New bike!

Hi Bloggers,

Well, here goes again. I've bought another expensive bike (above). Third time lucky, I hope! The last two both got stolen, i.e. the Mongoose and the Gary Fisher. Every one had told me that Bahrain was virtually crime free, so I confidently parked my bike outside my apartment block at night (locked, of course). It took thieves a mere two months to discover it and duly one morning I experienced that horrible sinking feeling you get when you realise you've been robbed. You always try to kid yourself there's some logical explanation. The apartment administration have moved it for security reasons or something absurd like that. Or you parked it somewhere different last night. Or you'll suddenly find it just around the corner. Such is the nature of human hope and optimism. That said, thank God we do have hope. It's such a basic and important human emotion. Once people lose hope, then surely they are lost.

The top picture is the new bike. Probably the best of the three, it even has disc brakes, so you get none of that terrible squeaking when it's wet. It's also got nice click into place Shimano Tourney gears. 21 in all, though, to be quite honest, I can never understand why they bother with that small one at the front. If you use it, you go so slow, you might just as well get off and walk! That's not my apartment, by the way, but the foyer outside the reception area. I don't have my own pool table, unfortunately!

The yellow bike is the Gary Fisher I had stolen here in Bahrain. I'd even had it specially shipped over from Thailand. That, incidently, is the view from my lovely 14th floor flat in central Bangkok. At the end of the day, I probably miss the flat more than I do the bike.

Finally, here's the Mongoose (below), which I had stolen from right outside the British Council in Bangkok. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the security guard himself. One day I locked it in the wrong place. He was very quick to put his own lock around it and demand 300 baht (ca $10). No tickets or anything. Presumably the money went straight into his pocket. That's the Chao Praya river I'm standing in front of.

Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed this time!

Cheers,

Rob

John Augustus Lowman (1922 - 2011)

Sadly my father passed away yesterday (Thursday, 13 October) at the age of 89. He had had pneumonia for a couple of weeks before and apparently when the antibiotics failed to clear it up, there was nothing the doctors could do. But at least he died peacefully and was in no pain, which is arguably the best way to go.

My father originally came from a working class family in the East End of London, and it is to his great credit that he successfully educated and engineered himself into the position of a successful and prosperous upper middle class professional, enabling him to provide both me and my brother with best in every aspect of life as children, for which we can never express enough gratitude. Generosity was always was one his strong qualities. It was unfortunate that his career never reached full fruition. Nevertheless, his determination and perseverance were exemplary, and he provided us all with an excellent role model in how to succeed and advance in life.

My father, of course, experienced the Second World War in its entirety, being a 17 year old when it begun. He spent a large part of it as a prisoner of war. In fact, the war played a significant role in forming his character, in that he was always very much the military man, with strict discipline and a strong sense of authority. Although some people found this hard to handle, it is always important to remember that he was the product of his times and embodied the values of his generation. Within this framework he always tried to do the right thing and had genuine moral integrity.

What not many people know about him was that he was also a first class musician. He played mostly jazz piano and knew the works of most of the top pianists of his generation (e.g. Oscar Petersen and Earl Hines) and had a flambuoyant side to his character too. Being a musician myself (guitar), I can recognise just how good he was. I only wish I had had the opportunity to play more together with him when he was alive. It was unfortunate that in his later years he became partially blind, which affected not only his music, but also his ability to read. In fact, he was always not only an avid reader but also an excellent linguist, able to speak both French and Spanish fluently. Finally, he was a very strong chess player in his time, attaining Category 2 status while in Argentina. He always beat me!

In addition, he travelled extensively for someone belonging to the pre-jetset age, and he always took a genuine interest in my own travel experiences, particularly in the Far East. Apart from living in South America (Peru and Argentina) for several years in the early 1950s, he also visited France, Belgium and the USA. It's a pity he himself never made it to Asia, as I'm sure he would have been fascinated by the people and culture there.

Although not seriously religious, he knew a lot about Eastern philosophies and religions, particularly Buddhism and Yoga, and I had several stimulating conversations with him. Raja Yoga was the branch that inspired him most, and I sincerely hope his proficiency in that and any residual influence of Christianity will help him now in the after life state and take him to a higher plane.

He will be sadly missed, not only by me but also by my mother for whom he was a constant stalwart. They were married for over 60 years.

RIP

Istanbul

Hi Bloggers!

I'm well behind schedule. I'm still blogging about stuff that happened more than two months ago. Such are the pressures and stresses of modern working life! Or am I just lazy?

Anyway, before my memorable trip to Kenya (coming up soon), I did a return trip to the UK to visit my parents, sadly ageing now, but fortunately still enjoying relatively robust health. Turkish Airlines seemed to offer the cheapest promotions, so I pounced on this opportunity to make a meal of a stopover in Istanbul. It really is all it's hyped to be, or at least from a touristic point of view.

Of course, Turkey has come on leaps and bounds economically too and still has ambitions to become a part of the EU. A far cry from the days when they supplied most of the workforce for the post-war German economic miracle! I wonder how Germans will feel about having to treat as equals people that formerly had virtual slave or sub-species status!

There were two areas I visited, firstly Sultanahmet, the main tourist area, and Taksim Square, the commercial hub of modern Istanbul. I didn't have time to see everything I should have in Sultanahmet, but nevertheless got a good taster. I can finish it off on my next trip. Apart from the manifold artistic and architectural wonders of the Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque and the Topaki Palace, I was most impressed by the covered Grand Bazaar, which is one of the most atmospherics markets I've ever visited. It really takes you way back in time, as it's basic structure and layout has remained unchaged for centuries. I particularly liked the colours too.

The only downside was the presence of persistent touts and dealers trying to make hard sells, and always using the full charm offensive technique. That approach is particularly difficult to handle, because as a tourist you're looking for a experience and to make some positive contacts with locals, which of course they exploit to the full! Carpets is the number one item they push. Mind you, some of them really are nice, but I'd recommend having a good look around first to get an idea of what prices should be.

As far as the Taksim Square area was concerned there was nothing

particularly visually exciting,

other than that it was just a generally pleasant place to hang out, including a nice park. Branching out of it, though, is Istanbul's equivalent to Oxford Street, a long walking street with trams coming up and down intermittently. But for Turks, this is the real centre of Istanbul.

Kenya coming up next!

Cheers,
Rob

Zanzibar - Island and Beaches

Hi Bloggers,

The Stone Town was obviously one of the highlights of Zanzibar, but equally impressive was the island's interior and its famous beaches. The East African coast is genuinely blessed with the kind of white caster sugar sand associated with tropical paradises.
.










I rented a motobike (see pic), but frankly I don't recommend this, as it was definitely faulty and broke down a couple of times. Once in a village, in fact, which could have been a scary experience for a more paranoid person. But instead of seizing this golden opportunity to rob and loot a helpless tourist, the locals were actually really helpful, and got me up and running again. Before coming to Africa I had been warned of the crime rate, but once again I experienced nothing but warmth and hospitality. In fact, if I have learnt anything from all my travel experience, it is that man's nature is fundamentally good and that the criminal is reviled in all societies, even the poorest and most primitive.
.
.









Anyway, I certainly enjoyed riding through the lush tropical fields and forests, passing by and occasionally stopping in incredibly quaint villages. The most interesting ones were probably the fishing ones. As for the beaches, they were just awesome, and happily with hardly anyone there. Mind you, it was low season. Rainy season, in fact, which I discovered the hard way.

So, all in all, I'd thoroughly recommend a trip to the fabled spice island of Zanzibar!

Cheers,
Rob

Zanzibar - Stone Town

Hi Bloggers,

Just got back from a great week in Kenya! Visited both Nairobi and Mombasa, though had to cancel the safari because of a severe attack of the runs! But I'll cover this highly memorable journey in my next blog, as somehow I've managed to get seriously behind schedule, mentioning nothing about my trips to Zanzibar in March and then Istanbul in June since I lasted posted!

So Zanzibar - that's Tanzania, by the way (see previous blog for Dar es Salaam). What a place! It must be one of the top exotic destinations anywhere in the world, as combines both culture and natural beauty. The Stone Town dates back several hundred years as a centre for the spice trade and has elements of Arab, Indian and Portuguese architecture in it. Its heyday, though, was probably from the 18th Century onward, when the Omani Arabs took control of it and added the slave trade to it (nice one, chaps). There's also a buzzing market here too.

Zanzibar is worth visiting for the Stone Town alone, but it also blessed with magnificent white sands beaches, particularly on the east coast. There's a reef about a mile out too, which means that the water remains very shallow near the shore.












Myself, I stayed in the Stone Town and made excursions out to the beaches, as, to be honest, I'm not really a beach person. I love to be near the sea, but find I get bored pretty quickly if I just sit on the beach, and I gave up sunbathing years ago! The only drawback in the Stone Town is the presence of persistent touts. I found the best way was to make friends with a couple of them, because actually they gave useful insights into the place and were often interesting characters in their own right. And, poor guys, they're just trying to make a living like anyone else!












The east coast of Africa is the Swahili speaking area, whether it be Kenya or Tanzania. It evolved as a result of Afrian Bantu meeting Arabic. Swahili doesn't refer to just the language but also the coastal people as a whole. And I'm pleased to say I learnt a few basic phrases! Jambo - hello!

But enough of my blurb. Judge for yourself by the pictures!

Cheers,
Robert

Tanzania - Dar es Salaam

Hi Bloggers,

I haven't blogged for quite a while. I've probably been focussing on Facebook too much! But actually I think blogging provides a much more coherent and progressive record of events, whether it be travel, politics, family or something else. So ......

The main events for me this year have been the continued trouble here in Bahrain (see below) and my first trip to black Africa since 1970. Tanzania to be precise. The politics in Bahrain have frankly become boring and are well documented in other places, so I'll focus primarily on my April trip to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

Just before that trip, though, all the BC teachers here in Bahrain were fortunate enough to get one extra free week's holiday in Dubai, as the British Embassy decided the situation on the ground was dangerous enough to warrant "withdrawal". I didn't think it was that bad myself, but I certainly wasn't complaining and thoroughly enjoyed looking around Dubai. It really is quite a place, and I'd recommend it to anyone for a visit. However, it's probably best done as a stopover to somewhere else.

So on to Africa. I'd visited Ghana and Togo in West Africa when I was just a teenager in 1970, but really I was too young and green to get much out of that trip. So I was keenly anticipating this one, albeit to a different part of Africa this time, namely the East. As I only went for a week, all I had time for was a couple of days in Dar es Salaam and then about 4 days on the fabled isle of Zanzibar.

I'll take Dar first (see next blog for Zanzibar). Frankly the place was a dump, pretty ramshackle right the way through. It wasn't actually filthy and squalid, like in India, but there was no area that was really upmarket and spic and span like you might expect in a western city. Yet it was friendly enough, even quaint in places and certainly didn't lack atmosphere. But for me Dar's most striking feature was undoubtedly what it didn't have rather than what it did. For example, there wasn't one of those large colourful markets you always expect to see in developing countries. And there were no signs of major development, like a shopping mall or a governmental area with grandiose monuments, etc . In fact, there wasn't even a decent supermarket in the place. The only one I found was affected by the intermittent power cuts, such that most of the frozen foods had melted at some point.

As for the people, they were pretty laid back on the whole. I wasn't accosted in either a positive or negative way. In fact, they semed pretty indifferent to white tourists. They also tried to charge money if they thought they were in one of your photos, which I found really annoying. Nevertheless, I felt reasonably safe, though at night the streets did get eerily deserted. Mind you, I always leave all my valuables in the hotel safe, just taking out enough for the evening. My best experiences were in cafes and restaurants where I got chatting to quite a few locals. But overall a pretty mediocre experience. People in Zanzibar (next blog) were much more communicative.

Anyway, enjoy the shots. They're all of Dar. I think they give a reasonable representation of the place. Next Zanzibar!

Cheers, Robert

Manama - Saturday morning

Hi Bloggers,

There was certainly plenty of action yesterday, though, myself, I only managed to capture the Sunni pro-government parade during the day. It focussed mainly around the Al Fateh mosque in Juffair, but also spread right down the highway to the Diplomatic Area. The overwhelming feeling of this demonstration was the wealth and opulence of the Sunnis. Everyone was wearing their Sunday (read Friday!) best and there were large convoys of 4W drive cars. This was in strong contrast to the more working or lower middle class feel of the Shi-ite protesters, who even had the pluck to camp out.



Tragically, I heard there were more shootings at the Pearl Roundabout in the evening. CNN is running a very graphic video, clearly showing someone being shot through the head. I went down there myself at about 11.00 pm, but it was all quiet again by the time. There was still a heavy police and army presence, so I backed off pretty quick. It's surprising how close you get on a bicycle, though, because it's a nifty, tricky and fast way of getting around.

The Crown Prince addressed the nation yesterday, but frankly I found him almost as hypocrytical as the Foregn Minister the day before. He called for calm and the recovery of our "humanity". Although superficially the right buzz words, it makes it sound like the current situation is a shared responsibility, involving two-way violence, but this is not so. The only "inhumanity" is coming from the police and army, not the protesters. The protesters who were shot at yesterday even had their hands in the air at the time.

Today is another weekend day, so there will probably be more demos. Whether the situation will calm from Sunday onwards remains to be seen.

Will contine to update,
Robert

Pearl Roundabout Aftermath

Hi Bloggers,

As you all probably already know, things turned extremely nasty early Thursday morning (ca. 3.00 am), when the police brutally attacked the protesters while they were still sleeping. In a concerted and clearly well planned operation, the protesters were forced to flee. The police used tear gas, rubber bullets and bird shot. A further three people were killed. There must have been some resistance by the protesters, though, as there were a lot of stones strewn around.

I think what makes it so shocking was that up to that point the protesters had kept their activities completely peaceful (see previous blog) and there was no need for this kind of brutality. Moreover, there were women and children in amongst the crowd. It's not as if they were charging down streets smashing things or setting cars on fire, etc.

Anyway, I went down to the Pearl Roundabout to see the aftermath. Basically it was cordoned off by police, and I was quickly waved away by police (see top picture) as soon as they saw I had a camera. But I did manage to get a few shots.

The Foreign Minister has since gone on television justifying the attack, saying it was to avoid sectarianism developing. A highly paradoxical statement, given that it is precisely because the Shi-ites feel they are treated as second class citizens that they demonstrated. Surely a much wiser course would have have been to arrange negotiations and try to meet at least some of the Shi-ite demands, considering they do make up 70% of the population.

Now, it is more likely that the protesters resolve will be hardened. However, it could well be that the government is simply going to be too strong for the demonstrators. Fobodingly, the other gulf states have guaranteed their support for the Bahraini government. Should their be more demos, we may will see Saudi tanks coming in too.

Will update soon,
Rob

Protests in Manama

Hi Bloggers,

.

Well, not much exciting had been going on here in Bahrain until this recent wave of protests swept over the Arab world. It started in Tunisia - I've got a mate working there at the BC who was evacuated, incidentally - and has ended up here in Bahrain and Yemen just down the road. Generally, Bahrain is a pretty sedate kind of place, so I was surprised at the strength and determination of the protesters. It turned nasty on Monday when police tear-gassed and even shot rubber bullets and bird shot into the crowd. Two people were killed. I think this has just served to strengthen their resolve.

Fortunately, the police have pulled back now. The powers that be seem to be aware of the international attention they're getting and are consequently playing it safe. Let's hope they enter genuine negotiations with the protesters, who are basically Shi-ites. Shi-ites are the majority, but the country is ruled by Sunnis, who are the wealthiest group and hold all the positions of power.

.

.

It'll be interesting to see how long this goes on and what turns it takes. I'll keep you updated.

.

Cheers,

Rob