#day:16

[triblondon]

Day 16

location:Kota Bharu - Perhentian Islands

summary:During which the author commits a premeditated act of trespass, and an expanse of water is traversed at exceptional speed

trip:sea04

day:16

[triblondon]

Day 16

My phone had long stopped working, so I had no way of knowing what the time was when I got up. I had arranged to meet John, Chris and Sunil at the Coliseum at noon, so I had plenty of time. Ten days before, I had left them in a concentration camp north of Berlin, and since then they had visited Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Hamburg.I caught the bus and metro, and arrived at ten. Looked round for something to do, and spotted a 'time elevator' - a simulator ride thingy classified as 'edutainment' all about the history of Rome. Decided to give it a go. Very Disney, but it was quite well put together. It even included a light rain shower when the character on screen ran through a storm. The basic premise is that an Italian scientist invents time travel and goes back to important events in the history of Rome, including the founding by Romulus and Remus, the rise and fall of the Roman empire, history of gladiatorial fighting, the renaissance, and modern day Rome. Apparently there is one of these in London too.

I went back the Coliseum metro station and found John wandering around, closely followed by Sunil and Chris. We spent the rest of the day on a guided tour of the Coliseum, and an exploration of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

The Coliseum is the most impressive building I'd seen on this trip. I was surprised that it looked so good from the outside - from one side it almost looks complete. But when you think of it covered in marble, with 50,000 cheering fans, it's an absolutely astonishing achievement, and the current structure is a pale shadow of its former self. Inside the decay and destruction is more obvious. The steps of the seating areas are no longer distinct, and the wooden area floor has long rotted away. A small section of plaster decoration in an inaccessible corner of one archway gives a tiny glimmer of the venue's former grandness.

The Roman forum was the centre of Roman administration. Now little more than a series of archaeological remains snaking though central Rome, these structures used to house debates of the Senate.

It took us a while to find Palatine Hill, but it was worth the visit - the relics were better preserved - particularly a huge hall that might have been a debating chamber or for some other ceremonial purpose.

At the end of the day we returned to the hotel where John & Co. were staying, the 'Hotel Montreal'. Dinner was at a street restaurant near a laundry where the three of them wanted to get their clothes washed while we ate. Food was excellent.

I bought a newspaper to read on the way back to the hostel. There was much news about the anniversary of 11th September 2001, which was the following day. I had no problems with the curfew this time, getting back at around 10:45, though I sat on the steps of the hostel reading and talking with other guests until curfew.

summary:The day was in ruins, but only of the Roman kind

location:Rome

trip:europe02

day:16

[triblondon]

Day 16

Steve wasn't feeling well this morning so he and Sue stayed behind as Lorna and myself set off with Charlotte, and our brilliantly named guide, Wizit. We drove to a small village, and started walking into the jungle with a couple of Wizit's younger cousins leading the way. The 11 year old was a walking machine - and he didn't appear to require any rest. I suppose everyone's like that when they're eleven, especially if they have a tropical jungle on their doorstep. I gradually got used to the pace and managed to admire the scenery as we we trekked through streams and clamboured over rocks. The noise was deafening as insects making a chainsaw type sound screeched around us.

At lunchtime we sat down on a rocky area next to the river. It was the best packed lunch so far, courtesy of Wizit's mother, apparently.

More trekking. Suddenly the jungle vanished and we were in amoungst regimented lines of rubber trees, each with its half coconut attached to the trunk to collect the liquid rubber. Wizit asked if we would like to go swimming in a waterfall. We agreed, and got back in the truck.

30 minutes and eight or nine Simon and Garfunkel songs later we pulled into the car park for the waterfall, and walked towards the falls. It reminded me of the waterfalls I'd seen in Australia, where each one had it's own car park, changing facilities and toilets. There were a lot of people there, bathing, swimming, washing and relaxing in the various pools created by boulders that littered the river.

I flopped into the water in my usual elegant style. It was great - the water was cold initally but easy to adjust to, and very refreshing. I realised that I still had stuff in all my pockets, which soaked all my cash, had pretty much no effect on my suncream bottle, but rendered a packet of polos inedible.

Next, and last, stop for the day was a vast cave, where it is said that a baby elephant remains lost to this day, after its mother starved while waiting for it outside. Wizit told us the story, in a massive eery cavern filled with stalagtites.

In several places I was forced to bend over to avoid hitting the roof, and at one point I was on all fours for maybe 50 metres as the roof really closed in. These tight passages would always lead to another spectaular cavern.

We got back tired and hungry to find Steve feeling much improved. When I finally got back to the hotel at 1:30am my last task before bed was to set a wake up call, something that had been easy enough up to now.

"Can I have a wake up call please?" "Room number please?"

So far so good

"403" "Sorry key not here sir"

Ah. I tried putting both hands to the side of my head, closing my eyes then opening them while shaking my head violently and making a 'rrrring' sound. I thought it was quite a good performace.

"What time?"

Right. Now we were getting somewhere.

location:Trang

summary:Jungle trek, rubber plantation, waterfalls, giant cave

trip:thailand02

day:16

[triblondon]

Day 16

No journal available

location:Bellingen → Nundle

summary:Sheep farm. Evening entertainment and sheep sheering demo.

ihave:Sheered a sheep

_wp_old_slug:16

day:16