Articles populaires – Notre Tour du Monde en 80 jours

20 novembre 2013

19/11 : Jaipur

Nous voici donc au Rajasthan, fantasme de nombre de voyageurs. Jaipur en est une très grosse ville (5 millions...), très étendue : nous lui accorderons donc...une journée ! Petit dej dans la grande salle-à manger du rez-de-chaussée, puis départ à pied...

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19 novembre 2013

18/11 : Agra - Jaipur (250 km en train)

Partis pour une grasse-mat jusqu'à 5h30, nous voilà réveillés en sursaut à 4h par un bruit de papier froissé... Ca vient de mon sac, laissé ouvert par terre... Lumière, une petite ombre file sous la porte... Nous vidons mon sac, article par article......

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29 octobre 2013

29/10 : Hanoi (3eme jour)

Dans la voiture qui nous emmène ce matin 'a la campagne', et qui commence par une heure de banlieues colorées ou nous avons tout le loisir d'essayer de déchiffrer, ou plutôt deviner, la signification de ces milliers d'inscriptions, nous méditons a nouveau...

Posté par blocbp à 13:51 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

20 octobre 2013

20/10 : Shanghai (3ème jour)

C'est aujourd'hui dimanche, et c'est aussi jour de repos pour les Chinois. Quelle domination l'Europe chrétienne et colonisatrice a exercée sur le reste du monde pour que le repos du dimanche puis le ouiquenne soient ainsi 'religieusement' suivis par...

Posté par blocbp à 13:17 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

25 septembre 2013

24/09 : Madison - Sherburn (545 km)

Quel est l'objet de ce blog ? C'est évidemment d'être un carnet de voyage, un carnet de route, un carnet de bord ; jeter sur le 'papier' les étapes quotidiennes, les moments principaux, les rencontres mémorables, en les accompagnant de photos (ce qui...

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8 octobre 2013

Why don't we have these ? (USA & Canada)

- flush plus suction toilets! And which refill so fast and so quietly. - very few billboards as you come into town, and only for local businesses - 'community building': often, but not always looked-forward-to seasonal church and school activities, frequently...

Posté par blocbp à 14:50 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

8 octobre 2013

North American Portraits

Meg and Marion, 15 yr old friends, one a daughter of the tacky but welcoming P & J motel in corn belt Sherburn, Minnesota (pop. 1100), twirling broomsticks (flags left in school) to be up to scratch in leading the school matching band for the 11th October...

Posté par blocbp à 14:55 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

1 décembre 2013

My highlights

Best moments : - plunging alone into the Friday night hubbub of a Calcutta neighbourhood on arrival in India. - going through the 'onsen' hot spring ritual with a backdrop of Mt Fuji. And in general : - travelling not in splendid comfortable isolation...

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8 novembre 2013

In sickness and in health

After all, this trip was for our 40th wedding anniversary! "Coughs and sneezes spread diseases, trap them in your handkerchief" Obviously Tony Hancock's ditty didn't reach many parts of Asia where a good clear out of the throat and nasal passages is shared...

Posté par blocbp à 08:30 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

2 novembre 2013

A couple of francophone Vietnamese

Joseph Mong Phu, 45km west of Hanoi, a designated ancient village, was a little underwhelming compared to the enthusiastic paragraphs in the guidebook. Trying to find our way we discovered the gate of the concrete 1930s church. The 30 something caretaker...

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2 novembre 2013

Vietnam dress code

What should the provincial girl-about-town be wearing ? On the bus: The question doesn't really arise as there are so few buses. On long distance trains: Jumpers and scarves are de rigueur in the icy soft-seat carriages. As few clothes as possible in...

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18 octobre 2013

Japanese portraits

- Mr 'So-so' sat down at the next table in the quiet Paperback Cafe section of one of the 160 bookshops in the Kanda district of Tokyo. Keen to practice his English he broke into the silence of the lunch hour readers to show us pictures of the three musicals...

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15 octobre 2013

Etiquette !

Just as using the loo dashboard requires some training, there are a number of other areas where we feel right out of our depth. And there's no point in asking anyone, they don't understand our question or we have no idea what they are replying. Of course...

Posté par blocbp à 12:40 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

13 octobre 2013

Japan !!

So exciting to be here ! The clichés are all there... but a few things have been surprising. First of all I expected Tokyo to be very America-oriented. It isn't ! Big surprise, hardly anyone speaks any English, hotel reception desks can often not really...

Posté par blocbp à 02:05 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

8 octobre 2013

Oh boy ...

Just to get your mouths watering: Iceland: Herring crisps... New England : Moose tracks ice cream, frozen yogurt Corn on the cob we'd picked 1hr before. Banana bread, zucchini (courgette) bread with walnuts, raisins Montreal: Maple syrup lolly Poutine...

Posté par blocbp à 14:40 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

8 octobre 2013

The non-French Canadians

So who are they ? Although I knew things had changed I suppose I was still expecting English-speaking Canadians to be fairly distinct from their American neighbours (accent, origin etc). But the Scottish connection has pretty much disappeared apart from...

Posté par blocbp à 14:20 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

24 novembre 2013

The Young Ones

Apart from an almost sinister lack of children in China (one child policy) and in Hong Kong (exorbitant rents, modern living), where schools are threatened with closure, Asia seems to be swept along by a wave of young energy and resilience. A few scenes:...

Posté par blocbp à 05:55 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

21 septembre 2013

Message technique !

L'ORDRE DE PRESENTATION DES MESSAGES A ETE MODIFIE DANS CE BLOG : DORENAVANT C'EST LE DERNIER MESSAGE QUI APPARAITRA EN PREMIER. Quant à l'utilisation des catégories disposées en haut de l'écran - Amérique du Nord, Japon, etc. - elle ne sera activée qu'à...

Posté par blocbp à 13:50 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

2 octobre 2013

Where the buffalo roam...

... or used to. Montana ! What a wonderful state ! Most of the country we went through looks like a (painted ?) cinema backdrop. Quite incredible, especially with the dark clouds and sun we had. I hope B's photos show something of the drama of what they...

Posté par blocbp à 06:10 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

28 septembre 2013

It's a long way...

... to Seattle, it's a long way to drive ! It's a long way to Seattle, across mountains, hills and plains. Goodbye to Chicago, Ottawa and Maine ! It's a long, long way to Seattle, where we get on that plane ! Yes, but it's not as slow as we thought -...

Posté par blocbp à 06:35 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

26 septembre 2013

Amazing Grace

In the past few days we have crossed paths with shy Mennonites, shared the meal of a Catholic student committed to human rights and were welcomed into the home of Quaker friends. Other friends, with less evident beliefs, have also proved to us the power...

Posté par blocbp à 01:50 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

26 septembre 2013

The other Canadians

Our whistle stop visit to Montreal and through other French speaking areas was interesting (NB : French is the first language of one third of the Canadian population). The city is, as the brochures say, vibrant and multi-cultural, bustling with students...

Posté par blocbp à 01:50 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

27 novembre 2013

On leaving India

We left two days ago, and the contradictions and paradoxes are finally damping (slightly) my love of this place and its people. Mumbai (Bombay) has shown us more street poverty than Delhi or even Calcutta. Or perhaps I'm just seeing it more clearly. Here...

Posté par blocbp à 18:45 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

26 septembre 2013

Just blew in from the windy city...

...the windy city is mighty purrdy but they ain't got what we got, no siree ! (I think Calamity Jane may be back later...) And why is Chicago called the windy city? Nothing to do with the weather - they were known for bragging... best this, biggest that....

Posté par blocbp à 02:05 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

22 septembre 2013

Go West !

For all you non-French speakers, or for those too tired to activate their school French, here's an update: Our cheap(ish) flights (via Rekjavik) offered a unique spectacle: the sky upside down ! Looking down through the clouds I could see bright constellations...

Posté par blocbp à 05:06 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]