Mali Fading Fast

     Mali has been one of the more stable West African countries over the last couple of decades but there is trouble in the north where the Tuaregs are pushing for independence and in the capital where a group of soldiers has staged an insurrection. The Tuaregs have been restless for some time, primarily for economic reasons. There is not much work in the desert anymore and that tribal group has suffered a great deal over the last few years. So what should concern the traveler about these developments other than a general concern about the welfare of other peoples? You can't go to Mali, or just about any other place, when the people are staging a revolt.

     What many folks are unaware of is that Mali is an especially fascinating place to visit. The name comes from a great empire that spread through western Africa and established several famous centers of Islamic learning from the beginning of the thirteenth century and endured for 400 years. There is much to see in the country even today. One might start with the famous place Westerners were banned from for centuries, Timbuktu. From its height as a center of trade for the many caravans that traversed the Sahara carrying gold and salt primarily and as a central place for Islamic studies in the madrases that were built there to the present there has been a dramatic change. For one thing, the desert is slowly encroaching on the city and its physical size is dwindling. For another, the trade and the studies have diminished greatly so the population has decreased from over 100,000 to less than 15,000 persons today. But the tourist can still get a feel for this historic cultural center. One can ride into the beautiful desert and visit the Tuaregs who still live in that challenging environment. Some of the mosques which served as learning centers eight hundred or more years ago can still be visited. The narrow streets still offer scenes which remind one of earlier days and even the market with its giant slabs of salt to be carried on the backs of caravan camels still exists though in greatly diminished form. This is not a place the traveler wants to miss.

     There were other centers of Muslim study when the area was the center of the Malian Empire. Djenne is almost equal to Timbuktu in interest. This is a place which rivaled Timbuktu in size and fame. Here too were places of learning and the Great Mosque which dominates the center of town is worth a visit in itself. It stands next to a wonderful market and the scene is perfect for great photography. Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the building however so most tourists don't get a chance to see the construction of these sand-castle like constructions from the inside. Djenne is also the home of mud cloth.. One can see delightful examples of this craft hanging in the hot sun to dry. The most famous artists of mud cloth are native to Djenne.

     The heart of Mali is the Niger River which is also its major source of transportation and trade stretching from the capital, Bamako, to the edge of the desert in Timbuktu. A ride on one of the multitude of pirogues or panaches that carry goods and people along the river is fascinating because there are a variety of interesting and varied tribal groups living in the towns along the way.  The Bambara, Fulani, Songhai and others people the center of the country. The tribal Bobos provide much of the transportation on the river and also make the clay pots which hold the liquids that the people need and are traded for other goods. In the villages, the towns folks are welcoming in spite of the poverty and malnutrition that is evident almost everywhere one stops. Interesting and unusual mosques dot the landscape and travelers wave warmly to visitors from boat to boat on the river.

     One more absolutely essential stop in Mali is the Dogon area. This almost perfectly preserved traditional locale is an amazing place to visit. The hills where the Dogon people live which are referred to as escarpments are not easily climbed but a visit is a great experience. The people are known for their religious practices, their very unusual architecture and the art, masks and sculpture they produce. Their artifacts are greatly valued by collectors. A trip to the Dogon is not for the comfort traveler however. Get ready for a hearty day of climbing.  As is the case all over the Third World, one can anticipate that such traditional cultures will change markedly as economics and technology improve and visitors bring new ideas and customs in the regions. Mali, with its great tribal diversity, friendly people, varied crafts and colorful ports and towns along the Niger will delight the visitor. Go whenever the opportunity presents itself but not right now.

                                                
                                             Man with Fulani Hat, Mopti, Mali

Kids, Travels and Memories

     I am a very lucky guy. I wrote earlier that I have been able to travel with my children and my grandchildren to the Third World on a couple of occasions. These are not just trips; they are adventures as all journeys to underdeveloped and less trafficked places tend to be. One thing our whole family agrees about is that the experiences we have had together are among the most memorable and meaningful in of our lives. I took my grandchildren to the Third World to help them appreciate how other people live and to teach them to respect the differences among the peoples of our planet.  I wanted them to have the experience of being on the road without all the accouterments and pleasures and comforts that surround them customarily in their home settings. Mission accomplished, or at least well begun. When the family and I reminisce about times that were important to us, or most exciting, or most bonding, the trips we went on together are at the top of that list.

      Where does one start such an undertaking? Finances are a major issue so someplace close and some place that is not too expensive makes for wise options. For our first family voyage we chose Nicaragua, a country I had not visited earlier. It was a stroke of luck. Little, colorful colonial towns with restaurants sitting right on an open plaza at the center of town where many residents were engaged in one activity or other enabled the kids to move around freely, mix with others and wander about on the square with little worry or inhibition. Travel distances were short and there were surprises all along the way. For the kids, museums and churches and other adult captivating sites were sparse. Open spaces and natural wonders abounded. Climbing the sides of volcanoes up to the rim where one could witness the gases emanating from deep in the earth, bathing in natural hot springs deep in the jungle, helping to release newly hatched turtles and watching them rush into the incoming tide were the kind of natural highlights that made them more intimate with our planet and the activities that go on every day but which are normally beyond their access. Almost every turn in the road became a teaching moment.

     And all along the way in places we visited were stops in small, traditional villages where life moved along at an unfamiliar pace and in different ways. The Third World includes poverty almost by definition. My children and their childrens' world does not. The strolls through tiny streets or muddy roads where folks just seem to be whiling their time away without visible employment and seem to be in possession of few material things was a different view of the world than they were accustomed to.

     On another trip to Central America, we visited islands which only monkeys inhabited and found them to be as curious about us as we were about them. In Panama, we visited Indian tribes who live in the jungle and still hunt for their food. On our most recent, and unquestionably our most expensive, trip we traveled through Southern Africa. Off the beaten path, that world was dramatically different. We went on an exceptionally interesting safari where lions were playing in trees just above our heads and rhinos circled to mark their territories. We danced with villagers and had other rewarding interactions with the people we met. Perhaps the most telling moment of all came the last night of our African journey when we went around the dinner table to share what had been the most interesting highlight of the trip for each of us. My youngest grandson who was about eight at the time did not cite the villages or the plethora of animal life we had seen. His chosen highlight was our trip to Robbin Island where he learned about life in that prison from an ex-inmate, visited the cell where Nelson Mandela was confined and came to understand what Apartheid was all about. Need I say more?

Curious Visitor, Monkey Island, Panama

Bolivia-a Third World Dream

     If you are a lover of traditional culture or an avid photographer, an admirer of spectacular scenery or just someone who enjoys being in a place that is dramatically different from your customary surroundings, Bolivia might be just your cup of tea. The landlocked boundaries of the country contain a very high percentage of Indians who settled there long before the Conquistadors sailed to the New World. Many of them still speak the languages their ancestors did during Inca rule and a great number dress very much the same today as they did hundreds of years ago.

     A prominent feature of Bolivia is that it is one of the pathways into the Amazon Jungle. The eastern part of the country is rain forest. I went into the Amazon on an earlier trip to Peru so I did not explore the Bolivian rivers but I understand that they are equally interesting. The western part of the country is primarily Andean. One typically starts in the capital, La Paz, and just the experience of landing at El Alto, the town after which the airport is named, is an adventure in itself. Imagine stepping out of a plane onto ground that is elevated over 13,000 feet high. The oxygen is low and the challenge is high. If one works too hard or otherwise ignores the altitude, the price is a few days of vacation in bed, feeling horrible and missing the sites of La Paz. The capital itself is a startling place for the visitor. Along the streets one encounters Indians dressed in century old style. Most of the rural Indian women wear wide, flowing skirts and artistically woven, colorful cloths. Since the weather can get quite cool in the highlands, the outfits are mostly wool from the llamas and cover the entire body. The head ware is also quite unusual. Usually, women wear black bowler hats. In some Andean towns people wear miner's hats or hats which mimic those of the Colonial era. There are wonderful, brightly colored weavings sold in most of the towns and cities.

     My favorite shopping town in South America is Tarabuco, nestled in the mountains. Just walking down the street one can select from a variety of local crafts, especially woven goods of high quality, see the people wearing completely traditional clothing and observe the greatest variety of hats I have ever seen anywhere. Equally interesting is the town of Potosi where the Spaniards mined an enormous amount of gold and silver during their occupation of the area. There still stands a very interesting mint in the town containing a fine collection of coin presses and a comprehensive assortment of the coinage produced in the building over the years. The visitor can descend into a working mine in this delightful town and get an idea of what the miner's experience is even today. A gift for the miners you will meet, a visit to the shrine to honor miners who died there and a stop to say hello to El Tio, a fantastic, devil like creature, who protects the mine are necessities. There have been reports about child labor on this site so inform yourself ahead of time. Going into the mine was a travel highlight for me: don't miss the opportunity if you get there.

       Another must stop in Bolivia is Lake Titicaca. There are thousands of Indians in the villages surrounding this high, freshwater formation. Several dialects that were common at the time of the Inca are still spoken there. The lake is full of reeds which the locals often weave into sailing boats that the fishermen have used for centuries. One can purchase miniatures of these intricate artifacts which take a good amount of skill to fashion. They come in all sizes. On the lake, there are a number of small islands fashioned from the reeds where the Uros Indians actually live. They do their fishing from boats or holes cut into the islands right outside of their reed huts. This group also wears a distinctive, traditional dress. Their marital status is advertised by their headdress so no innocent mistakes are possible. Nearby the ancient Tiwanaku culture has left impressive monuments many of which have yet to yield their age old secrets. If you are so motivated, the little town of Casablanca on the shores of Titicaca has a church where the priest will bless your vehicle to insure your safe journey. Bring a little gift for the church or the priest if you want a blessing.  Bolivia has a great variety of offerings for the visitor even if its tourist infrastructure is limited. But that is why we call such places part of the Third World. Don't go to Bolivia for fancy hotels. Travel there for amazing scenes, varied cultural sites, beautiful Andean views, fascinating people and all the rest that one finds off the beaten path.

Woman, Murillo Square, La Paz, Bolivia

Money and Travel

     I frequently got questions about the cost of traveling to the far corners of the world from the audiences I lectured, the kids I taught, friends and just about anyone else who knows how many miles I roam. Mumbles about my having to be rich to go where I go are often audible even in large auditoriums. It is time to talk about money. There is no getting past the fact that roaming about in Pakistan or Namibia or Venezuela is more costly than staying home but everything is relative. First of all, in order to travel the globe, you need to dedicate yourself to that undertaking. That means you need to dedicate part of your income as well. There are people who drive fancy cars or dress to the T or buy expensive jewelry and still travel extensively, but I am not one of those. We do not have any of that stuff.  My wife and I have a total of 12 years of use combined on our low priced cars. We have lived in the same home for 49 years. She has no furs and I wear a fifteen dollar watch. We have had to make some significant choices in order to do what we do although there are no regrets about that. We have never yearned for what we don't have. We have designated our savings over the years primarily to our travels. For that reason, we have perhaps paid more attention to money than we might otherwise have done. Our investments have been careful and lucky from the start- all the better to insure future adventures.

     My wife and I always put as much of our savings into those hard to withdraw accounts called IRA's so that we could save for retirement and for travel in our retirement years. That worked out well. We sometimes had to choose which bills to pay from the pile on my desk and we did not indulge in very many luxuries during those earliest years but even then we did do some traveling. I worked in Europe for two years before I was married and managed to get all around the continent on the my salary. On another grand trip, my wife and young kids and I got a year of living in and touring Europe because I taught in Rome for that year. We put on a lot of miles in those twelve months.

    We took other trips too. Each of them was at the economy level but that did not dissuade us or discomfort our journeys. The issue for us was travel, not luxury. We had a budget for everything and we never starved along the way. But the important thing to note is that travel was our prime investment. It still is. If one wishes to stay at the best hotels, eat at the most luxurious restaurants or sail the finest cruises, lots of money is necessary. We did not travel that way. We learned that smaller hotels got us closer to the people we wanted to visit. Local markets and restaurants helped us to get a better feel for the places we visited.

      So what is the answer to the assumption, "He must have money." It is yes and no. Yes, it does cost more to travel than it does to stay home. There is transportation and housing and food and the occasional gift. But if one masters the tricks of the trade and finds bargains, learns how to get the best price for services and avoids unnecessary expenses, it can be done. We are not backpackers so we do spend money on hotels and meals. We know there are travel styles rougher than we prefer. I would refer to us rather as bargain shoppers. We do pretty well that way. And the growth of the internet with its abundance of travel information has made it even easier to travel cheaply if one is willing to put in the time and effort to construct a modest trip for oneself. We enjoy that challenge.

Inexpensive Shopping, Turpan, China

Dialogues with Travelers

      If travel is part of one's life, it surely becomes a significant subject of conversations either on the road or with people one chats with at home. I would categorize the groups of people I have had  discussions with as those who never travelled to unusual locations, those who have done so but with mixed or negative results, and those who are as enamored of the experience as I am. This all makes for spirited and interesting conversation. Each of the groups brings a different flavor into the dialogue. Feelings tend to be high in each case and can even impact interactions much in the same vein that expression of political preferences does. I find each type of discourse worthwhile.

     The most pleasant and rewarding discussions I have had about travel is with folks who share my joy at experiencing the excitement of adventurous, intensive travel and have been many of the places I visited. In these conversations we exchange stories about what was most interesting, what visits we had in common, what places we have missed so far or intended to go to, and other such things. What we share is a personal knowledge of the benefits of exploring places and cultures different from our own. There is lots of agreement in these interactions which usually makes them tension free and lots of fun. Of course, talking to people who agree with you is always a rather pleasant experience.

      The conversations I have with those who do not travel or limit themselves to self-contained resorts or Caribbean cruises tend to be similar to one another. The usual "How do you do that?" stuff enters the dialogue first, the worries about the lack of security or convenient foods or clean water come along shortly and the general fears of unknown settings are sure to pop up along the way. Yet folks who do not travel simply have not traveled yet and most of them show great interest in stories of adventures and rationales for risk-taking. They may not be up for that but they can appreciate it vicariously. Some even measure themselves against what I describe about my trip and are encouraged to try something that stretches them just a little further than they might otherwise have. Aside from the satisfaction I derive in just socializing and having conversations with others, when that occurs I get a little special satisfaction. People I know have tried a few places they might otherwise not have journeyed to had we not spoken about my experiences there. At the very least, they have learned about other possibilities and often something about other cultures. No loss there. In a few cases where friends have just said to me, "We would like to go with you next time," we have travelled together with them and they had an experience in the Third World. That usually turned out fine for them and for us.  Of course, there are always quite a few folks who just tell me I am crazy and they would never go to the place I am describing. A few others resignedly state that, now that they have heard my tale or seen my images, they don't need to go in person. Vicarious experiences are simply enough. Those whose experiences mirror mine but whose reactions to them are diametrically opposed to what I have taken from them provide me an opportunity to look at aspects of my voyages through their eyes. That is also interesting and often enlightening. I find those differences rest more in personality and interests than in the direct experiences each of us has had. For me, for example, Varanasi at dawn was a mystical highlight of my travel; it was filled with wonderment and emotion. For others, I realize that the poverty, the seeming pollution in the water or the cremations alongside the river could well be their  focus and make for quite a different trip. Travel is, in great part, what you bring to it. At any event, the conversations are interesting and I enjoy having them with friends or, even more engaging, people I have just met.

Huli Medicine Man, Papua New Guinea

The Trip We Opted Out Of

     I spent several weeks planning a trip to the Philippines. I had heard that the nation was an interesting place to visit but when I began to read about it in detail, I got quite excited because it featured my major travel fascination- various indigenous peoples whose lives were quite distinct from their neighbors'. I learned that the geography of the area was also worthy of exploration- diverse urban areas, wonderful isolated islands, lonely and lovely beaches, etc. So I did the usual trip planning and off we went. As soon as we arrived in Manila, it started raining. It never stopped. We made the most of our stay in the Manila area by sampling the delightful festivals held in nearby villages. Each day, we got up and headed for another village. The celebrations were varied and colorful and never disappointed us. And the rain kept coming down. It poured on the parades, it drenched the religious objects carried on palanquins and on carriages propelled by massive bulls, and it soaked the multitude of creative displays constructed for whatever festival was being celebrated. We usually had good luck with the weather in our travels, but not this time. We decided it was time to leave Manila.

     We headed north in our car toward Banga-an, a small village located in the center of the Ifugao culture. We were on our way to visit the wonderful rice terraces in that area. The awe inspiring  Banaue Rice Terraces are located in the north of Luzon. More than 2,000 years ago, the lfugao people who lived in that area, carved the rice fields out of the mountainsides with peaks rising up to 6,000 feet high using simple tools and their bare hands. Our visit was not to be. When we left our Manila hotel, it was still raining heavily. At the entrance to the toll road which led to the terraces, we were informed that the road was closed and no cars were permitted in that area. It was flooded. It was then that we finally came to realize that the infamous monsoons had come early and our weather timing was destined to make our Luzon tour impossible.

     From the toll road entrance, we made our way to the tourist agency we had made a few reservations with and discussed our intended travel to the southern islands, most of them rich with beautiful beaches, interesting tribes and lots of worthwhile sites. No such luck. Of course the weather in the South was fine, mostly sunshine and warm breezes; the political situation was not.  It was strongly suggested that a trip to Palawan and the towering marble cliffs of El Nido or a stop in Cebu with its lovely shores and snorkeling as well as its fine cultural sites would be a great risk to our safety. The Maoist guerrillas were apparently quite active in the that area. Their effort to peel off southern islands where the Muslims were a majority was brutal and destructive. Tourists had been captured and even beheaded. Even the airport we would have flown into had been bombed and damaged significantly. If that was not enough to discourage us, perhaps the headline in the Manila papers the next morning would have been. It was about a bombing at the department store where we had shopped the previous day. Manila was more than wet. I did not customarily worry greatly about safety but I did have to confront the reality that was presented to me

     My wife, sick of the rain and our relative immobility, said to me that morning  "Get me out of here." Although I do not quit such activities easily, I had to agree she was right. We pleaded our case to the agents which they immediately empathized with and we got a refund on whatever reservations they were holding for us. They secured a convenient flight to Spain for us the next morning and off we went. When I told my son what had happened, he had two responses. You guys don't have the clothing for Spain- a completely correct observation (we take few clothes and usually our oldest attire on our typical trips) - and you won't get Mommy back to the Third World after she visits Spain. That turned out not to be accurate. We had a different kind of trip in Spain which we enjoyed very much but we both relished a later return to the kind of places we were used to traveling to and we have continued to roam the Third World ever since. Life goes on as ever.

                                                                          
                                                       Restaurant, near Madrid, Spain

Places You Can't Go Anymore

     The world was never completely open to the traveler. I will not try to go back through history to enumerate the multitude of places that were unwelcoming in ancient or middle aged times but what has happened in the Third World over the last couple of decades makes voyages to some places which were available before quite undesirable, if not impossible, to visit now. Obviously places where there is revolution or armed rebellions are in that category. Syria, Libya, Burundi, Gaza and other places where tourists have not been an important source of income are especially undesirable today. But Tunisian tourism was coming along before the recent rebellion there and, for Egypt, visitors have long been a large component of the economy. One can still go to those places but many fewer do and the danger is far greater than it was before the Arab Spring. Central Africa was also a relatively untouristed area because of the difficulty getting around but the Hutu-Tutsi struggle and its reverberations in the entire area have made the whole region treacherous for potential visitors. If one is intent on visiting the remaining gorillas, it is still possible. The motivation to do so has to be considerably higher than it was a decade or more ago. Just watch out for those other guerrillas. The current violence in Nigeria makes that West African country a fearful place to visit as well.  It should be obvious that important countries like Iraq and Iran currently draw very few tourists to their great ancient sites and marvelous mosques. One may go to those places but not for personal pleasure these days.
     
     Of course, things do vary from year to year. The civil war in Columbia has enabled more visitation in the last few years. Although it is not a Third World area, urban centers of Spain are much quieter now that the Basque separatists (ETA) are less active. Myanmar may be become less of a political dilemma for potential tourists because of developments over the past several months or so. It has welcomed travelers of late but tourism has been minimal because of the unwillingness of many travelers to support the repressive government. Some of the small countries in West Africa are now visitable while others are less so. It is a fluid and unpredictable area. One might hesitate to go to the Ivory Coast these days, a country with magnificent crafts, an interesting Colonial past and a lot to see. I am glad I got there in time. Mali has become more violent near the desert area and the Tuareg people who occupy that region are in open revolt. How can one go there and not visit Timbuktu? Sounds like the fifteenth century when Westerners were banned completely from that mysterious city. Sri Lanka's civil war has finally ended although there are occasional, isolated incidents there. One can surely visit that beautiful island at this time but I am glad I did not wait for peace to arrive. The country is now more ready for me but I am not so ready to travel that far any more.

     South America and Mexico change from year to year. The good news is that Columbia is now accessible and reasonably safe- quite a difference from just a few years ago. Peru has been more stable also although the great tourist sites were always a distance from the fighting between the the Maoist insurgency and the violent military forces that engulfed the country. Many of us went there in spite of that bloodshed because there were places that just had to be seen and no solution to the problems seemed to be on the horizon. Glad we were wrong about the country settling down. Mexico, a country I have visited a dozen and half times or more, is now beset by drug wars and crime which has plagued visitors as well as residents. In urban areas there was a high rate of crime for many years but one could still travel with care. Now, it depends on where you want to go. There are sections of that fabulous country which as are safe as ever and other areas where the drug cartels are in charge and beheadings are taking place with regularity. I cannot list now all the desirable areas and all the places where danger lurks, but there are many news sources on the Web to inform the traveler. So far, the Mayan areas and the Yucatan in general are relatively untouched by the violence.

     The traveler who can wait is often rewarded. Well within memory, it would have been quite unwise to visit Chile or Argentina unless one wanted to reward vicious dictators. Even more recently, Guatemala and Honduras were off the tourist track. If one wanted to see Copan or Tikal, you would have had to dodge bullets from every direction. Now the jungle where Tikal lies features quite a few bandits along the roads but they pose a risk of robbery, not usually a high risk of life or death. As always, the trick is to go where you can when you can. Don't wait for the planet to settle down and make way for the traveler. Excitement and danger sometimes go hand in hand and Third World adventure is surely no exception to that fact. Happy travels.

Cathedral, Merida, Mexico

Cultures Through the the Masks

      At the top of my stairs stands a large mask from Papua New Guinea called a gable mask. In the jungle region of that country these masks are placed on the front of special buildings (spirit houses) to ward off the likelihood of bad spirits entering. Since I placed the mask there I have not had any bad spirits pass it so I guess it serves the function for which it is designed. This mask has a special memory for me. I bought it soon after I entered the Sepik River area of the country at a small market in one of the towns along the river. It was much too bulky to put into a suitcase, though it was not heavy, so I wrapped it inside a plastic bag and dragged it around with us for a couple of weeks until we got home. At the time, I was not certain it was worth all that effort but I am am quite convinced it was now that I have enjoyed it for quite a few years. I have mentioned the fact that I collect masks in my Third World journeys as artifacts which remind me of the places I have visited and the experiences I have had. They fill the walls of my dining room and kitchen, my foyer and halls and enable me to relive so much of what I have seen and learned. But their real meaning lies in the function they perform in the cultures where they were created.

      In West Africa where the greatest diversity of these creations exist, masks are used for ceremonies of many kinds and their varieties include depictions of human and animal faces as well as other figures which have specific meaning to the makers such as snakes and birds and other representations of spiritual significance. At dance ceremonies in Africa one might well see young masked men who are unidentified appear from the nearby forest, dance their assigned parts and return to where they came from to complete their tribal initiation rites. These dancers hide their identities behind masks so that the dance is the focus rather than the individual performing them.  The spirit worship of West Africans as well as several other peoples around the world is symbolized in these ceremonial objects. They are also fine representations of traditional art often created with great skill and detail. 

       Among the other masks in my collection are depictions of Colonial figures, animals and other subjects carved in Africa or Mexico, another center of mask making. Since I have been to Mexico many times, my masks remind me of the variety of Indian tribes that still carry forth many of the traditions of their history. Quite a few of these masks are palpable representations of old, spirit worshipping cultures influenced by the Conquistadors who imposed Catholicism yet allowed such traditional art and notions to flourish. Similar masks exist in some areas of South America where celebrations like Carnaval motivate mask makers to continue to carve and experiment with their artistry.

      But masks, though they may be influenced greatly by the traditions and values of a particular group, may also be just artistic objects. A few of my masks are simply lovely craftsmanship. One of the first masks I ever bought was carved in the Berber area of Morocco, hardly a major mask-making location. While it is only tangentially related to the culture where it was made, it is definitely a lovely piece of art. In places like India and Nepal, many masks represent gods. Some of these are used ceremonially while others decorate temples and pagodas and walls in homes of the reverent, well-off citizens. And some of the masks I encountered were the product of wonderful serendipity. A passing mention to the captain of a small ship I was on in Borneo resulted in an unplanned stop in a small village on the Mahakam River where I secured a wonderful mask created for the upcoming celebration of an event there somewhat like our New Year's celebration. A brief walk from my modest hotel on the little island of Sumba east of Bali took me to a store which was full of antique, interesting masks created by the tribe that inhabits that area. One of my favorites is a mask of a bearded man I bought in that store for next to nothing. Whatever their use or purpose may have been before I bought them, these wonderful artifacts decorate my home and constantly bring me back to some of the most wonderful places and fascinating experiences I have ever had. The gods and the devils, the dogs and birds, the alligators and tigers all follow me as I walk through  my house. What a sublime byproduct of my travel.

Rangda Dance Mask, Bali, Indonesia

A Few Things I've Learned from Travel

     Did you know that Peru is directly below the East Coast of the United States? I may have had an inkling of that even before I started to roam the world but superficial knowledge is different than having a palpable understanding of the world. Flying into Lima as opposed to Rio makes one understand physically how much farther east South America lies from its northern neighbor. One can learn an enormous amount from books and lectures and other such sources but only experience paves the way for such knowledge to actually become part of you. It is that kind of  awareness that the tourist gains along the way. Anyhow, that is one of the things I have learned. There have been a lot more revelations.

     I have discovered that all people have the same basic needs even though the forms can vary greatly. There are houses built of palm and houses built of stone and others of wood or bricks or ice. They are all creations to protect us from the sun and the rain, but their design rests on the imagination and traditions of those who built them as well as the materials available in the area where they are located. We all need to eat in order to live but what we eat depends as much on circumstance and habit as it does on available food sources. Snakes and eels are not universally part of the diet. Guinea pigs are treats in certain places and unimaginable food in others. Even in a culture like Vietnam, there are folks who eat either dogs or cat yet consider the other repugnant.

         Every culture has its own customs and taboos and the visitor should be aware of these before voyaging to a new society. There are places where one symbol means OK and places where the same symbol is a gross insult. In some places one eats with the right hand and never touches food with the left. In others, eating with your hands would be considered quite gauche. Don't touch Koreans you are conversing with and don't use a handkerchief in a restaurant in France or your behavior will be considered rude. I found that Muslims and others remove their shoes before entering a holy space while the Japanese do so before they enter a home. I could go on and on with this list. One would never learn about such differences by staying home. They may not seem significant to the non-traveler but they have been quite interesting to me.

     While it seems that most of the people in the world require some spiritual base, if not an organized set of religious practices, the ways that need is satisfied could not be more varied. There are some who decorate skulls and stack them on shelves for ancestor worship. Others ambush natives from the next village to bury their severed heads with their ancestor's to serve them in the next world. Some folks bow to statues, others to rocks and stone. There are folks who consider washing oneself unholy while others wash thoroughly before prayers and still others who say a blessing before they wash in the morning. Such variations are what helps to make travel so fascinating.

      I have learned about the incredible variety of religions practiced in the world at large. Being among the practitioners is quite different than reading about their philosophies. In Orthodox churches and in mosques there is no furniture; but Orthodox stand during their ceremonies while Muslims kneel and prostrate themselves. Orthodox churches are filled with colorful paintings and icons of saints; Hindu and Jain temples feature lovely statues in addition to wall decorations; Muslims forbid the representation of living beings in their holy places. Zoroastrians leave the body of their deceased in open areas to be eaten by birds and other creatures who return the flesh to nature. Most other religions bury their dead in graves but these can be either above ground or below according to custom. In some areas there are people who choose to bury their loved ones in small houses which are replicas of dwellings for the living; in other places the bodies are burned and the ashes scattered. All of these variations are minor compared to the ideological differences that underlie them but they do make travel a bit more interesting. I would have been incognizant of most of these customs hanging around in my own neighborhood exclusively.

      So what does knowledge of all these tidbits contribute to the traveler's life? For me they enlarge my awareness of the world and make it more interesting. They feed my travel desires. They enrich my sense of man's creativity and imagination. They increase my wonder. Such discoveries are lots of fun and downright delightful. One more reward of travel off the beaten path.
    

                                                        Monks at Lunch, Myanmar

Third World Sites Not To Be Missed

     Most travelers are quite familiar with famous places in the West. St. Peters, Notre Dame, the London Tower, the Prado Museum, Red Square and countless other such sites are commonly visited by Westerners. America and Europe offer enough of these to last a lifetime of travel. But what is their equivalent in the Third World? The answer is a plethora of far older and often more magnificent places where man or nature have exercised their creative force. We are all at least cognizant of some of the major Third World Sites. A natural wonder is the magnificent Victoria Falls where the Zambezi River rushes over a mile and a quarter in width and whose torrent in the greatest water flow in the world comparable only to Iguassu Falls of South America. Then there are the Taj Mahal in all its marbled glory, the Great Wall of China, the magnificent Blue Mosque of Istanbul and other places we have some familiarity with. But the Third World contains far more sites of man's historical glory and earth's endless variety.

       Southern Asia offers the greatest collection of amazing tourist sites of any part of the world. The tourist can start in Myanmar with the incredible Disney-like Schwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.  It is not only the holiest Buddhist site in the devout county but it shimmers with gold and diamonds from dozens of stupas large and small some of which contain relics of the Buddha. It is a remarkable experience to circle the site and view the multitude of worship places in this one location. Not too far from Yangon is the city of Bagan which features a vast field dotted with millennium old temples, each more interesting than the next. It is awe-inspiring to think of a civilization that would create such an assemblage of holy sites in a relatively short period of time. Borobudur, another sumptuous Buddhist stupa, is located in the central part of the island of Java in Indonesia. This UNESCO Heritage site  dates from the eighth century and features 72 open stupas each containing a statue of the Buddha. It, too, is one of the great monuments of Buddhist history. In the same area of the world, the neighboring country of Cambodia features relatively intact ruins of several great capitals including Angkor Wat, the one the Western traveler is most likely to know about. The ancient city was a religious and a political center of the Khmer civilization from the 9th to the 12th century and retains it external wall intact as well as many of the temple structures and an amazing collection of art and sculpture. Nearby are impressive remains of other great capitols of the Khmer people. Not far away is the area called "The Killing Fields," one of the most moving monuments to man's cruelty in recent history.

      I mentioned the Taj above but India alone has several of the most incredible sites in the world. Not too far south of the Taj is the town of Khajuraho where a host of beautifully carved erotic temples mark what was once a center of Hindu worship and culture. Still farther south are the Ajanta caves, remnants of ancient Buddhist and Jain temples carved inside granite mountains and decorated with countless paintings and sculptures. Each of these sites is a wonder in itself and makes a trip to India worthwhile. I would add one more amazing building still farther south, namely the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. Not only is this Hindu monument fascinating with its approximately 2,000,000 carvings, but the ceremonies that take place inside are totally unique. Every night Shiva beds with his consort, Meenakshi, on the opposite side of the temple after an elaborate procession carries him to his pleasure. In Varanasi and Pushkar, one can witness devout ritual bathing in holy waters by endless crowds of worshippers who come to fulfill the dream of their lives.

     When we journey through South and Meso-America we find equivalent delights.  The monumental temples and cities built by the Mayans and the Inca are as impressive as any other sites in the world. One might start at the gigantic pyramids of the Teotihuacan civilization near Mexico City and then trace the Mayan religious centers from Chichen Itza and Uxmal down to Palenque and into Guatemala to Tikal and Honduras to Coban. There are many other such sites but a visit to any of these will give the tourist a good idea of how the Mayans centered their political and religious activities in palatial cities. In South America, Macchu Pichu is probably the most impressive example of Inca culture anywhere and should not be missed. Add in Easter Island and the natural and historic wonders of the Galapagos Islands or the Atacama Desert of Chile or the Amazon River and you have as meaningful and wondrous a trip as can be imagined. 

     There is one more category of travel that the Third World offers exclusively- traditional culture. The Omo Valley of Ethiopia is one of the places in Africa where relatively few white travelers have journeyed. The lip-plate tribes of Mursi and Suri are probably worth the difficult journey alone. There are other tribes all over Africa where one can see rare customs and traditional dress and meet people quite unlike themselves. In Papua New Guinea, one can visit unusual hill tribes like the Huli and see a way of life that will disappear in the near future but remains vibrant enough to provide a great travel experience now. Pockets of traditional life also abound  in the Amazon region and other jungles in South America. Each one of these offers a very unique opportunity for the tourist. More densely populated areas in Vietnam and Indonesia contain small groups of people who still exist as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. The tribal peoples of India are in this category as well. They merit a journey through their extensive rural habitat.

     If the tourist thinks a visit to the Louvre or a view of Niagara Falls does the trick for him, so be it. If not, there is a great deal more for the traveler's delight. Just wander a bit off the beaten path.

Schwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar