Where is Shangrila?

(First published in Small World Ezine on 8 October 2002)

 

Since we talked about Kashmir and Bhutan, our subscribers 
have been asking about Shangri-La. And I'd promised to 
find out about it. Only I could not find it. Confess!

Yes, I know the Chinese has this popular trekking tour to 
Shangri-La from Yunnan. I thought this was it until 
researches took me further to the point that someone had 
said, "knowing too much is knowing nothing".  Here's my 
findings.

 

The term Shangri-La was referred the first time in British 
novelist -- James Hilton's  "Lost Horizon" (1933). The 
scene was set in the Tibetan monastery of Shangri-La where
the inmates enjoy extended youth. Hilton had made Shagri-La 
sound like another Utopia. Later books and movies did so as
well... Making Tibet, and the Shangri-La region of the 
Himalayas sound clean and peaceful. The land of wisdom.

Indeed, you know how it's like. Tibet and the others have 
suffered grievous the rages of war since forever.

In 1994, the Chinese government claimed Shangri-La had been 
located around Deqen in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of 
Yunnan. They even changed the name of Zhongdian -- an old 
city to Shangri-La. And the Shangri-La trekking tours took 
off like crazy since. That has created doubts. Lots of 
doubts.

Somebody said Hilton's Shangri-La does not really exist. He
only borrowed the term from the name of a mountain pass near 
Mt. Everest, Changri La ("La" is Tibetan for pass). For me
kind of strange nobody had tried to get it out from Hilton
when he's alive. (On the other hand, if he told... it'd
destroy everything. Right?)

 

However, everyone agreed Hilton's Shangri-La was in Tibet.
So, how China has dressed up an old city as Shangri-La (no
matter if it's real or not) is not that bad for Tibetan. 
Since the siege by Communist China after WWII, Tibetan were
not allowed to carry on their religious, language and 
cultural practices. Now that tourism is there. Tibetans need
to be able to present their usual way of living -- the 
older, the more ancient, the better. As one local retires 
school teacher said, "Tourism is helping to revive Tibetan 
culture".

Talking about the culture of Tibet...  Tibetan originated 
from the nomadic, warlike tribes known as the Qiang. Chinese 
records of these tribes date back as far as the 2nd century 
BC. In its history, Tibet was in and out as a colony of
China for several times. But this is the most recent...

In 1947 an attempted coup d'etat rocked Lhasa. And in 1949 
the Chinese Nationalist government, against all odds, fell 
to Mao Zedong. And the Chinese 'liberation' of Tibet  
eventually lead to 1.2 million Tibetan deaths, a full-on 
assault on the Tibetan traditional way of life, the flight 
of the Dalai Lama to India and the large-scale destruction 
of almost every historical structure.

In 1950, Chinese troops attacked central Tibet. An appeal to 
the United Nations had done nothing effective to help the 
desperate nation. There is only on country, El Salvador,
which put the motion to condemn the behaviour of China. 
Britain and India, former friends of Tibet, actually 
managed to convince the UN not to debate the issue. China 
was then already one of the founders of U.N., though. 

From then, there were numbers of rages and riots in the 
attempts to free Tibet. All ended up with Tibetans' death 
and arrest. All the world's governments are still careful 
not to show in any way that they recognize Dalai Lama's 
political status as the head of an exiled government. The
good sign is there has been no fighting for a while. The
recent visit of Dalai Lama's to the U.S. (and probably the 
growing of American Buddhist communities) had reminded the
world not to forget this tiny state. 

I am a Theravaj Buddhist. Don't know much about Tibetan 
Buddhist except that they are full of miracles and myths. 
But that is their business. We don't agree or disagree with 
others' beliefs if they do no harm. And I am not writing 
this to solicit for any fellow Buddhists.

And one thing I think it's funny is the fact that both 
Hilton and Shangri-La are the name of the world's big hotel 
groups today!
 

 

More:


If you want to go there, July to November is the best time.
It's still going to be very cold at night, and much warmer
during the day. Prepare proper clothes.  
 

How to get there...

From Kunming, the capital city of Yunan province (Kunming
International airport has daily flights from / to Beijing
and Bangkok. See which way is closer to you. Safest way is 
go with a caravan tour group. You can also go by yourself, 
but it is not convenient AT ALL.

Travelling in the remote area of China, prepare your own
toilet paper and other hygienic stuff. Bring food such ad
canned foods, boiled eggs, dried fruits, etc. with you in 
case you cannot eat local food. Oh and diarrhea pills and
energy drinks are must!


If you want something easier, come via Nepal (on a 4WD). 
Enter Tibet at Lhasa, the capital city. There are numbers of 
tour operators in Nepal who will arrange the trips and 
papers for you.


One more thing is it's highest place on earth. The air is 
very thin. It could be dangerous if you have a health issue. 
You have to be healthy enough. Do the check-ups before 
reserving your trip.


Do not be scared yet. It's once in a life time trip. And
what you see is worth all the difficulties. It's the roof of 
the world. Remember?

Munich Oktoberfest

(First published in Small World Ezine on 1 October 2002)

 

I am not a beer drinker. I have this so-called "broccoli-
tongue", which means I am too sensitive to bitterness. It
makes bitter foods and beverages torturing for me. However,
during my 2 years in Germany, I have tried almost all 
kinds of beer they had (and that's a LOT).

And this is the last week of the World's Famous 
"Oktoberfest", the largest beer festival. Not too late if
you live in Europe. But you'll have to stay the night out 
of town (or at the train station ;-).  To a non-European,
I am afraid it'll be difficult to find a ticket unless 
you'll go somewhere far away (such as Vienna or Prague) 
and take a train to the Fest.

 

It's been 192 years since the first "Oktoberfest", which 
was actually a horse race in the royal wedding of Bavaria's
Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) to princess 
Therese from Saxony-Hildburghausen. And that's why the 
place is called "Theresienwiese" or "Therese's field".

From then, it has become a tradition of Munich to have a 
festival in the same Theresienwiese at this time every 
year. The term "Wiesn" has become the local synonym for 
"Oktoberfest". And this field is reserved for only this
event.

 

This year's Oktoberfest (21 September to 6 October) is 
going to be the 169th. (The festival was postponed many 
times due to war, cholera and inflation). Each year it is 
said to accommodate 7 million visitors, who drink 5 million
litre of beer and eat 700,000 chicken, 400,000 sausages,
200,000 fish, 60 deer, and 80 cows. 

Me? I spent only one full day and night in the Wiesn. I had
2 litre of beer, rode 3 rounds of different roller coaters,
ate one fish, two sausages and some cake/icecream, and 
ended the day with 19 rounds of Tequila! (Oh it was raining
and I was caught in a Tequila booth with 18 people in it...
so each of us bought one round of Tequila for everyone...). 
Strange that the Tequila helped me recovered from the beer. 
I even managed to get back to the hotel (in another town) 
and spend 5 more hours in its bar, flirting with the 
bartender (actually trying to get free drinks -- and 
succeeded)!

Ah... there's a few times a nice lady like me went wild ;-)


Okay, back to the fest. 

On the first day, the fest begins at 12pm, when the Mayor of 
Munich taps of the first keg in the Shottenhammel tent each 
year. From then, people will start drinking. There will also 
be parades from several parties of Munich. Every year, the 
first to march would be the parade of the tent proprietors
(those beer producers). They'll arrive with friends/families
and workers/servers on horsebacks, or in wagons.

There'll be parades or events almost everyday until the
Shooting Match on the last day. 

It's a loud and fun party. Everybody eats and drinks. 
People sing and dance with totally strangers. In the every
tents, there will be bands and concerts. Servers in 
traditional Bavarian outfits carry a dozen of a-litre beer
mugs in both hands. Must be heavy. They are so PROs!

Kids are not allowed in most tents, but they can wander the
field, enjoy the foods, the games, the rides, and scary 
roller coasters.

You have to pay for the beer and all the games you play.
Kind of expensive, but worth it... 


Do not wear your best shoes because the main street (where
the most interesting stuffs are) will be full of poops from
the parades' horses.

 

More:


Travelling in Europe, train is the best means.

Try not to drive to Oktoberfest because there will be heavy 
traffic on all the roads coming to the Wiesn. But if you are 
driving, plan ahead. You can leave the car at your hotel and 
take a bus, or park it at one of the Park-and-Ride areas. 
Check here for more details http://www.mvv-muenchen.de .  

There are always public transportations such as S-Bahn, 
U-Bahn, or Bus to the Weisn. Actually you won't get lost... 

Just follow the crowd!

 

 

For those who miss it this year, Oktoberfest next year is 
going to take place from 20 September to 5 October 2003. 
Reserve your hotel and transportations today :-)


Spare at least three days for Munich, and another day for
outer sites such as Neuschwanstein castle. You won't regret 
it. One interesting place of Munich that travel books 
always forget to mention is the BMW museum. Give it a visit
if you are already bored of the art galleries, historical 
museums and castles. And If you have your children with you,
spend a day at Deutsche Museum. One of the best learning 
centre I've been.

I'll write about my Munich trip some time later. I went 
there again during Christmas, and it's beautiful.

Our earlier Germany trips:
Heidelberg

Neuschwanstein


Oktoberfest's Official site >> http://www.oktoberfest.de/

 

Oktoberfest: With Original Bavarian Music

MUSIC OF OKTOBERFEST

Rotoroa -- The Sulphur City

(First published in Small World Ezine some time in February 2002)

Oh everywhere I went in New Zealand was so lovely. I guess 
I'll write about the strange one first... The city is called
"Rotoroa", nicknamed -- the Sulphur city.

 

I and 2 friends drove from Auckland in a rented car. When we
were approaching, we saw the whole city covered with heavy
fog (not knowing it was actually the thermal smoke from under
the ground). And since it was late afternoon, we thought it 
was some kind of early evening fog (we knew it's a hot-spring 
city, but had not expected it to be steamy everywhere).

Then we started to blame each other for passing gas in the 
car. Yes, it was the smell of the Sulphur. When we found out 
it was actually the smell of the town, we were kind of 
wondering if we could stand it for another 24 hours. 
Moreover, the Youth Hostel we stayed was located right in the 
middle of where seemed to be the origin of all those smoke!

We got used to the smell within an hour and unbelievably, 
then, enjoyed the smoke and the unusual scenery.

From our Youth Hostel, we could walk to the lake. The lake 
shore was muddy with bubbling sulphuric geysers. Yet, 
seagulls and swans wandered around for food from tourists. 
They were rather aggressive, but seemed to match well with 
the hot smoky bubbling mud. There was also hot spa in the 
Youth Hostel!  This is quite a Youth Hostel of all.

We found on the next morning that the smoke we saw when we 
arrived was actually scarily arise from everywhere under the 
town. It blew from under streets, manholes, drainages, 
people's back and front yards, anything with openings to 
underground. And when we went to the Maori's (native New 
Zealander) Cultural Center, we saw Maori's cemetery with 
thermal coming out from under the tombs too. That's like a 
scary movie to us.


Amazingly, the place was not that hot. And only the Maori 
cultural center was worth a visit. Not speaking the 
sky-diving, sheep ranch, trout fishing, trekking, 
bungy-jumping, rafting, and much more other activities 
you can join there yet. Oh and the Hot Spa... 

 

More:


How to get there... 

Arriving at new Zealand at any International airport on the 
North Island (Auckland or Wellington), you can easily rent a 
car (or a camping van / RV) and drive it all over New Zealand.
To Rotoroa, it takes like 5-6 hours and the scenery on the 
way is precious. You'd better not miss it. There is an 
airport in Rotoroa too, but it accommodates only smaller 
planes. 

Rotoroa is a must for all visitors of New Zealand. And 
remember, if you are driving, they drive to the left side of 
the road (no problem with me ;-)

I am not sure if calling the native "Maori" is offensive, but 
it's the term being used in all books and web sites I went 
to. If it is considered offensive, I am sorry. Actually my 
cousin-in-law is a half-Maori. His mom also lives in Rotoroa 
(which houses the largest Maori community). I just could not 
find the cousins to check the information because they work 
for the Foreign Department and moved around often. I could 
not locate them.

If you are in New Zealand, you have to visit the zoos and 
all the National Parks / Botanic gardens. The wild animals 
and native plants are amazing. Buy the Whale-Watching tour
at Kaikoura (South Island) too. This is also a 'must'. We 
are going to write about New Zealand's South Island soon. 
Hope we can finish it before the South's Summer starts.

For winter lovers... There is a nice place to ski in New 
Zealand as well. Mt. Cook is like the Matterhorn of the 
South. It's covered with snow all year. And the beautiful 
lakes around it plus the cute little towns and the friendly 
and kind people of New Zealand make me feel like going back 
there every year.