Jylland/Jutland

3 dage i Jylland på lynvisit i Silkeborg og Aars hos familie og venner

3 days in Jutland - fast track visiting family and friends in Silkeborg and Aars

Nepal

At krydse grænsen til Nepal er som at komme fra en bikube ud på stille sommereng. Forskellen er slående, men 30 mill. mennesker er jo også en væsentlig forskel. Turen fra Varanasi til Bhutwal foregik endnu engang med tog nogle timer, hvorefter vi krydsede grænsen Sunauli-Bhairahawa på gåben. I Bhutwal overnattede vi blot og fik en god middag for tidlig næste morgen at fortsætte til Lumbini, som er Buddas fødested. Det er så helligt, at man ikke må have sko på eller medbringe dem i området omkring den store hvide bygning, som indkapsler stedet, hvor Budda blev født – der var ønskebrønde både inde og ude, så du kan bidrage lidt til ”kassen”. Ligesom i Indien løber der mange herreløse hunde omkring og lider under heden.  De er alle venlige og burde blive taget hånd om, men kulturen er så anderledes.

Man kan bruge nogle indiske penge i Nepal men ellers har de egen mønt. Også her er der forskel på priserne alt efter om man er lokal eller turist.

Varmen var stadig ulidelig, men det blev dog en smule mindre varmt efterhånden som vi nåede Barauli i Churia-bjergene, hvilket var godt eftersom der ikke var aircondition i de små lerhytter, som vi skulle overnatte i. Landsbyen lå langt væk fra turistområder og muligheden for at være der var foranlediget i samarbejde med landsbyens beboere. Høns, geder, køer og marker samt kun med de mest elementære fornødenheder var et totalt afbræk fra larmen og menneskemængden og bilerne i Indien. Vi blev modtaget af kvinder iført lokal festklædedragt med blomsterkranse til os.

En hyggelig cykeltur rundt i området på cykler, der havde set bedre dage og som mere passede til små pygmæer end til høje vesterlændinge, blev den første oplevelse. Overalt råbte og vinkede børnene. Vi cyklede til Rapti-floden tæt på, som lå lige inden for hegnet til nationalparken Chitwan med næsehorn, tigre, leoparder og krokodiller m.fl. Dagen efter kørte vi imidlertid langt ind i nationalparken i Jeeps men så desværre ingen tigre eller leoparder, men vel ikke så underligt når der kommer larmende biler tæt på. Nationalparken er ikke lige som en Afrikansk steppe med masser af synlige dyr. Vi kom dog tæt på næsehorn – næsten for tæt samt så nogle tamme elefanter. Krokodillerne var ”desværre” også rimelig fraværende – der var en enkelt at spotte langt væk, men der var hjorte og masser af fugle bl.a. påfugle og papegøjer. Om aftenen var der ret imponerende lokal stammedans. De unge tilskyndes til at holde deres traditioner ved lige. Uheldigvis var jeg for træt til at deltage i gåturen i landsbyen næste dag. Det var hele tiden en kamp at holde trit med de andre pga. den virus, som jeg havde reddet mig.

I Pokhara, Nepals 3. største by, som ligger ved Phewa-søen, begyndte temperaturen at blive mere normal. Det tropiske lavland ligger helt tæt på bjergene, hvilket ikke kan opleves nogen andre steder i verden. Byen har udviklet sig til en ren turistby med masser af souvenirbutikker og restauranter og et startsted for bjergvandring, men stadigvæk en ret rolig by. På vej til hotellet besøgte vi et hjem for kvinder, der er sluppet fri fra menneskehandlere. Kl. 5 næste morgen gik turen til Sarangkot, som er et udkigspunkt, som ligger 1592 m over havet for at se solen gå op over Himalayabjergene, men diset vejr forhindrede os desværre i at se toppene ligesom al flyvning over dem måtte aflyses. Herefter blev det til endnu en dag med shopping og sightseeing i området.

Dagen efter blev det til endnu en lang køretur på ca. 200 km mod Katmandu, som varede 7-8 timer pga. de lokales uhensigtsmæssige kørsel og overhalinger i bjergene, som skabte en kø på flere timer mellem Pokhara og Katmandu. Vi nåede derfor også kun lige akkurat tempelkomplekset Swayambhunath (kaldet abetemplet pga. de mange Rhesusaber, der holder til). Templet ligger på en bakketop 77 m over dalen. Forneden af bakken går der en 300 trin trappe op til toppen, hvis man går hele turen op. De aber, som vi havde hørt så meget om myldrer rundt, var næsten fraværende måske pga. den særlige højtid med mange mennesker både lokale og turister. Hele komplekset var pyntet med en masse flag. Udsigten fra toppen var utrolig god og man kunne se ud over Katmandu. Om aftenen gik turen til en af Thamals mange restauranter og en kort tur rundt i de mange gader.

Den allersidste dag oplevede jeg for første gang regn på turen. Det væltede ned i nogle timer og så var det overstået, og for første gang kunne man tage en trøje på og lukkede sko. Efter regnen var Katmandus gader i Thamal (bazarområdet) det rene pladder, men det tog noget af støvet fra alle gaderne. Katmandu er utrolig støvet og beskidt. På Durbar Square var de i gang med genopretning af ødelæggelserne efter orkanen året forinden. Det kostede derfor en bondegård at komme ind på pladsen.

Mellem Durbar Square og Thamal for jeg vild. Jeg anede ikke hvor jeg var. Til sidst måtte jeg spørge en lokal, der ikke var til at slippe af med og som ”uden beregning” bragte mig broen over til det finere kvarter Durbar Marg, hvor butikkerne var færre og mere vestlige at se på. Han fik ikke en krone. Efterfølgende måtte jeg så spørge igen spørge om vej. De 2 unge betjente gik langt for at vise mig vej, men jeg er nu ikke sikker på, at de vidste hvor jeg skulle hen.

Godt udmattet fandt jeg omsider hotellet og så var det tid til at køre til lufthavnen, så jeg kunne komme hjem og pleje min sygdom, som var begyndt at tære rigtig meget på mig. 

Crossing the border of Nepal is like going from a busy bee cube to a silent summer meadow. The change is strikening, but 30 million people are also quite a difference. Another train ride from Varanasi to Bhutwal and the border of Nepal took this time only a few hours. We crossed the border Sunauli-Bhairahawa walking. In Bhutwal we just stayed the night and had a nice evening meal before heading to Lumbini the next day to see the birth place of Budda. The place is so holy that you cannot wear shoes or bring them into the area of the great white building which surround the place where Budda was born – There are wishing wells inside and outside, so you can contribute to the ”eternal” collecting money culture. Just as in India there are a lot of street dogs running around in the heat. They are all kind and should have been taken care of, but the culture is so different.

Indian 100 INR is also a valid currency in Nepal apart from this they have their own currency. Also in this country the prices are different depending on whether you are a native or not.

The heat was a little less unbearable as we arrived in Barauli at the Churia mountains, which was good as there was no aircondition in the small huts of clay for our overnight stays. The village was far away from tourist areas and our staying was made possible in cooperation with the locals. Hens, goats, cows and fields together with only the necessities were a total disruption from the noices, crowds  and cars of India. We were received by woman dressed in local outfits putting flower wreaths around our necks.
The first event in the village was a nice bikeride around the area on bikes, which had seen better days and were more fit for Little people than tall westerns. Everywhere the kids were shouting and wawing. One of the stops was the river Rapti not far away. It was behind a fence as the river was within Chitwan national park with rihnos, tigers, leopards and crocodiles etc. The next day however was a jeepride round the national park but unfortunately we did not see any tigers or leopards, but not so strange as cars are not silent vehicles. The national park is not like the African Savannahs with lots of visible animals. We did however come close to some rhinos – almost too close. Also a couple of tame elefants were around. Unfortunately crocodiles were fairly absent  – only one to spot far away but dears and lots of birds such as peacocks and parrots. In the evening an impressive tribe dance was performed by the locals. The Young ones are encouraged to keep their traditions alive.  Because of my virus I was too tired to attend next days walk the village area. Most of the time it was a struggle for me to keep pace with the group.

In Pokhara, the 3rd biggest city of Nepal by the lake Phewa the temperature started to become a little more normal. The unusual combination of tropical lowland and Mountains is not seen anywhere else on the globe. The city has developed into a tourist area with lots of souvenir shops and restaurants but still rather peaceful and a starting point for trackers. On the way to the hotel there was a stop by the home for women having escaped their trafficers. The next morning 5 am we were heading to Sarangkot, which is a peak 1592 m above the sea to see the sunrise over the Himalayas. Unfortunately the weather was to misty and we couldn't see the top of the Mountains. Even flights over the Mountains were cancelled for the same reason. After this there was another day of shopping and sightseeing in the area.

The day after it was another long car drive of about 200 km to Katmandu. It lasted 7-8 hours due to the crazy driving by the native people and the many takeovers on the narrow mountains roads ended up in a car queue of several hours between Pokhara and Katmandu. Therefore we only just made it to the tempel complex Swayambhunath (also called the monkey tempel due to the many Rhesus monkeys that stick around). The tempel is on a top of a hill 77 m above the valley. From the the bottom of the hill there are 300 steeps to the top if you walk all the way up. All the monkeys that we had heard so much about were absent - maybe because of the extra many local people also present to celebrate the season. The entire complex were full of small flags in different colours just as was the case in Buddas birthplace in Bhutwal. The view from the top was amazing and you could see most of Katmandu. In the evening we were walking the streets of Thamals to visit one of the many restaurants.

The last day in Nepal it rained for the first time on my trip. Actually it was pouring down for several hours and then suddenly it stopped. For the first time I wore a cardigan and closed shoes. After the rain the streets of Katmandus especially in Thamal (the area with bazars) were very muddy, but it cleared away some of the dust. Katmandu is unbelievable durty and dusty. In Durbar Square a reconstruction of the damages from the hurricane the year before was ongoing. The price to enter the area was astronomic.

Between Durbar Square and Thamal I was lost. My inner compas was totally out of order. I had to ask a local for help but of course he was not that easy to get rid of - he wanted to show me the way out of the area "free of charge" and brought me to the bridge to the richer nabourhood Durbar Marg, where the shops are fewer and more western. He didn't get a dime. However still not knowing the way to the hotel I had to ask two young policemen for a direction. They walked far to show me, but I think they did not know where I was heading because I ended up not far away from the spot where I had started in Durbar Marg.

Very exhausted and in good time before having to go to the airport I found the hotel so I was able to get back home and get well, as the virus was beginning to wear me out. 

Indien/India

1,1 mia. mennesker i Indien – ikke overraskende at verden bliver overbefolket. Ikke mange fra Vesten ønsker at bo i Indien, men alligevel er der strenge regler for at komme ind (iflg. Kilder er det en modforanstaltning fordi at Vesten har stramme visumregler mod dem). Vejret var ved ankomsten til New Delhi som forventet ekstrem varmt – hedebølgen var ankommet blot 1 uge før, altså ca. 1 måned tidligere end forventet. 43 grader om dagen – og op til 39 grader om aftenen. Lufthavnen var desuden fuld af uniformerede soldater med tunge våben, så jeg i første omgang troede, at der var en terrortrussel. Glem endelig ikke noget inde i lufthavnen - er du først gået ud, kan du ikke komme ind igen.

Man skal væbne sig med tålmodighed, når man kommer til Indien. Trafikken er tæt med køer på vejbanen og alt kørende på hjul, der ikke overholder nogen regler, så kaos og trafikpropper er daglig underholdning. Jeg bemærkede især, hvor dygtigt inderne undgår ulykker selvom de kører helt sindssygt. De formår også at snog sig i snævre gader uden at påkøre nogen eller noget – det er helt fascinerende. Jeg tror ikke mange vesterlændinge kunne klare det lige så godt. Der findes i øvrigt ikke megen lysregulering i Indien men en masse rundkørsler. Der er heller ikke meget politi til at styre alle lovovertrædelserne, men det er også ligegyldigt eftersom politiet er korrupt

Rejseruten var New Delhi – Jaipur – Agra – Orccha – Varanasi – Bhutwal og Lumbini – Barauli og Chitwan National Park – Pokhra – Katmandu og meget trættende, da der højest var overnatning på samme hotel 2 dage.

New Delhi om aftenen mindede mig om mit første indtryk af Hong Kong – ikke til at se en hånd for sig for mennesker på gaden og reklameskilte, som skygger for alt anden udsigt. Det var et meget kort møde med Delhi, men jeg fik da lige set et par attraktioner så som India Gate, hvor vi lige kunne øjne præsidentboligen Rashtrapati Bhavan selvom den lå meget langt væk og Connaught Place, der især bærer præg af den tidligere britiske kolonitid. Derefter gik rejsen videre til Jaipur længere sydpå. Det var begyndelsen til mange timers kørsel gennem et landskab af fattigdom og oceaner af affald allevegne. Meget affald har jeg set rundt omkring, men Indien slår det 2 gange – ikke en plet uden affald selv de mest øde steder.

I Jaipur var attraktionen The Pink City – hvor et afgrænset område bliver holdt i falmet lyserød. Det var bare så varmt, at det var ulideligt selv i skyggen, og man fik hurtigt overstået sine beskuelser. Særligt for mig, som i forvejen har det med varme, var varmen en udfordring. Derfor blev jeg også lidt imponeret over, at man spillede Indiens nationalsport Cricket selv i den hede.

Jaipur er et handelscentrum for delstaten Rajastan og uden IT-centre og vindmøllefabrikker. Vi ankom ret sent, så der blev kun tid til et kort hvil på hotellet før det gik videre i richshaws til en biograf med en Bollywoodfilm.  De indiske richshaws er bygget, så man føler man falder af, hvis man ikke læner sig godt tilbage og holder fast. En Bollywoodfilm er en speciel oplevelse. Inden filmen går i gang står alle op og synger nationalsangen. Under filmen, som kan være usædvanlig langtrukken og på indisk, larmer folk med begejstrede tilråb og hujen. Bollywoodfilm er dans og pladderromatik. 

Dagen efter gik turen først til Hawa Mahal (vindenes palads) der kun udgør en facade ud til en befærdet vej. Det udgjorde tidligere et udsigtspunkt for Jaipurs royale kvinder, for at lade dem se uden at blive set. Derefter gik det videre til Amber Fort lidt uden for byen. Heden var ulidelig selvom det endnu ikke var middag og fortet lå forholdsvis højt over byen i et åbent landskab. Man skulle hele tiden passe på med at fotografere de indfødte, da de straks greb chancen til at kræve penge. Hele vejen igennem var det utrolig generende hele tiden at blive presset for penge. Turisterne blev advaret om ikke at falde for tiggeriet. Ingen behøver at sulte i Indien, da der er gratis mad i templerne. Efter Amber Fort blev det tid til at blive præsenteret for købsmuligheder i en lille forretning, hvor man selv trykkede mønstre på stofferne, men priserne var turistpriser – det blev dog til et par tynde bukser og et sjal. Man skulle jo helst være anstændig selvom man mest havde lyst til det modsatte. Derefter blev det til en kort frokost, så man kunne tage en gåtur til Jaipur City Palace og se på en hel masse gamle ting, men det var så varmt, at det var svært at koncentrere sig.

Udmattelsen var allerede ved at gøre sit indtog, så jeg var den eneste der blev på hotellet for at få en hvil. Heldigvis var Mandy vores guide der stadig, og hun var på vej ud for at hente penge i byen, så jeg tog med og bagefter tog vi en tur rundt i the Pink City og kiggede på smykker.Foruden alle de gængse bazarer, er der en masse juvelbutikker med ædelstene fra rubiner, safirer og smaragder til ametyster og andre billigere sten – alt  til rimelige priser men også med lidt hang til ringe kvaliteter. Diamanter er ikke særlig udbredte i de mange butikker.

Vores hotel lå midt i et virvar af smågader med handlende og en masse støj – men sjovt nok var der helt stille lige så snart vi kom inden for hotellets jernlåger og høje mure. I boderne, hvor man tilberedte og solgte mad, lå det råt kød i den stegende hede, så man skulle holde sig fra maden på gaden. Man skulle også holde sig fra frugt, der ikke kunne skraldes og selvfølgelig is og vand – selv is med ukendte mærker fra isboder. Man blev også rådet til at tjekke plumberingen på de vandflasker, som man købte.

Dagen efter var det igen tidligt op for at køre de 5-6 timer til Agra. Først til Agra Fort med den utrolig smukke tomme Moské i hvid marmor, Jehangiri Mahal, hvorfra man kan se over til Taj Mahal i det fjerne. Taj Mahal var selvfølgelig smukt og imponerende udvendigt. Man glemmer umiddelbart at det kun er et mausoleum indtil man kommer inden for, hvor det jo er begrænset hvad der er. Aberne, som er overalt i Indien, drønede også rundt alle vegne. Efter Agra startede den første togtur til Jhansi igennem et landskab med spredte små og større landsbyer med huse af alt fra skure og træ og blik til dårlig muret huse. I Jhansi gik det ud af byen til den hellige by Orchha med en ½ times kørsel i Tuk-Tuk. Hotellet var rart og vi slap for at ligge i en teltlejr, da det simpelthen var for varmt. Der har som sædvanlig ikke meget internet at hente, men rigtig dejligt ikke at føle presset af det digitale mediepres.

Der er dejligt i Orchha, en af Indiens mest hellige byer, som er en meget lille og søvnig by ved Betwafloden.

Inden en Hinduceremoni (Puja) i det nærliggende Ran Raja var vi inviteret til at overvære indvielsen af en hjemmeside for byen – vi fik både blomsterkranse om halsen og fotograferet af de lokale journalister. Man følte sig næste som en berømthed. I øvrigt ville alle meget gerne fotograferes med hvide turister.

Dagen efter blev endnu et gammelt palads Orchha Palace fra Mongultiden set i stegende hede, og dagen efter igen blev jeg syg af en virus, som gjorde mig stum i 2 dage og gav hoste og feber resten af turen, men jeg havde heldigvis et helt apotek med, så jeg klarede at holde den gående. Forinden fik jeg dog en tur for mig selv over floden på en bro, der var så smal, at jeg næsten røg ud over kanten da en bus kørte forbi for at krydse floden. Der blev badet lystigt i floden, men mange har jo heller ikke sanitet. Man bør holde sig i respektfuld afstand.

Pga. min virus var den 14 timers togtur til Varanasi derfor også ekstra ubehagelig. De indiske toge er ikke ligefrem luksuriøse og sovekupeerne er åbne og med 7 sovepladser, som både er korte og oven på hinanden i 3-køjefunktion. Jeg lukkede ikke et øje hele natten.

Hotellet lå ikke så langt fra stationen, men jeg var heldig at blive kørt den korte vej med Tuk-tuk og kufferter, fordi jeg var så svedt. Efter at bagagen var anbragt spiste vi frokost på hotellet – det var for varmt at gå ud og der foregik ikke så meget i nærheden af hotellet, som lå et godt stykke vej fra floden Ganges og de Ghats, som vi skulle se. Sidst på eftermiddagen blev vi hentet og kørt ned til Gangesfloden for at gå en kort tur omkring de mange Ghats inden det gik ud på vandet i en lille båd for at opleve større hindu ceremonier langs vandet. Der var utrolig mange mennesker og ceremoniel hindu klokkemusik og alligevel var det en fredsfyldt oplevelse at se det siddende i en lille båd tæt på det hele. Hinduer har ligbrændinger langs vandet hele døgnet rundt og de foregår ligesom en del af hele livsformen, hvor der også bades i den beskidte hellige flod både morgen og aften for at vaske alle synder væk. Tidligt om morgenen den næste dag blev vi hentet af richshaws i gyden ved hotellets bagindgang for at tage endnu en bådtur på Ganges ved solopgang samt en større morgenyogaseance foretaget af en Guru og med deltagelse af de lokale og en enkelt ko, som vadede rundt blandt folk. Bagefter blev det til en kort gåtur langs nogle af de 108 Ghats, hvorefter turen gik videre de 13 km til Sarnath for at se ruinerne, hvor Budda holdt sin først prædiken og det træ (flyttet), hvor han sad under og fik sin åbenbaring samt besøge et Budda tempel og blive ”snydt” af et familiemedlem til en af munkene. De lader deres familier tjene penge på bl.a. at opkræve betaling for at man stiller sine sko i 5 min uden for et tempel.  Bagefter var vi nogle få som valgte af gå i de nærliggende meget smalle gader for at se vævemarkedet og hvordan man laver skabeloner til tøjmønstre fra bunden samt hele processen til det kan sælges af små overherreagtige muslimer med den sædvanlige arrogance – man kan næsten adskille dem for andre kulturer bare ved deres adfærd. Sælgeren var i hvert fald ikke til for kunderne og der var selvfølgelig heller ”ingen” pression på køberne. Om aftenen kunne man så få sig en billig hudmaling med Henna, som bruges meget i Indien som en del af påklædningen ved bryllupper. Der lå nogle små simple og fattige barakker i området omkring hotellet, hvor nogle af de lokale piger tjente nogle ekstra penge på at udsmykke turister. Hennamaling holder ca. 14 dage.

1.1 billion people in India – not surprising that the world is overpopulated. Even though not many people from the West want to live there, there are strict visa regulations to get into the country (according to sources because of the strict regulations against Indians coming to the West).

As expected it was extremely hot when I arrived in New Delhi – the heat had arrived just 1 week before – which was 1 month earlier than expected. Around 43 degrees centigrade during the day and up to 39 degrees centigrade in the evening – the airport was full of men in uniform with heavy weapons. I almost thought that terror was around the corner. Don't forget anything inside the airport - you will not be allowed to enter again if you have stepped outside.

You need to be patient when you are in India. The traffic is dense with cows and everything on wheel. None of them comply with rules and regulations, so chaos and traffic jam is daily entertainment.

The itineray was New Delhi – Jaipur – Agra – Orccha – Varanasi – Bhutwal and Lumbini – Barauli and Chitwan National Park – Pokhra – Katmandu and very exhausting, as it involved only 2 days at the most in each hotel.

New Delhi reminded me of my first impression of Hong Kong – crowds of people everywhere and commercial signs covering for any view of orientation. Delhi was only a brief meeting but I saw some attractions like the India Gate with a view to the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan quite far away, and Connaught Place with buildings from the time when India was a British colony. The journey continued to Jaipur further south. It was in fact the start of many hours of driving through a landscape of powerty and loads of garbage everywhere. I have seen much garbage in the East but India beets it times 2e – ikke en plet uden affald selv de mest øde steder. I have seen much garbage around the globe but India beats it times 2 – not a single spot without trash – not even the most desolated places.

The Pink City was the attraction in Jaipur – a limited area kept in faded pink. Sightseeing was however kept to a limit because of the boiling heat. Especially for me the heat was a challenge, which was why I was impressed by the Cricket players were able to play India’s national sport during day time.

Jaipur is a commercial center in the India's biggest state Rajastan but has no IT centers or windmill factories. The arrival was pretty late so there was only time for a short rest in the hotel before the pickup by richshaws to watch a Bollywoodfilm. The Indian richshaws are built so that you feel that you might fall of if you don’t lean back or cling to anything solid on the bike. A Bollywoodfilm is a special experience. Before the movie starts everyone stands up and sings the national anthem. During the movie which is both long lasting and in Indian language people make a lot of noise both cheering and hoots. Bollywood films are dances and hogwash romance. 

The next day started at the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the winds), but it is only a facade next to a busy road. In the earlier days it was the possibility for Jaipur’s royal females to watch the outside without being seen. After this short stop the ride went on to Amber Fort a little outside the city. The heat was unbearable although it was not even midday yet. The fort was on a hill in an open landscape. All the time you have watch out not to take photos of the native people who right away would see the chance for charging you for money. After each time abroad you tend to forget how annoying it is to have people begging for money all the time. Tourists are warned not to fell pity for the beggars because no one needs to starve in India, as there is enough free food in the temples. After having seen Amber Fort we were of course presented for shopping possibilities probably the guide got a share of the income from the little shop, where they did pattern printing on the fabrics themselves - at tourist prices of course – I did though buy a pair of thin trousers and a shawl.  After a short lunch it was time for a walk to Jaipur City Palace to see a lot of old stuff, but it was too hot to concentrate.

Exhaustion was already beginning to be a problem so I was the only one left back in the hotel because I had to have a long rest, but fortunately Mandy our guide was still behind and about to go out to get cash and so invited me to join her to the Pink City looking at bazars and a lot of jewelry shops with all kinds of gems from rubies, sapphires and emeralds to amethysts and other cheaper stones – al at fair prices but probably also a little less good quality. Not many shops had diamonds.

The hotel was in the middle of a jungle of small streets with traders and a lot of noise – but strangely it was very quiet as soon as you were behind the walls of the hotel. In the bazars selling and preparing food they had raw meat lying on tables in the heat, so you had to be careful with the street food 
and I never ate any nor had ice or drank tapwater – only peelable fruit and ice from well known brands. You also had to check the sealing of the waterbootles.

The day after it was time to drive the 5-6 hours to Agra to see Tash Mahal but the first stop was Agra Fort with an unbelievable beautiful but empty Mosque in white marble Jehangiri Mahal from where you could see the Tash Mahal far away. Tash Mahal was just as beautiful and impressive from the outside as it is on pictures. You forget that it is a mausoleum until you get inside and notice the empty room apart from the 2 coffins in the middle. Like everywhere in India the monkeys were jumping about. Early the next morning we had to catch the train to Jhansi. 4 hours ride through a landscape with scattered villages and houses made of wood and tin or just bad brickwork. The transport from Jhansi to Orchha was ½ hour in a Tuk-Tuk. The hotel was nice and cool and we avoided staying in a tent camp as it was too hot. As was the fact for most places in India there was no internet connection and it was pretty nice not to feel the social media pressure and the impactc of bad News.

Orchha is one of India's most holy places an is a pleasant very small and sleepy town by the river Betwa.

Before the Hindu ceremony (Puja) in the close by temple Ran Raja we were invited to vitness the introduction of a new website for the town – we got flowers around the neck and had our photos taken by the local journalists. They all made us feel like celebraties. It also appeared that it is a trend to have your photo taken with white tourists.

Another old palace Orchha Palace from the period of the mughals was seen in the burning sun the next day and the day after this I became ill from a virus, which made me mute for 2 days and a caught and fever for the rest of my holiday. Fortunately I had brought an entire pharmacy along with me which kept me on my feet. Before I fell ill I managed a walk on my own across the river on a bridge, which was so narrow that I was almost pushed into the river when a bus passed by to cross. Many people both men, women and children were taking a bath in the river, as they do not have running water. You do of course keep a respectful distance.

Due to my virus infection the 14 hours train ride to Varanasi was extraordinary unpleasant. The Indian trains are not exactly luxurious and the sleeping compartments are open and included up to 7 baubles, which were both short and on top of each other like a 3-bunk function. I did not sleep all night.

The hotel City Inn was not far away from the station. The drivers of the Tuk-Tuks did however notice my state of health and offered me a ride along with the trunks. I had lunch at the hotel – it was far to hot to go outside and there was not much to see  in the neighborhood of the hotel, which was pretty far from the river Ganges and the Ghats that we were going to see later. Around 5 pm we were picked up and taken to the area close to the river to make a short walk in the chaos of people, bikes, scooters, cars and cows before we reached the little boat, which took us along the Ghats to a big event of Hindu ceremonies while the sky quickly turned dark. There were unbelievable many people both in boats on the river but also on shore. Young boys were jumping from boat to boat to sell you everything from water to souvenirs.  It was all quite pieceful though to seat in a little boat so close to it all and accompanied by ceremonial Hindu bell music. The Hindus have cremations of their love ones along the river around the clock and they are a part of the entire circle of life at the river where people also wash away their sins in the dirty but holy water both morning and noon. Early next morning we were again picked up by richshaws in the alley behind the hotel to do another boatride on Ganges at sunrise and after that we took part in a morning yoga seance by a Guru and with the participation of the locals and a single cow wandering around in the middle of the crowd. After the yoga we went for a walk along some of the 108 Ghats and then took tuk-tuks to Sarnath 13 km away to see ruins where Budda had his first sermon, the holy tree (moved from its original position) and at Budda temple and to be “cheated” by a family member of one of munks, who earned his living by charging people for money to store their shooes while they visit the temple. After that we went to the weavers market in very narrow streets not possible for traffic to see how templates for patterns are made from scratch - the entire process till fabrics sold by small very arrogant muslims believing they are special as always – you can almost seperate them from any other culture just by their behaviour. He was not serviceminded at all and there was "of course" no pressure to buy. In the evening I had a cheap painting on my skin with Henna which is very common in India in connections with weddings. A local girl earned some extra money painting turists in very poor and simple shack not far from the hotel. Henna painting lasts about 2 weeks.

Rep. af fliser/Repair of slabs

Et af årets sidste udendørs gøremål var reparation af fliserne i gårdhaven. Det kan man faktisk gøre nemt ved at drysse et meget tyndt lagt tørbeton ud over fliserne og lade det gå i kemisk forbindelse ved det næste regnvejr. Fliserne bliver næsten nye igen.

One of the last outdoor chores this year was the repair of the concrete slabs in the court yard. It can be done rather easily by strewing a very thin layer of dry concrete on top of the existing slabs and wait for the chemical process on the next rainy day. The slabs will be almost new again.

Nyt udestuetag

Så kom taget til udestuen for tur. Det var begyndt og blive utæt især efter vinterens kæmpe snefald p 70 cm. Det var også i tide at det blev udskiftet, da det ikke var lavet konstruktionsmæssigt korrekt og der var begyndt at komme råd i enden mod syd. Nu håber jeg, at det kan holde til jeg sælger huset. Der har virkelig været mange udgifter igennem årene, og jeg er temmelig træt af at skulle have håndværkere. Det er både dyrt og opslidende.

The time had come to put a new roof on the conservatory. It had started to leak especially after last year's snowfall of 70 cm coming at one time. Also because the construction had not been made correctly rot has started to occur in the rafter at the south end. Now I hope it will last till I sell the house. Too many expenses over the years and I am rather tired of  repair issues. It is both expensive  and fatiguing.

Canada

Vejret i Canada var varmere end vejrudsigten havde antydet 14 dage tidligere - godt 24 grader de 3 første dage men så faldt temperaturen også dramatisk med 10 grader på hver af de følgende 2 dage, så det var næsten vinter inden vi tog hjem igen. Også i Canada var der mange hjemløse på gaden, men tilsyneladende er det ikke indvandrerne, men de etniske canadier der er ramte.

Der er vildt mange forskellige nationaliteter samlet - det ses især på de mange farvede, som fylder gadebilledet. Det er tilsyneladende kun den vestlige verden, der er ude for dette fænomen med udskiftning af den oprindelige befolkning.

Vi boede på Holiday Inn, 30 Carlton Street meget centralt i Toronto, hvor mange seværdigheder lå tæt på the Waterfront, men afstandene var alligevel mega, så Max's vedholdenhed ikke at ville tage metroen, gjorde det temmelig tidskrævende at komme fra en destination til den næste, men vi fik da set både Ripleys's Aquarium, Casa Loma, Kensington market og CN Tower (i sidstnævnte havde vi udsigt over det meste af den store by men jeg var lidt skuffet over afskærmningen efter at have været i Dubai's Al Khalifa).

Vi var på en heldagstur til Niagra Falls, hvor vi tog afsted omkring kl. 9 om morgenen og først var tilbage kl. 19. På turen mødte vi bl.a. en sød ung britisk pige, som havde taget turen over alene. Det var åbenbart ikke første gang, at hun gjorde sådanne rejser alene. Da vi ankom til destinationen virkede som det kun var kinesere, der havde valgt samme udflugtsmål. Det var næsten umuligt at se andre nationaliteter, da vi stod i kø for at komme om bord på den båd The Hornblower, som skulle sejle os tæt på vandfaldet. Med 1 mia. kinesere i verden bliver det nok ikke et særsyn fremover. I øvrigt var der så meget gang i vandfaldet, at vi måtte søge ly for vandet, da vi kom helt tæt på. Det virkede ret voldsomt. Vi fik en god middag på Sheraton on the Falls og besøgte også en særlig by på vejen hjem Niagra-On-The-Lake. Det er en af Nordamerikas mest velbevarede byer fra 1900-tallet og noget af det mest idylliske og fine lille by med smukt anlagte haver, et hyggeligt klokketårn og meget mere. Det er ikke unormalt, at folk kører rundt hestevogn her. Den mindede mig om samme slags turistattraktion uden for Shanghai, hvor man har bevaret en gammel by, som man skulle betale for at komme ind i.

Jeg plejer ikke at bryde mig om museer men Royal Ontarium Museum har den flotteste samling af natursten der ligner smykker i sig selv - de er så flotte, at de ikke kan beskrives. Desuden er der alle mulige andre flotte samlinger lige fra det gamle Kina og Egypten til alle mulige fortidsdyr.

Desværre nåede vi ikke Toronto Zoo et godt stykke uden for byen på grund af vejret. Det regnede en del dagen før vi skulle hjem, hvor det var planen at nå dertil. Selve Toronto er i øvrigt nem at finde rundt i og meget moderne i lighed med andre vestlige storbyer - især bemærker man de mange meget dyre biler uden at jeg dog har kendskab til landets bilafgifter.

Vi spiste både på kinesiske, japanske og thai restauranter og nåede ikke at finde ud af nationalretten i Canada.

Vi kunne sagtens have brugt et par dage mere, men samtidig er man træt efter at rejse rundt så meget. Det er jo hårdt at holde ferie, og Canada er heller ikke ligefrem et billigt sted.

The weather in Canada turned out warmer than the weather cast had predicted 2 weeks before - almost 24 degrees centigrade the first 3 days of the stay, but then the temperature fell dramatically with 10 degrees each of the following 2 days, so we ended practically up with Winter before we went back home to a climate just as cold despite the time of year. As in Cuba Canada also has many homeless people on the streets. Very strikening it is not the immigrants on the streets but the etnic Canadians.

There are  many different nationalities in Toronto - you can tell by the many colored people in the streets. Exchange of the native people is a phenomena only seen in the western world.

We stayed in Holiday Inn, 30 Carlton Street with a very central location to the many sights in Toronto,many of which were close to the Waterfront, but distances were mega non the less, so Max's perseverance not to take the metro made it a rather time demanding issue to get from one destination to the next, but anyway we did get to see both Ripleys's Aquarium, Casa Loma, Kensington market and the CN Tower (the latter did give us a peak over most of the big city although I was a bit disappointed because over the fencing in compared to the Al Khalifa in Dubai).

We did go on a one day tour to Niagra Falls leaving around 9 a.m. in the morning not returning until 7 p.m. in the evening. During the tour we talked to a nice young British girl pige, who had made the journey across all by herself. It was obviously not the first time that she did such a holiday alone. At the arrival of our destination it seemed as if only chinesee had chosen the same excursion. Cueing for the boat The Hornblower, which should take us close to the waterfall you could see no any other nationality but the Chinesee. With more than 1 billion Chinesee on the planet that will probably not be a rarity in the future. The water fall was so heavy that we had to go indoors on the boat when we came close up. It seemed pretty rough. On our way back we visited an ancient very tidy looking town Niagra-On-The-Lake dating back from the 1900 century. It is one of North America's best preserved Towns and very idyllically with beautiful gardens, a cosy belfry and a lot more. It is not rare that people in this town drive around in horse-drawn carriage. It reminded me of a small town with the same purpose in Shanghai that I visit but with the difference that you had to pay to get in.

Usually I do not fancy museums but Royal Ontarium Museum has the most amazing collection of natural stones and many being a piece of jewelry in itself - they are so spetacular that you need to see them to understand. Besides these stones there are all sort of pretty and interesting Collections from ancient China and Egypt as well as prehistoric animals.

Because of a rainy day we did not make the Toronto Zoo some 1½ hours' ride outside town so we missed a tour on our tour pass tickets. It is easy to find your way around Toronto city, which is very modern similar to many equally big cities in the western world - specifically noticable is the many very expensive cars not that I know how much you tax pay on cars.

We ate both in Chinesee, Japanesee and Thai restaurants and really did not find out what the national dish in Canada is.

A couple of days more for exploration would have been fine, but at the same time you are very tired after a long time moving around. Holiday is hard Word and Canada isn't exactly a  cheap place to be.

Cuba

Første indtryk af Cuba var stegende varme selvom klokken var 10 om aftenen samt det at blive sat tilbage i tiden. Gamle huse og biler fra 50-erne og ingen reklameskilte bortset for propaganda for helten Che Guevara og hyldest til republikken og Fidel Castro. Cuba er et fattigt land og har hovedsagelig undgået bankerot pga. turisme, men de ved så til gengæld også, hvordan de skal flå folk. Alt i Cuba er 10 gange så dyrt for turister som for indbyggerne, så det er ikke specielt billigt at opholde sig i landet. Deres valuta CUC følger dollarkursen, som jo er steget kraftigt det seneste års tid. Deres anden valuta pesos er meget lidt værd og ikke særlig anvendelig hvor turisterne kommer.  Der findes ikke ret mange butikker, og dem som findes er nærmest usynlige. De har næsten intet udvalg og der mangler ofte varer på hylderne. Cubanerne lever mest af hvad de selv kan dyrke og de er ikke specielt gode til at lave mad.

Der er mange europæiske turister på Cuba - især tyske med deres helt egen guide mens kinesere og andre asiater, muslimer og amerikanere glimrer ved deres fravær. Et land, der mere eller mindre stadig er sin helt egen med helt egen oprindelig befolkning.

Dejligt at opleve livet igen uden internet. Det giver så meget mere tid, når man ikke skal opfylde alle de krav, som er kommet i forbindelse med nettets indtræden i den offentlige sfære.

Der er folk i Cuba, som sover på gaden på trods af, at regeringen giver fri uddannelse, lægehjælp og yder madpenge, og de lokale tigger konstant, hvilket bliver en større og større belastning - jo længere man opholder sig i landet. Man skal helst undgå øjenkontakt, da man ellers bliver mødt med en fremstrakt hånd om at give lidt penge. De ser selvfølgelig os turister som meget velhavende. En receptionist på et hotel tjener ca. 50 CUC = 350 kr. om måneden, så der er ikke meget at slå til Søren med. Jeg blev bl.a. spurgt om jeg ville give min lille rygsæk til dørmanden på hotellet, da hans søn på 7 år lige var begyndt i skole. En mærkelig fornemmelse at få den form for tiggeri udstukket. Så kan man jo undre sig over, at en køretur med privatchauffør for en enkelt dag koster 120 CUC. De penge var godt givet ud, da det egentlig var den pris vi skulle have givet for samme oplevede, som hvis vi havde købt den med bus hjemmefra, og oven i købet slap vi for at sidde i en bus samt at måtte følge mængden af turister. Vi kørte i en gammel flot istandsat amerikanerbil - en rigtig flyder med masser af plads. Dog måtte vi konstatere, at gammeldags støddæmpere ikke har den samme affjedring, som vi ser i dag. Vejene på Cuba er i ringe tilstand, så man hoppede noget op og ned i løbet at turen.

Ikke mange taler engelsk, og chaufføren, som skulle køre os til Vinãles talte kun spansk - det fik vi først at vide lige inden afgang, så vi fik lige indhentet nogle gloser og sætninger i receptionen til hjælp. Med et meget lille ordforråd fik vi gjort os forståelig over for chaufføren, så vi kunne udfritte ham for nye ord. Han var tålmodig alle 10 timer vi kørte med ham og Max donerede ham 20 CUC i drikkepenge, fordi vi ikke kunne få vekslet. Det fik ham til at flække fra øre til øre. Jeg tænker at han aldrig før havde fået så mange drikkepenge, men det blev også den eneste gang, hvor vi afgav så store drikkepenge ellers ville vi være blevet ruineret.

Max var utrolig god til at huske og lære og i løbet af kun 2 dage havde han fyldt en masse ord og sætninger i et medbragt skrivehæfte, så vi fint kunne begå os resten af tiden på Cuba.

Selv med næsten ingen trafik på vejene var der ca. 2½ times kørsel til Vinãlesdalen, som er et UNESCO Verdensarvsområde på grund af de limstensbjerge, mogotes, som dominerer området - vi besøgte bl.a. Mural de la Prehistoria med kalkmalerier på bjergvæggen og sejlede inde i drypstenshuler. På vejen til Vinäles stoppede vi også ved bl.a. et kulturområde med en lille udendørs bar og ved en tobaksplantage. På plantagen spurgte en mand hvor vi kom fra og da vi sagde Danmark, var hans bemærkning; have you no sun? vi lignede jo kridt i forhold til de lokale. Vi havde da kun været i Havanna en enkelt dag, hvor vi prøvede at flygte lidt for solen og varmen, som virkede ret ulidelig. Jeg blev brændt allerede i Sightseeingsbussen den første dag, fordi vi valgte at sidde ovenpå, hvor mit hat ikke kunne blive på hovedet, når bussen kørte. Om aftenen var vi ude og spise på La Mina i Havanna. Ret dyrt når man tænker på, at man er i et fattigt land hvor folk næsten ingen penge har. Maden var heller ikke særlig god, så vi fandt dagen efter en lille Pizza restaurant Don Julio i den gamle bydel, hvor vi boede tæt på centrum. Om aftenen stod den på drinks i hotellets bar og snak med dørmænd og bartendere.

Hotelværelset på Armadores de Santander i Havanna var stort og i 2 afdelinger med sofaarrangement i den ene afdeling - måske ikke ligefrem luksus efter danske forhold men alligevel fint. Værelset lå lige ved en stor terrasse med udsigt over en del af havnen i nærheden af Plaza de San Francisco.

Vi forsøgte om lørdagen 1. maj at komme med til den årlige demonstration på pladsen Plaza de Revulozión. Vi havde fået at vide, at det var omkring kl. 12 og at der kom en million mennesker, så vi tænkte, at det varede hele dagen. Da vi kom kl. 11:30 var det hele overstået og næsten alt pakket væk. Det havde varet ca. 20 min., var startet omkring kl. 9 og der havde kun været omkring 600 mennesker.

Vi så ikke folk danse, men der er musikbands alle vegne, som prøver at sælge deres CD'er i forsøg på at lave lidt penge. De går fra restaurant til restaurant og spiller - åbenbart med restauranternes velsignelse.

Vi blev i øvrigt hentet og bragt i taxa under hele turen undtagen da vi kørte de ca. 5-6 timer med bus fra Havanna til Trinidad med kun 3 stop. Faktisk også kun den eneste gang, hvor vi måtte vente på at blive afhentet, fordi bussen også skulle til andre hoteller og afhente. Alt på Cuba går langsomt, men det virker trods alt sjovt nok bedre end DSB i Danmark. Vi havde en del ventetid i lufthavnen på bagagen da vi ankom, men ellers gik alt faktisk på slaget.

I Trinidad boede vi på et Casa Particulare som svarer til det engelsk bed and breakfast. Der er åbnet op for at cubanerne kan have selvstændig virksomhed, og man kan tjene pænt på at have turister boende. Vi boede hos Amarilys Y Andrés i en smal bygning med stejle trapper. Vi fik et lille værelse med eget toilet og bad med udgang til den overdækkede terrasse - heldigvis var der air condition for der var endnu mere ulidelig varmt i Trinidad. Vi fik ikke set meget, da vi kom, da vi var helt udmattet af varmen og den lange køretur, så vi spiste hos Amarilys og gik tidlig i seng. Næste morgen fik vi små pandekager, mango og lidt toast og ost - cubanerne har slet ikke det madvareudvalg som vi europæere er vant til, så de må spise det, som de selv kan dyrke. Amarilys havde mangotræ i haven og lavede den bedste kolde mangojuice. Vi fik talt en del med hende trods sprogvanskelighederne - en smule spansk blandet med lidt engelsk. Hun var i gang med at lære engelsk for at kunne tale med kunderne. Bagefter tog vi på byvandring kl. 10, hvor det allerede var omkring 32-33 grader, Vi var bl.a. oppe i bytårnet i Museo de Historico Municipal for at se ud over byen - en fantastisk udsigt over et gammelt samfund. Det er hårdt at gå i Trinidad, som består af smalle stejle gader, der kun belagt med toppede brosten. Ligesom i Havanna er aftenslivet meget afdæmpet - ingen diskoteker og larmende unge mennesker. Man hænger bare ud på små barer og cafeer eller sidder rundt omkring i gaderne og nyder, at det er blevet lidt køligere. Salsa er nok mest arrangementer for turister.

Trinidad er meget lille og er hurtig at overse men særlig med sin gamle stil, de små snævre gader og farverige smalle huse. En by uden højhuse og alt det moderne teknologi vi vesterlændinge er hjernevasket med. Dog er en masse mennesker begyndt at bygge en ekstra etage oven på deres eksisterende hus, hvilket vel er konsekvensen af den nye politik med at folk kan eje og have lidt egen virksomhed.

Efter nogle dage i Trinidad gik turen videre nordpå igen til Varadero, en 20 kilometer lang tange med masser af hoteller specielt til turister. Det er en helt anden verden på Cuba, hvor man kun finder turister og udlandscubanere, der inviterer familien på et ophold. Der er lidt køligere og mere luft pga. beliggenheden. Vi boede "all inclusive" så ingen penge op af lommen. Omgivelserne lever op til de absolut flotteste, og strandene er fantastiske om end vandet indimellem kan være noget utilgængeligt pga store bølger, men så er der jo poolen. Vi ramte en periode, hvor der ikke var mange gæster på hotel Naviti, da hovedafdelingen var under reparation. Vi boede et stykke fra det store hotel i bugalowlignende bygninger ved vandet, så der var stille og roligt - nok lidt for stille og roligt. Max underholdte sig selv med bartenderne i den udendørs bar og mødte også nogle tyskere, som han var lidt sammen med. Hver aften var der en eller anden form for underholdning, men den var for det meste ret kedelig - kun en svømmeopvisning var lidt speciel. Vi slappede meget af ind imellem nogle få ture bla. til Delfinario ikke så langt fra hotellet med delfinopvisning og mulighed for at svømme med delfiner (prisen de forlangte for det sidste var ganske uhørt - omkring 750 kr. pr. person for ca. 20 min. svømning). Vi tog også sightseeingbussen helt ud til spidsen af tangen, hvor der lå en flot marina. Vi var også på en heldagstur til Zapata Nationalpark (igen flere timers kørsel sydpå), hvor vi besøgte en krokodillefarm og sejlede i speedbåd til en lille ø samt spiste ved stranden ud til det Caribiske hav. Efter Zapata tog vi på Beatles bar i området nær broen til Varadero, som havde bylignende faciliteter. Det var faktisk en rigtig god oplevelse med Beatles musik og optræden af bands, der spillede gamle popnumre. Vi tog selvfølgelig en af de gamle biler, som Cuba er fyldt med. På vejen hjem blev vi kørt i åben "karet", hvor jeg nær havde fået blæst håret af. Mors dag, som var dagen før var der lavet et specielt spisearrangement på hotellet - det var rigtig hyggeligt og mødrene fik roser - man nævnte specielt, at det var i anledningen af mors dag i Danmark, men jeg ved ikke om de normalt har så mange danskere, at det var grunden.

Den sidste aften/nat fik vi besøg af en græshoppe. Den sad fast i  håndklædet, som lå mod sprækken i døren og den larmede så meget, at vi vågnede af det. Tidligere havde jeg mødt en kæmpebille på badeværelset - ikke just velkomne gæster for europæiske turister. Ikke alle værelser var lige afskærmede ved foden af indgangsdøren men ellers var værelset stort og godt med udvendig terrasse, og vi så ikke flere skræmmende dyr, men fodrede til gengæld fugle til den helt store guldmedalje.

Vi fik drukket en masse Pina Colada, som er nationaldrikken - rom er bare billig og vi fik svedt en masse. En oplevelse på Cuba sætter ligesom livet i Danmark lidt i perspektiv.

First impression of Cuba was an extreme heat even at 10 o'clock in the evening and the fact of being set back in time. Old houses and cars from the 50'ties and no commercial signs apart from propaganda for the heroe Che Guevara and the glorification of the republic and Fidel Castro. Cuba is a pour country and has only avoided bankrupcy mainly because of tourism, however they also do know how to rip off people. Everything in Cuba is 10 times as expensive for tourist as it is for the locals, which does not make it especially cheap to stay in the country. Their currency CUC follows the dollar, which has risen quite a lot during the last year. The other currency pesos is worth very little and not of much use to the tourists. There are only few shops and they are almost invisible. The range of goods are extraordinary limited and very often there is even lack of the usual goods on the shelves. Cubans mostly eat what they can grow themselves and are not very good cooks.

You will find many European tourist in Cuba - especially Germans, who have their very own guide while the Chinesee and other Asians, muslims and Americans are almost absent. Cuba is still a coutry of origin with its very own people.

So nice to have life back without the internet. That gives you so much more freedom not having to fulfill the many obligations, which have entered our lives with the necessity of being online.

There are people in Cuba sleeping in the streets in spite of the fact that the government provides free education, medical care and food coupons. The locals beg constantly and it becomes an increasingly pain in the neck the longer you stay. You have to avoid eye contact as that obviously urge them to ask you for money. Of course they see the tourists as wealthy people. A receptionist in a Cuban hotel earns about 50 CUC = 350 DKK a month which leaves very little money for having fun. A doorman in the hotel in Havana did ask me for my very small backpack to his 7 year-old son who had just started school. A very strange feeling being exposed to that kind of begging. That makes you wonder about the price for a one day drive with a chauffeur which is 120 CUC, but the money was well spent as it was the same price we should have paid in advance for the same excursion but in a bus, and on top of that we did not have to follow the crowd of tourists. We drove in an old and very well kept American car - a very big one with a lot of space. We did however get to the conclusion that old fashioned shock absorbers do no meet the requirements of today. The roads in Cuba are in a very poor state and poor shock absorbers gives you many hoops during a ride.

English is only spoken in hotels and  the driver taking us to Vinãles did only speak spanish - we were only told this just before departure and we had to make the hotel reception manager give us a few words and sentenses in a hurry, so with a very scarce vocabulary to make the driver understand us, we succeeded to learn a lot of new words from him along the way. He was very patient all 10 hours he drove us around and Max tipped him 20 CUC - mostly because we could not get the huge amount changed. Of course that amount made him smile all over his face. I think that he had not had that kind of tip before. Anyway it was also the last time we gave that away so much money otherwise we would have been ruined.

Max was emmencely good at remembering and learning, so in the course of only two days he had filled in words and sentences in a notebook to get us though the rest of the time in Cuba.

Even with very little traffic on the roads we drove almost 2½ hours to the Vinãles valley, which is on UNESCO's list of preservation areas because of the limestone mountains, the mogotes, which dominates the area - we visited amoung other places Mural de la Prehistoria with the mural paintings on the mountain walls and sailed inside limestone caves. On our way we stopped both at a cultural place with an exsotic outdoor bar and by a tobacco plantation where a man asked us where we came from. When we said Denmark, he smiled and said; have you no sun? we were extraordinary pale compared to the locals being only in Havanna a single day having to try to escape the burning sun and the heat, which was almost unbearable. I did get my face sun burned already in the sightseeingsbuss the day before, because we chose to sit in the open on the top deck where it was impossible to keep your hat on. In the evening after returning we ate in the restaurant La Mina in Havanna. Pretty expensive when you think that you are in a poor country where people only have very little money. The food was not very good either so the next day we found a small Pizzeria Don Julio in the old part of town not far from our hotel. In the evening we had drinks in the bar of the hotel and chatted with doormen and bar keepers.

Our hotel room in Armadores de Santander in Havanna was huge and separated in 2 departments having a couch and chairs in one - maybe not exactly luxurious compared to Danish conditions but I found them very nice considering. The room was on the first floor close to a very big terrace with a view to a part of the habour just across the road and close to Plaza de San Francisco.

Saturday the 1st of May we intended to go the yearly demonstration on Plaza de Revulozión. We were told it started around 12 a.m. and that one million people would be there, so we expected it to last all day. When we arrived around 11:30 a.m. it was all over and almost everything was packed away. It had lasted only about 20 minutes and had started already at 9 a.m. with about 600 people.

We did not see people danse the Salza but there were band playing music everywhere trying to sell their CDs and make a little money. They go from restaurant to restaurant and play - obviously with the consent of the restaurants.

All during our stay in Cuba we were being transported in cabs exept for the 5-6 hours ride in a buss from Havanna to Trinidad with only 3 stops. Actually it was also the only time that we had to wait to be picked up, but that was because the buss had to get people from hotels all over Havana. Everythin in Cuba is slow, but strangely their transportation seems to be better than our public tranportation DSB in Denmark. We also had to wait in the airport quite some time for our luggage but everything else worked on the clock.

In Trinidad we stayed in a Casa Particulare, a sort of the English bed and breakfast. The cubans are now allowed to have some private business and they make good money on renting rooms to tourists. Amarilys Y Andrés lived in a very narrow building with very steep stairs. We had a small room connected with a private bath next a porch - luckily the room had air condition because Trinidad was even hotter than Havana. We did not see much when we arrived because we were all worn out by the heat and the long drive and we ate at Amarilys and went to bed early. The Next morning we had pan cakes for breakfast with toast and cheese and Mango - the Cubans do not have the wide varity of food that is available for us europeans, so they eat what they can grow themselves. Amarilys had a Mango tree in her garden and made the best cold Mango juice. We manage to speak with her in spite of the language problems - a little Spanish mixed with some English words. She was into learning English in order to be able to speak with her customers. After breakfast we went to explore the town by walking. It was 10 o'clock but the temperature was already around 32-33 degrees. We did see the Museo de Historico Municipal and went up in the belfry where there was a fantastic view over the old town. It is hard to walk in Trinidad. It has narrow steep streets covered by cobblestones and like Havana nightlife is very quiet - no discos or noisy young people. People just hang out in small bars and restaurants or sit in the streets enjoying that the temperature has gone down. The Salsa is probably mostly arrangements for tourist.

Trinidad is a very small town and it does not take long to see it all, but the town is special because of its narrow cobblestone streets and old colourful narrow houses. A town is without houses with several floors and all the modern technology that brain washes the western people. - however it seems to be a lot of construction going on. Due to the new politics in Cuba many people can now afford to build a new storage on top of their existing house.

After 3 days in Trinidad we went North again to Varadero, located on the sinuous 20km-long Hicacos peninsula with a lot of hotels - a resort especially for tourists. It is like coming to a quite different world in Cuba only visited by tourist and excile Cubans inviting the family on a vacation. The air is cooler because of the location where there is a breeze from the ocean. We stayed "all inclusive" so everything in the hotel was free. The surrounding were fabulous and the beach looked like paradise even though the see had big wawes most of the time. Anyway the pool didn't. The big hotel building of hotel Naviti was being repaired, but we stayed however about 5 minutes walk away in quiet 2 floor buildings by the see. Max entertained himself with the bar tenders in the outdoor and also met a German couple, with whom he spent some time. Every night the hotel gave some entertainment, which was pretty much very dull - only a swimm show in the pool was quite nice and entertaining. We did relaxe and went on a couple of excursions among others to the Delfinario not far from the hotel. They had a show and the possibility to swimm with dolfins (the Price they charges was totally outrageous - about DKK 750 per person for about a 20 min. swimm). We also went by the sightseeing buss all the way to the tip of the peninsula and a very pretty marina and we made a one day excursion to Zapata Nationalpark (Again we went south driving several hours) visiting a crocodile farm and sailing in a speed boat to a tiny island and eating by the beaches of the Carribean ocean. After Zapata we went to a Beatles bar in the Varadero area, which had entertainment facilities when you crossed the gate to the peninsula. That was a really good experience listing to old Beatles music and pop music from the 60-ties and with performing bands playing that old music without being able to pronounce the English very well. The cab bringing us to the bar was of course an old American car, which is on the roads of Cuba by the number. We were brought back in an open American car and the wind almost blew my hair of. Mothers day the day before was a special dinner arrangement in the hotel - a very nice arrangement with sofiticated music played by 5 beautiful girls in red. We had roses too. They told us it was because of mother day in Denmark. Maybe they usually have a lot of Danish guests.

The last evening/night we had a visitor in the shape of a grasshopper. It was stucked in the towel, which had been put into chink. It was so noisy that it woke us up. A couple of days before I met a huge beetle in the bathroom - not exactly guests for European tourists. Not all the rooms were well shielded by the entrance door but apart from that the room was huge and nice and with an outdoor terrace. We did not see any other scary animals but feeded a lot of birds.

We had a lot of Pina Colada drinks - the national drin in Cuba - rum is cheap and we were hot a lot. Life in Cuba does give your life in Denmark a different perspektive.