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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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Aspects
of Asia: Travellers' Tales
Docklands was the venue for our latest event, a collection of 'Travellers' Tales' with an Asian theme. Twenty Mensans, including a number of TravelSIG members, joined us on Saturday 21 July at the London Docklands Holiday Inn Hotel, to enjoy three different perspectives on this vast and mysterious continent. Margaret Walker provided a polished and fascinating look back at her visit with a tour party to Iran. If you have enjoyed one of Margaret's presentations at previous TravelSIG events, it won't surprise you to learn that the colourful slides she used as illustration - sometimes unexpected in their content - were excellent. For example, there was a depiction of 'ladies who lunch' in Esfahan! One of the many interesting points of note was the friendliness of the Iranians, to Margaret and to the many Americans in her party. Clearly, the desire for US dollars has come to outweigh former hatred of 'the Great Satan' - although the face of the late Ayatollah Khomeini still appears on many posters. Locals often took the opportunity to practise their English: at one point, Margaret found herself reciting Milton and quoting extracts from Fitzgerald's translation of Omar Khayyam. The tour covered a great deal of ground, starting in Teheran and visiting Quasvin, Hamadan, Esfahan, the archaeological treasures at Persepolis, the rose gardens at Shiraz and finally Yazd. For those with historical, literary or religious interests, the tour provided the chance to view reliefs of Rustam (hero of a Matthew Arnold poem); excavations at Ecbatana, capital of the Medes under Cyrus the Great; and the Armenian Cathedral and Jewish synagogue in Esfahan. The contrasts between stark desert and the many beautiful gardens, courtyards and bazaars were also striking. Next was something a little different from Helen Matthews. Issue 37 of VISA featured an inside account of a wedding in Pakistan; Helen told us 'the bridesmaid's tale'. To convey some of the flavour of the wedding, Helen was resplendent in one of the saris she wore as a bridesmaid and other outfits were on display). She also borrowed one hotel sofa and two slightly surprised - but very sporting - audience members. The men and women sat on opposite side of the room, for added authenticity although, at the wedding itself, the women were usually in another room entirely! The wedding took place over several days and was an exotic mixture of colour, ritual, delay and confusion. Helen gave a lively account of the occasion, whether explaining the different applications of henna (mud pie content, hand decorations); the alarms and excursions involved in feeding the groom's family, without breaking the law; or the endless permutations of friends, relatives, villagers and even a visiting beggar at the wedding. This was clearly a memorable event. We moved further east across Asia for our final talk on Laos, from John Keeble. John, who also supplied splendid posters for the event, gave us a view of some of the sights of this elusive land, including the 33 wats (temples) of Luang Prabang. The slides were invariably stunning: craggy limestone, mists, bridges which do not always totally cross the river - "classic Asian vistas", in John's words. In his many visits to Laos, John has clearly developed great affection for the indigenous population. The novice monks are not as intense or aloof as their Vietnamese counterparts: they are not averse to a crafty smoke around the corner from the temple, for example. There is no 'tourist track', so visitors can simply wander round villages such as Savannakhet. Chaos, or at least disorganisation, is a regular companion; buses are also used as HGVs, so you may share your journey with a cement consignment or an engine. More sombrely, there is also the shadow of recent history. Minefields are still a feature of the landscape; many parts of Laos have never recovered from heavy American bombing. More bizarrely, there is no letter 'r' in the local language - the Communists eradicated it due to its supposed connotations of royalty. John's presentation, like the others, brought forth many questions from the audience and it was a shame that we could not continue longer. Nonetheless, it was a thoroughly successful, enjoyable and educational event. Thanks are due to our speakers, for their time, energy and insights; to our audience (including Helen's two volunteers!); and to the AG organisers, including TravelSIG member Dave Muller. We are already considering plans for the next SIG event! |