Chaco Culture National Historical Park

To sort of get back into the flow of things.
Before Malaysia, and before my first attempt at going to Monument Valley I was in Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
It is a very neat place, very interesting for its ruins, petroglyphs but also for its great landscape. The worse and the best side of Chaco is that the road to it is SO dreadful (at least the few 11 miles or so - I can't remember now) that its is not as busy as such a site would be anywhere else.

Here are some of the highlights for me...and as usual no explanations.

Chaco is at the centre of a radiating ancient road network. When the roads encounter cliffs they built stairs....
In the photo below you can barely see them.

Here is a close up of the same photo

Same stairs seen from the top, so where you would have to catch them if you were going down

 You couldn't pay me to go either up or down on those stairs.

For me though the real highlight was the famous Supernova rock painting. If you have read any first year astronomy textbook you must have seen a picture of it. It was great to see it "in real life" to see where it was and see it in its surroundings.

Whether or not it does really represent a supernova or not is something else. I can't help but be a skeptic. But it was great to see it and to puzzle about it while looking at it.

Avoid LAX Airport at all Costs

I am back in North America. I will try to catch up with posts and post some photos.

But in the mean time my one piece of advice is AVOID Los Angeles airport (known as LAX) if at all possible. It has to be the worse airport of its size on the planet.
Truly, honestly avoid LAX if you can help it.

Spring Break dates for 2014

This post is for me. It really is just a posted link so I can fin dit..... I do know that you can bookmark internet pages.
Spring Break dates for 2014.
I had not realize that the Spring Break season was so long. It seems that most universities take Spring Break for a week sometime between March 2nd and March 23rd or 30th.

It matters to me because those are times when traveling around is more expensive and may require a bit more planning to make sure that there is still space in campgrounds. I do know that for example the last State Park where I stayed in Texas (Martin Dies Jr State Park) was fully booked for this week end and pretty busy for the rest of the week.

The Mississippi Basin

Here is a map of the Mississippi Basin, meaning the area of land which is drained by the Mississippi River. (the image is from the US Army Corps of Engineers)

I am thinking about it because this part of the world is going through yet another winter storm that the BBC is labeling a "Fast-falling snow storm"... I am not sure what they mean by "fast-falling snow". I did notice though that they write in the same article that "The storm will be followed by near-record low temperatures on Tuesday"....tomorrow...... It is a shame because the magnolias, the camellias, the daffodils, the ornamental plum trees and many other plants are all in bloom.

Anyway, originally I wanted to look at the map of the basin because I was thinking about how much water this is going to be once the weather warms up and the snow melts.
I would imagine that the Mississippi River will have major floods this year.

Texas Longhorns

I love Texas longhorns. I think they look so beautiful.

I am obviously blogging completely out of sequence. I did see those in Texas, though in eastern Texas as you can guess from the greenery. There isn't such green grass in western Texas... I am willing to bet that there isn't such green grass any time of year in western Texas. Don't get me wrong, I really like western Texas but it just isn't green.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

After Las Cruces I spent a few days hiking in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. What a great place.

My bucket list

OK, so maybe I should keep track.

What I would like to do, in no specific order:

- Be a nomad. I love drifting. I cannot express how much I love aimless drifting. In a way I already do a lot of drifting, but I would like to do the "nomad" thing. I think I want the NFA (No Fixed Address) feel.
- Live for a year in the arctic. Already the first 2 contradict each other
- Try to grow my own food, or at least have a garden to grow a all bunch of my food, make preserves and the all thing. This obviously does not go well with either "nomad" or "arctic", so more contradiction.
- Go to India. This is somewhat easier ...probably even feasible.
- Go to Tibet or the Gobi Desert. Generally visit the high plateaus of Asia. This is also possibly feasible.
- Spend time by the ocean. This is also feasible but at this stage the issue becomes how much time is there really. In my mind I start to have the feeling that I need to choose if I do not want to rush through all this, and I don't.
- Do a long, very long, walk. I would love to walk and walk and walk and walk for days on end. When I was a kid I wanted to walk from France -where I was at the time- to the southern most point of India. I never figured out where that dream came from but I remember it vividly and I never really lost that dream though the final destination has become a lot less important. In fact it is somewhat irrelevant now.

I don't get many comments on this blog, which is fine, but this time maybe people (the entire 2 or 3 of you) could talk back and send me their list. I don't have to post them if you don't want me to. I am just curious.

P. Rich's recommendation for India

P. is just back from India and came back absolutely thrilled and enthusiastic about Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He says that it is the best place in the world. P. travels a lot and is a very knowledgeable person so I am taking his recommendation very seriously.
He also strongly recommends the Kutch District (or Kachchh)north west of Ahmedabad, a desert area.
And in a totally different area he recommends Kochin (or Cochin) an old Dutch area of India.

This post is obviously just so I remember since I am about to leave South Africa and be a nomad for a while, though the original plan is to be a nomad within North America (from Alaska, Canadian Arctic to Texas, California and Newfoundland). Though I may not be able to afford life in North America in which case Asia is the next possible destination.

South African Airways shocking new luggage policy

Passing the time looking around the internet I stumbled upon South African Airways new baggage policy. It covers weight, which is normal enough, number of pieces of luggage and more shocking it includes size restriction. It goes as follow:

This is copied from their website.
"Excess baggage, ie. additional items, or where the baggage exceeds the weight and or size allowance, will be charged at a flat rate per piece of luggage. This is a change from the current policy where excess baggage is charged per kilogram

Under the piece concept, excess baggage charges will apply for:

• Each piece of baggage over and above the passenger’s baggage allowance
• Each piece of overweight baggage
• Each piece of oversize baggage

The excess baggage will be charged at a flat rate per rule broken, per piece. This means that if a piece of baggage is both overweight and oversize, two excess baggage charges will apply. Weight/size restrictions apply to all baggage pieces, including additional pieces over and above the baggage allowance.

 

Excess baggage rule – weight

An excess baggage charge will apply for each Economy Class bag weighing over 23 kg, but less than 32 kg. The one exception is for travel to/from South America, where an Economy Class passenger is permitted to take two pieces of baggage that each weigh no more than 32 kg.

SAA cannot check in any bag weighing more than 32 kg, for both Economy and Business Class passengers. This is due to baggage handling restrictions at airports, and as such is beyond our control. Any piece of baggage weighing more than 32 kg will either have to be repacked (in order to weigh 32 kg or less) or will have to be taken to the SAA Cargo counter and checked in as cargo. Cargo rates will apply.

Excess baggage rule – size

An excess baggage charge will apply for each piece of baggage that exceeds the maximum dimensions as stipulated in SAA’s baggage policy. The maximum dimensions are 80 cm x 60 cm x 18 cm = 158 cm (62 inches).

Excess baggage rule – number of pieces

An excess baggage charge will apply for each piece of baggage over and above a passenger’s baggage allowance. These additional pieces must still adhere to SAA’s weight and size restrictions. An additional excess baggage charge will apply for any additional piece of baggage that does not comply with these restrictions."

 

SAA’s new baggage policy

	Business Class	Economy Class
Domestic (Within South Africa)	1piece at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb)	1 piece at a maximum of 23 kg (50 lb)
Worldwide – USA / Canada	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	2 pieces at a maximum of 23 kg (50 lb) each
Between Africa and South America	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each
Between Africa and Europe / UK	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	1 piece at a maximum of 23 kg (50 lb)
From Blantyre / Lilongwe to London	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	2 pieces at a maximum of 23 kg (50 lb) each
Between Africa and Asia / Japan	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	2 pieces at a maximum of 23 kg (50 lb) each
Between Africa and Australia / New Zealand	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	1 piece at a maximum of 23 kg (50 lb)
Between Africa and Africa: except Libreville / Douala and Lagos	2 pieces at a maximum of 32kg (70lb) each	2 pieces at a maximum of 23kg (50lb) each
Between Africa and Libreville / Douala	1 piece at a maximum of 32kg (70lb)	1 piece at a maximum of 23kg (50lb)
Between Africa and Lagos	3 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	3 pieces at a maximum of 23 kg (50lb) each
Between South America and Australia/ NZ	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	2 pieces at a maximum of 23 kg (50 lb) each
Between South America and Asia / Africa	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each	2 pieces at a maximum of 32 kg (70 lb) each

Interestingly (also from their website):
"The excess baggage will be charged at a flat rate per rule broken, per piece. This means that if a piece of baggage is both overweight and oversize, two excess baggage charges will apply. Weight/size restrictions apply to all baggage pieces, including additional pieces over and above the baggage allowance."  nomention of amounts concerned though.

I actually think that my good old duffle bag, with which I have been traveling for over 8 years will be too long! I honestly think that it is just a money grabbing move.
I wonder what they will do with all the wooden giraffes you usually see on the flights out of South Africa.

Victoria Falls- part 4- the money issue

Unfortunately going to Victoria Falls is not cheap.
As I mentioned before Canadians can get a visa at the border but it is single entry and cost US$75, most other nations needing to pay for a visa at the border are charged around US$35.
Entrance to the Rain Forest (the only way to see the Falls  from land) single entry is US$30, or 240 Rands.
Fifteen minutes in the helicopter is US$130.
What they call "Sundowner cruise" is US$45 plus US$10 for "park entrance".
A no frill dinner, one course, with no drinks will cost you about ZAR200 (about 25US$) per person

This brings to mind the all money thing in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has no official currency. Mostly US dollars are used but they will also accept South African Rands. Getting change is always a problem and I even was given change in Pula (the currency of Botswana). This to me would indicate that they accept Pulas, but good luck with that!
If you plan to go to Victoria Falls to get the best view you pretty much need to get on the Zim side in which case I recommend taking US dollars in small bills. Take with you a ridiculous amount of one and five dollar bills. I truly truly cannot emphasize this enough.

Visa fees for Canadians to enter Chile and my new Chinese visa

As you know I want to keep track of a few things about flights, baggage allowance, visa requirements etc and just like the recipes I post for myself I know that this blog is the easiest way for me to file and later find and access this information.

Canadians entering Chile have to pay US$132 and the visa is valid for the life of their passport.

Speaking of which (passport I mean): I have a new passport and my very first visa in it was a one year multi-entry (30 days at a time) Chinese visa...and I am very happy about that!

I followed the advise given to me by the Chinese consulate in Johannesburg while doing my first Chinese visa and applied for my visa while in Canada. And it was so much easier. In fact they were surprised to see that I had obtained a Chinese visa on a Canadian passport while on a tourist visa in South Africa. The guy I talked to actually said that they weren't supposed to give it to me at all. And indeed while I was at the consulate a guy was refused his visa because he was not Canadian and only had a tourist status. Apparently it would have worked if he had had residency or a work permit or something of the sort.

I am very grateful that I did manage to get my first visa.

I have already bought another series of Mandarin language CDs (which I found quite cheap in Canada) to prepare for my next trip. The little bit that I could say and understand made my last trip so much more enjoyable, and Chinese people are so friendly when you just even try to speak the language. I am sure that they understood some of what I said just by shear determination on their part because I am pretty sure that it could not have been easy to make sense of what I was trying to say.
I loved it. I really recommend China as a travel destination!

I just realized..... I forgot to write down ow much I paid for my Chinese visa.
Mostly though I like to record what you need to have when you arrive because the Chilean visa fee is to be paid in US$ at your entrance point into Chile (yes, they take credit cards!). And there is no point trying to show up at a Chinese point of entry without a visa.

China, the Great Wall at Jinshanling - Part 1

There are so many photos I want to share. I am so far behind. I still want to show Xi'an, Beijing in China and Kakadu National PArk in Australia. But first here is the Great Wall as I saw it.
My first impression was that it was so much better n reality than in photos so I am not sure how I can carry across how great it was. Just the same here is my view of it. (I am splitting this post into two so ity does not get to big).

There are many places where you can access the Great Wall I didn't want to go to Badaling which is the closest location to Beijing and so the most popular. I went to Jinshanling. The tour was supposed to be a hike from Jinshanling to Simatai but Simatai was closed due to renovations.

It was a misty day but as soon as I saw the Great Wall in the distanced I realized that it was going to be a lot "Greater" than I had thought.

 What can I say? I am not sure if the pictures, to me, speak for themselves because they are really just reminders of what I saw, but I do think that the Great Wall is stunning.

Notice how few people there was.

China Air and Singapore Airline

Just a note to myself so I can find it later when I plan my next trip to China.
Both on China Air and Singapore Airline in economy the maximum checked in luggage is 20kg...but they are not terribly strict about it. I had 22kg (I know WAY too much) and they didn't charge me extra.

If you have along lay over in Changi (Singapore airport) pack your bathing suit in your carry-on so you can go to the swimming pool at the airport. the swimming pool is outdoors and one of the few places where you can feel the outdoor air without entering Singapore.

The Johannesburg to Hong Kong Flight

Afterward I always forget. For example I have forgotten how much the entrance visa is for Chile, and I wish I remembered since I am going back. I do remember that to enter Chile as a US, Australia or Canada citizen you need to pay around US$100 (could be US75, or US$120) and it is valid for the life of your passport, but I need a new passport, mine is ful!). So this time I am going to try to write down things.

First the plane:
The flight from Johannesburg to Hong Kong takes 13 hours!
And I want to remember that on that flight, economy class, I would have been allowed 30kg of luggage... Not that I can carry it!!! But it is good to know.

This said I should add that even thought when I first heard the captain say "13 hours" I was totally demoralized, it wasn't that bad. I watched two movies (nothing worth mentioning) and slept. I did wake up with a serious kink in the neck but it was gone by mid morning the next day.

One of the peculiarity of this flight was that from the moment the plane appeared to be fully boarded (and it wasn't) people started changing seat, re-organizing themselves, making deals with other passengers, etc. Now, I can't criticizes because I always do it (well, not the "making deal" part, that I never do), and just like them I always do it before the plane even starts moving. But this was by far the worth case of it I have ever seen. People were changing right, left and centre. In the end it made very little difference since the plane was very nearly full. But it was funny to watch.

Now the bus:
Figuring out the bus to get to the hotel was incredibly easy.
To go to Chungking Mansions on Nathan Street you have to take the Airbus A21 and stop at stop number 14. The airport is well signed and there are multiple help desks where the staff is actually helpful. I knew the bus number and the stop number but what I didn't know is that inside the bus there is a small LED screen with none stop messages telling you which stop is next so you can't miss it.

Another thing you need to know is the bus is HK$33 and you have to have the exact change. 
I went to the 7-Eleven at the airport and bought myself a drink and mentioned to the young man at the cash register that I needed change for the bus and he very nicely asked how much the bus was and made sure he returned my change so that I had HK$33 in change. I was SO impressed by that! At a 7-Eleven, at an airport, what are the odds?!!?

Last the guest house (hostel?):
When you get out of the bus you need to walk back in the direction the bus comes from and Chungking Mansion is very close. Once you are in you need to find the set of elevator which corresponds to the block you are going to (D in my case, so on the right at the back) and once you are there you need to remember that the elevator on the right only stops at odd-numbered floors, while the elevator on the left only stops at even-numbered floors. Once you know all this it is easy.