt and the under shirt, it managed to grip my insides.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, the Louvre, had been great. I mean that glass pyramid sitting in the middle of the fountain thing – that looks really cool and modern. Then you have these blocks of ancient buildings put around. It just makes it too… museum-ish. Well, it was a museum so this is fair enough. Yet as went around it didn’t turn out to be too bad. They certainly had some modern stuff too. For example, with each (or most) artefacts there was a little button that, when pressed, would tell you things about it. Thankfully they had translators so we weren’t in a completely French-frenzy world.
Then there were the artefacts themselves. Of the most famous – the Mona Lisa. I used to think it was strange for an Italian painting to be in a French museum. Yet, still I was astounded to see it. Not that I much interest in art, but something else I saw was astounding. It was the wall. The Mona Lisa hung on a wall – a wall 50 times bigger than what it displayed. I mean, the painting was no bigger than my arm, though you could park 2 full sized oil tankers in the room and still have space to play badminton. Still, the room was entirely bare apart from the little speck on the front wall
And what’s so special about it anyways? The lady has no eyebrows. Hide her eyes, she’s happy; hide her mouth she’s sad. Big deal. I could make something like easily. Plus, so what if her eyes follow you everywhere you go. I have a teddy that could do the same even though it’s plain creepy. OK, I may be over-exaggerating. A bit. It’s a masterpiece and I’ll leave it that way.
Anyhow, we were coming back from the Louvre since my brother wasn’t feeling to well (cancelling all other plans for today). On our way from the museum to the metro station, a tour bus passed us (or almost crashed into us). We were crossing the road when the idiotic driver took his over-sized van and drove right from in front of us. Wouldn’t have been a big deal, but the thing was only half a foot away from me. I fell back. Thankfully, the other cars’ drivers had enough sense to stop at a red light and I wasn’t squashed. I wasn’t injured by the fall or anything, only I had grabbed attention. So I was lying on the paved road when random people started shouting swears at the bus that was well out of sight by now.
Though I wonder if the bus was entirely a negative thing or had some good to it as later, I found myself considering a Europe tour. I proposed the idea to my parents and I left it to them to think.
Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteSo, that was that. I now had a little companion. He had no collar, so I had to name him. As he saved me, I thought Hero should be fitting. Hero, thought it was appropriate, was just a really boring name for a dog. Thinking about it for a while, I looked at him for inspiration. That’s when I thought of the name Saviour.
“What do you think?” I asked him, “It could be Savi for short.”
He turned his head slightly to the right and barked. I took that as a yes. He bounced alongside me as we walked. Sometimes he strayed ahead, but he came right back as soon as I clicked my fingers. That was, until the hose.
He whined and backed away.
“Savi, come on, you know you need to clean up.”
More whining.
“Savi.” Each time I finished a sentence it was met with more whining.
“It’s not cold! Look!” I said, putting my hand under the hose. He hesitantly walked towards me as I proclaimed him a good boy. I repeated this phrase as I washed all the mud off, revealing that he was in fact a light beige colour, not brown. It was hard to wash some parts as they were so dark I couldn’t see the mud, but I did my best.
Once he was all cleaned up, I gave him a drink of the water. He just drank it running out of the hose, I had no need for a bowl. When he finished drinking, he sat down and looked up at me.
“What?” I asked. He panted and looked at the side of the building we were stood next to (a fish ‘n’ chips shop). I got the hint and knelt down to tell him to stay. I very well hoped he would.
Bell jingling, I walked into the shop. It was certainly a change to the temperature outside, and it had a greatly friendly aura. I asked the lady behind the counter what would be suited for a puppy and myself. She laughed, and recommended the meal for two. Accepting her recommendation, I waited for my order (which surprisingly only took a few minutes). Once I had the food, I smiled and walked out.
“It’s very fast service in there, Savi!” I told him as I arrived at our little cubby-between-the-shops. He somewhat smiled and ran to my feet. He jumped up at the food as I was trying to unwrap it, and a piece of paper fell out. Savi sniffed it, but seemed uninterested as I distracted him with a piece of fish with some chips. He immediately chowed down, so I picked up the paper. It was a number, with a smiley face next to it. Underneath, it said; “That girl behind the counter”. I smiled and joined Savi, eating my food.
Day 4:
ReplyDeleteI awoke to a much more subtle morning, because i had actually remembered to shut my piece of plastic. Shoving shirt after shirt, and a packets of hand picked tea leaves i zipped up my back pac and prepared for my next destination, Agra!
In the state of love and the all famous "Taj Mahal" and its many wondrous powers of love. I thanked the women greatly, and gave them money just as i left. Though it was quite a struggle to get them to accept the gift. The women i thanked was tamil to my surprise, like me. Not many tamil people live in Kerala. So i wished her in the best way i could, in tamil.
"Nandri Akka, enodah help illai inda naan kandipa kastupaturupen" (Thank you sister, without your help i would have defiantly struggled to find a home to stay in)
"Oh unaku tamil therium?"
" romba sonthosiam thankasi, una patha endre pillai mari irrukuthu"
" swom a pongo" ("Oh you know tamil?" " ver happy little sister, when i look at you i can see my own daughter" " have a safe journey")
"Thanks akka, kandipa thirupi varuven" (thank you sister, i will defiantly come again)
The laddies at the lodge were grateful enough to hire me a bus. But that involved going back down the mountain. Now as i remembered clearly half way down the mountain this was me..
"OI SEND SOMEONE TO TAKE ME BACK! IT'S OK I PREFER STAYING ONTOP OF THE MOUNTAIN THEN GOING DOWN!"
"PLEASE, TAKE ME BACK UP!"
Now the problem was not that i was afraid of heights, but more of the fact that i slipped and was hanging on the side of the mountain. But to my relief i only had to fall a few meters till i hit the ground, so i went for the jump, and successfully landed only getting bruises and a sprained ankle.Yes i was rather impatient, and could not wait for the ladies to come get me. A rather rash decision i would say, but it caught me the bus on time, so well done Maathini.
I threw my back pac on top of the bus, as everyone else did. Then found my way to a window seat. But NOT to my surprise was that window made of plastic! I got my jumper in knowing that the piece of plastic would cause me hell, and snuggled into a position for the long ride ahead.
I struggled to fall asleep, so i decided to ease my mind and looked outside the now already moving bus. At first my sight was beautiful, lush green trees took over the land, with bushes and bushes of flower at it's feet. All sorts of colours at the bottom, and the at the very top leaf after leaf of good green freshness, not a leaf out of place. But as time went on and we got further away from Kerala, i noticed a change in my scenery. It wasn't the green goodness i had exhibited before, but a dark brownness. A dusty air, and wicked smell. No trees, no flower bushes covering the ground. It was bare and dirty and filthy and a slum..
A slum filled with people, children and babies. Mothers and fathers all living as one there. But why? that thought had disturbed me for the rest of my ride to Agra.
Entry 4
ReplyDeleteI woke up from my deep sleep. I took my bag and show my way out of the train. The Victoria Train station somehow its much busier than Heathrow airport but I wasn’t surprised as this was the captial city and I was in one of the biggest train station in London.
London was just as cold maybe even colder , the views were spectacular, highrise buildings, sky scrapers, one of the greatest metropolitan city in the world. Colours and wonderful architecture blended together to form one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. You can hear the conversation and laughter with the hnking and shouting.
I took a cab to my hotel, it was similar to Brighton, it was jetblack, I didn’t make the same mistake this time though thankfully so, You could see the monuments of various British Heroes, the different architectures of buildings from different times and the colour of cars and shops. It was a true wonder to the eyes, so many different thigns in one street, then the next street everything is different again.
I arrived at a ‘hotel’ which seems to just be houses that you could rent a room in. I went to the reception for a room and proceed to my temporary bedroom.
Just a small but cozy room with a kitchen, sofa and a ladder that goes up to the bedroom and toilet. I could finally feel warmth from the radiator my body stopped shivering and I could feel the blood flowing. I had plenty more days to travel and see the wonders of London so I decided to take a day to rest. I sat on the balcony admiring the view and slowly sipping my afternoon tea which just sets the mood in such a way that it solves every bad memory and problems you may have.
I climbed up the wooden ladder which scared me as it made really disturbing sounds as I slowly climbed up. I’ve reached the top and was quite careful as it was about 5 and a half feet tall so I had to duck down to walk around in the bedroom. I lay down on my bed till I found a comfortable spot and then shut my eyes and felt the day pass.
Yorleans, Day 2
ReplyDeleteI awoke just before the dawn, but to no surprise the traffic in the air was still very much congested. The sunrise was beautiful though. I heard footsteps behind me, I turned and saw Edwards there in his usual gear.
"Good morning Joel."
"Good morning Edward."
He looked at the rising sun with me for a moment. The sounds of the early morning crowds was getting louder, which meant that the day was about to begin. My Uncle came up soon after.
"So what do you want for breakfast Joel?"
"Something that doesn't involve fish?"
He chuckles at my words.
"Alright. Let's go find a breakfast that has no fish."
After over an hour of searching we managed to find this small waffle store. We sat down and ordered our food. I ordered a Bluberry Infused Waffle. Bluberries were these small square shaped berries that were quite sour, quite the opposite of their cousins the blueberries. My Uncle ordered an orange infused waffle while Edward just drank some coffee.
The waffle was cooked wonderfully; crunchy and crisp on the exterior, crunching easily while soft and fluffy in a manner similar to fine wool. The sourness of the bluberry mixed into the dough gave it a unique taste; sour, but not sour enough to irritate, but rather in a refreshing manner, like mint.
We finished our meal and proceeded to wander the older side of Yorleans. My Uncle told me of its history. It was set up nearly a two hundred years ago by a man named George Hendrick. It started out small, but slowly drew more and more people because of its natural port, an indentation into the land of Canbur. Eventually it evolved into the bustling city it is today. He also told me that it was notorious for its ridiculously high amount of cutthroats and thieves. Many would even kill before retreating into the depths of Yorlean's Underworld. That was when we found ourselves caught up in a situation that I would remember for the long journey to come.
Three men blocked our path, when we turned around there were another two men blocking our escape. They had a murderous look in their eyes, I was sure they wouldn't even give quarter. They had knives and clubs, one even had a gun. I had no doubt they wouldn't hesitate to kill us.
"Surrender, and we will make sure your death is as painless as possible!" one of them said. He was the one holding the gun.
Edward spoke.
"We are not to be trifled with, if you wish to leave here unharmed then please, put away your weapons and let us on our way."
"You are in no position to be making request, it is simple. We will deliver a swift death if you give us your valuables."
"Very well, if you wish to be so prudent about not letting us be, this will have to be settled now."
Edward pulled out his gun from his chest holster then fired, hitting the man with the gun square in the chest, which dropped him to the ground, lifeless. He looked at the other men whose anger was clear to be seen. The two men in front of us charged, but when they reached us, Edward dodged their swings and knocked them unconscious with hard blows to the side of their heads. He turned to the last of the men behind us, then stepped towards them. They turned, running for their lives.
"We should go now, before we attract any more attention."
Edward led us through the streets back to the Ranger. We were leaving here tonight onwards to our next destination, Qutri, one of the oldest settlements in Canbur, rich with the history of our ancestors, the first settlers who arrived on Canbur.
It would be an understatement to say I was glad to arrive in Mumburo. The views were even more beautiful than the pictures, the people were friendlier and air was purer. The hotel was located on a cliff which allowed me to watch the hippos graze, the zebras play, the impalas run and the entire savannah at work.
ReplyDeleteThe hotel it’s self was a sanctuary, each room its own treehouse in the midst of the forest, the tipi style dining room reflected the sounds of exotic birds and moneys, and the cobblestone infinity pool over looked what seemed to be the whole world of game.
My first night was tranquil; I spent the afternoon at the Spa and the evening talking to the owner, Gregg, who had been an expat here for 20 years.
“The lodge was hard to start up. Because of the sheer remoteness it was harder to import supplies.” He told.
“What made you not move closer to the city? Wouldn’t that have been easier?” I asked.
“Yes it would’ve. But I did whatever it took to build it out here, what’s the magic otherwise?” He said, gazing at his luscious acres of field after field.
After only a day in Mumburo I had fallen under the same spell as Gregg, this place was stunning.
My sister Esmé and I had arranged to meet on my second day in Mumburo. Esmé lives in Canada and we rarely see each other, so after hours and hours on Skype, planning this trip-of-a-lifetime we were glad to see each other. The trip would not have been the same without her.
On a shady afternoon I was walking back to our room and I slipped on a wet rock, the shock struck me and when I came out of my trans I was in the bushes, confused. I looked around and there was no person in sight, I must have slid down quite far. How could this have happened?
“Esme?! Hello? HELP!” I screamed.
Silence. I tried getting up but my leg was in agony, and I was still shaken from the fall. The sun set slowly and no body found me. “This is the death of me.” I thought. Soon after I heard footsteps and my heart lit up.
“I’m sorry Phil I really didn’t mean it. I take it back. I do not hate your mother.” Said a woman.
”Well then why would you say that. This always happens Rachael and I go along with it.” Said Phil.
I tried staying quiet to not disturb their conversation, but no one had said anything for a while so I spoke up.
“Um, excuse me, um, could I have some help please?” I whimpered.
“Who’s that?” Phil said.
“It’s me, I’m in the bushes, I, um, fell, could you pull me out.”
Phil parted the leaves with a shocked face and hauled me out of the rut.
“Thank you. I’m Cléa.” I introduced, clutching my leg, which was by this point red and purple, and in a terrible state.
“I’m Rachael, and this is Phil. Let’s go check out your leg.” Rachael said warmly.
That night we ate dinner together and discussed our travel routes, and it turned out that they were going to Bunyoni tomorrow morning as well. We told them that we were travelling together because I was starting at University after tat summer, and they told us that they were visiting their old home, they had lived there a couple of years before that.
“Girls we understand if you say no, but we would be more than glad if you joined us while we travel, we could probably show you places that aren’t in the Lonely Planet, and it would be fun.”
Esme and I exchanged a look. “We would love that!” We exclaimed.
Woke up ready to travel to Venezuela from Brasilia. I packed, said goodbye to my cousins; Janpiero and Massimo. I said my farewells and made my way to the Airport. The plane journey was 5 hours long of listening to music non-stop and watching movies. Time flew by and soon enough I landed in Venezuela. On my way to my uncle’s house I decided to visit the La Vinotinto Stadium. As I entered the size over took me like a wave. It was Huge and the grounds were stunning the grass looked so lush as if perfectly pasteurized. I took a double glance at my watch. I was late. I rushed out the stadium and back into the cab; I had to be home from 5pm. It was 4:50pm and I was far from home. I told the driver to go as fast as possible. He whizzed pasted a band of police, he made a sharp right as the police chased us “Slow down!” I screamed “Stop!” we crashed through some stalls as women screamed and jumped from all sides suddenly we rushed through a bridge and scared some random hobos who screamed and ran away leaving their homes crushed. The tires screeched and burnt leaving skid marks on the road. The Police were still after us. We tried to shake them of our tail. In the end we had to go through the slums. We managed to shake them and came to an abrupt stop in front of my uncle’s house. He rushed outside to see the commotion but all there was, was smoke and burnt up tire tracks behind we may have broken a few laws but YOLO SWAG EVERYDAY. I walked out of the taxi with a smile on my face. I paid the taxi driver plus I tipped him heavily for one of the best adventures of my life. He smiled and gave me his card. I walked into the house. “What was that all about?!” “Oh nothing ….” I smirked then walked off to my room. Like I said YOLO SWAG EVERDAY.
ReplyDeleteI left the Genocide museum and my next stop was the killing fields. I looked around for my Tuk Tuk driver expecting him to wait for me, after he told me he would. I walked around a bit and there was no luck. He had left me for someone else so I tried to find another Tuk Tuk.
ReplyDeleteAfter around 20 minutes of searching and asking I finally found a driver. He was just like the other driver but probably more loyal. We set off for a price of $2 as he had said the drive was quite some distance and he was right. 5 minutes into the journey I had dust blowing in my eyes and there were holes in the roads which made for a miserable trip. If you would have thought it a good idea to move to the seat opposite to you, you would be wrong because instead of dust in your face you had your hair whipping you and it was just as bad. To make things worse there were tons of trucks on the road which made the air fill with dust.
I told him to stay hoping he would listen, and I went inside. They didn’t have physical tour guides instead they had audible ones. I thought at first it wouldn’t be any use and it would have been just as good to walk around and just observe, but I was wrong. It was quiet and no one was talking, just looking and walking around, it seemed peaceful however there was also the feeling of horror and cruelty.
The first place you stopped at was a sign where building used to be. This is where they would keep the ‘prisoners’ and they could hear everything from screams to weapon to skin contact. It was a dreadful place to be even standing near let alone having actual been there when all this had been going on. After that you moved onto the mass graves which held thousands of bodies that the Khmer rouge dumped there yet it was beautiful too see that complete strangers that had no connection to these people had left their bracelets all around the grave to show their respect. There was a little guarded area near it and at first sight it looks like a patch of grass however at a closer look you could actual see the bones on the floor. It just showed you how little the Khmer rouge cared and how much he just wanted them all dead.
I came across this tree, it was one that also had been covered in bracelets and I didn’t think much of it then I read the sign. “Killing Tree against which executioners beat children” and that’s when the audio explained the procedure of the killing. Bashed against the tree, throws up in the air and caught on the end of a machete which was attached to a gun. If they didn’t use that technique they would simply smash the babies’ heads upon that tree. I realised how brutal these people were. Not only would they kill their mothers and fathers but them (children) as well just in case they rebel when they grow up. I turned my head away for a bit and that’s when I saw what looked like a fish tank full of bones, children bones.
ReplyDeleteIt was as if no matter where you looked there would be something that saddened you or made you think harder. There was no ‘escape place’ you were surrounded by death. This placed touched peoples heart and the most amazing thing was that even the youngest of children were not making a sound, they understood what a powerful place this was and they weren’t running around screaming.
I walked, past graves and bones until I came across another tree except this tree was not for killing. They would place large speakers in the trees and they played traditional Cambodian music while the killings were going on. The screams and yells would barely be covered by the music and it just scared the victims even more as if they were louder than the music, it was going to be brutal.
The last place that was there was a phenomenal seven story marble building housing thousands of skulls that have been extracted from the killing field however this was only some. There are still hundreds of skulls still in the grounds.
The worst realisation that I had was that this was one of many killing fields in Cambodia, many more people were killed. One of many I repeated to myself, I couldn’t believe it. It was a long journey back and the whole way was just a way to recover myself from such an emotional day.
“GLLL-LOOOO-OOOOO-RRRIA” I took a deep breath in and tried my best at the challenging German dialect to follow, not to mention hitting the high notes. It was Christmas Eve and I was standing in the freezing cold with a group of Germans outside a stanger’s house. It was dark and gloomy but our voices filled the shadowy night. Their’s at least – I had given up after the chorus and was mouthing the words as plausibly as I could!
ReplyDeleteIt is a long tradition amongst my German family to go caroling on Christmas Eve. This year was no exception. At around 5o’clock in the evening, the neighbors from next door together with their children and grandchildren came over to our house where we were all ready to provide Christmas cheer to the village. Dressed in jeans with tights underneath, at least three tops a woolly hat and mittens I looked more like the abominable snowman than a member of the choir.
All 20 of us walked carefully but enthusiastically up the icy road despite the artic temperature. Our routine was pretty simple, we would sing two songs in the chilly night at the doorstep of our designated houses and then as a reward we would receive several schnapps shots to boost confidence. When the third house rolled around I had defiantly submerged from my comfort zone, singing at the top of my lungs, stuttering over the unfamiliar words.
My night was delightful seeing the reactions of the people we sung for. I watched them beaming in the open darkness; their bright crescent moon smiles as bright as the star studded sky above us.
Alex's
ReplyDeleteTanzia and I both rushed into gate eleven at Heathrow airport just as the attendant announced that the gate was now closed. We plopped down into the two closest seats and I exclaimed, winded, “Whhooo! Just in the nick of time eh, Tanzia? She nodded, too out of breath to reply, for we had just sprinted all the way down from customs to the gate because somebody, *cough* Tanzia *cough* forgot to set the alarm to wake us up so that we would not be in the situation that we are in now! Looking around the room, I registered with dread that there seemed to be a lot of women with babies. Ugh, this flight was so going to suck. Bad. “Okay Tanzia, do you have the tickets?” I asked, hoping, praying, that she had them. Rifling through her bag, there was a few moments of tension filled silence until she finally surfaced with two plane tickets. “Yep, two tickets to New York, America, seats 27A and 27B… Dibbs on A!” I flopped back in the extremely uncomfortable red seats that seemed to be made specifically to torture the unfortunate soul to dare sit in them. I put a hand over my heart in an over dramatic gesture and whispered submission. She grinned and tossed her hair over her shoulder in a silent gesture of victory.
I glanced around the room once again to have a better and longer look than before. The room seemed to be uncannily small and cramped full of people. The chairs were threadbare and looked to be a single touch away from falling apart. Two walls out of four were entirely made out of glass and there was a total of maybe one hundred people in the room. I am sure that the room would have looked much bigger if it were not for the masses of people taking up the space. I looked at the guy across from me. He was wearing what seemed to be typical modern cowboy gear, a shirt, jeans, boots and a brown Stetson. As he caught my gaze, he grinned at me and said, “So, why’re you goin’ to the land of freedom an’ hope?” he said with a distinct Texas drawl. I smiled tentatively back and replied, “Just curious I guess.” As I said this, I realized the huge difference between my accent and his, and I thought that this is going to be an extremely strange trip. He grinned once again, showing his teeth and said, “Ah, you one o’ those British folks then? Whoa, I jus’ realized, where my manners, my name’s Justin. ” I grinned back, full force this time and replied once again, “Why yes, yes I am and my name is Alex.” We conversed like this for about ten minutes. You know, just small talk. Things like why we are going to America and where we were before we came here. I learnt that he was actually from Texas and came out to England to see if he could find a possible job opening. He had dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. Through the conversation, I noticed that he had a chipped tooth. I asked him about it and he laughed and said that he fell out of a tree when he was little. He then demonstrated how he could whistle through the space between them. I nudged Tanzia without looking to introduce her to Justin. When she did not respond, I looked and discovered her to be asleep.
That’s when the disembodied voice of the lady that you hear at every airport announced that the flight would be boarding now. I managed to both wake Tanzia up and snag one of the first places in the line. However, when I handed my ticket over to the lady behind the counter, she scanned it and said, “sorry love, but you have been moved to seat 34B” she said apologetically. I just waved her off and boarded the plane. Great. In the middle of two complete strangers. I was sad to leave Justin because he was the first friend that I had made on this trip. However, I just sighed, steeling myself, I sat down in my seat and an old lady sat down beside me next to the window. She almost immediately dropped off and her head slid onto my shoulder. I groaned and tried to push it up against the window so that it was not resting on me. After about five minutes of strait up failing, a familiar voice said, “Want some help?” I looked up to see Justin standing next to my seat and he managed to push her head up against the window and got it to stay there. I looked at him, my mouth agape as he sat down next to me and snapped his seatbelt on. “H-how did you do that?” I asked with a shaky voice. He just laughed and replied, “Lots o’ practice with my grandma;. Sleeping all over the place, she is.” He grinned at me once again, mirth twinkling in his eyes. Maybe this flight would not be so bad after all.
ReplyDeleteThe first day of tour...
ReplyDeleteTravelling seated in the airplane, I imagined how it would be in Thailand. after 4-5 hours of travelling we arrived in Bangkok. Me and my family rushed out the airport to find a taxi for us to ride to our hotel. The taxi watch started 11;30 when we got out the car and pushed the glass door of the hotel. I waited seated on a sofa which was place in the reception of the hotel with my sister.
When we got into the lift, my father pressed the button labelled 11. The lift door closed and it took us to the eleventh floor. We opened the room door labelled 126. I placed my luggage on a far away corner of the room and I changed into my most comfortable clothes to get ready for the most luxurious sleep for the day.
I woke up hearing a loud and annoying sound, it was the alarm set by my father on his phone. I took a look at the phone to see how early it was, 7;30 it showed. I watched the wooden door slowly open while a voice talked to someone else. The voice came from my father and the person he was talking to was my mother. And my sister was putting on her pink colored t-shirt and a black, short pants.
After making sure we got everything we need for the first day of tour, we got out the room and had a tasty breakfast which was served in our hotel. We got our backs out of that big hotel and fetch a taxi. It was really good looking at the Budha temple but the worst part is that I, including my sister, had to wear a red colored cloth on top of our short pants.
My legs were dying because of walking to each temple at least 7 minutes and I was having a shower in my own sweat because of the sun which poured on me. We took many photos in were the background there was a lying budha, standing budha or a meditating budha. The pictures also had us standing in the entrance of the temples.
The last place which we saw for that day was the grand palace. And this was the place were we took the most pictures for the day. Because the walls were covered with glass colored in blue, red, green, white and yellow. The roof was colored gold and had 2 curves at both ends. The palace shined as the sun struck the glasses which were on the walls. It was lovely watching how all the other tourist watched and relaxed the beautiful site.
The tour continued for 4 more days of fun and sweat.
* The taxi driver was driving fast while I was watching the night sky filled with shining stars. ( this comes after 'me and my family rushed out the airport.... ' )
Delete