Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 54 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Life in a township

28th December 201928th December 2019 funtime65

Xhanti would save a morsel of bread for his bold visitor. The little bird who perched faithfully between the bars of his cell.

During his solitary confinement in the Armed Struggle.

Now Xhanti is as free as a…

And spending his weekends chasing birdlies on a golf course.

And his days showing tourists around the sprawling township of New Brighton on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth.

Us, a party of Irish (and one Scot) travel writers with the South African tourist board.

http://www.southafrica.net and http://www.southafrica.net/meetyoursouthafrica

He invites us to join him in South Africa’s national pastime.

No not rugby, nor cricket, the traditional African sport.

Although one local is proudly donning a Springboks top, or soccer, the blacks’ sport.

No, everything stops for food in South Africa, and more specifically a braai (barbecue).

On game reserves, in parks, in back yards, on beaches and in KK’s ‘butchery’ or bar.

We are laden down with meats, mutton, beef, chicken and corn on the cob…. the salad is just dressing.

Which can only be truly savoured with a Castle beer… or three.

Everywhere we go in the township and the ramshackle Red Location, its oldest and poorest port we are met with kindness.

It has been a long road to freedom for Xhanti and his fellow Freedom Fighters.

Outhouses

But looking around the dirt poor corrugated roofed sheds they look no better than outhouses.

But they house whole families and you sense that there is a long way still to go.

The billboards remind us that a general election is around the corner next month.

And the country is looking to President Cyril Ramaphos to continue to try to heal the wounds left by Jacob Zuma..

What would Mandela think?

Everyone visits for a photograph with him.

And we are still following.

As an adjunct to this article the Port Elizabeth township’s most famous son Siya Kolisi lifted the Rugby World Cup six months after my visit... https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/11/02/siya-kolisi-the-boy-from-the-township/

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My faces of the year… South Africa

28th December 201928th December 2019 funtime65

My teachers would always tell me not to talk back but I always did.

Just like recently when The Scary One reminded me that I’d been away 10 times this year…

I reminded her that it was actually 11 if you count my trip up to Northern Ireland for the Open Golf Championship.

Which I definitely do.

For all the trips I’ve had it has been an exceptional year after I struck out on my own after 30 years as a wage slave.

And while every one of the destinations boasted a beautiful vista or historical site or activity they all shared one thing in common.

Unforgettable people… and animals!

Sahara Port Elizabeth’s Raggy Charters doggie

Because it really is faces, not places, that make a holiday for me.

So if you want sunsets and sand, pools and paella then I’d suggest another site.

Or gated community (or asylum)!

So where do I start? Lost (again) in a national park in the Eastern Cape of South Africa… http://www.southafrica.net and http://www.southafrica.net/meetyoursouthafrica.

And https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/homemyoffice/whats-new-pussycat/

With local guide Alan who knows the land like the back of his hand.

Only it can’t be this land as we discovered going around in circles and only arriving back in our Port Elizabeth hotel at midnight.

After the bar had closed… never a good look for an Irish party!

Ian had more of a handle on things when he took us out on safari.

And helped us track down a leopard!

And all the time the ever-patient and always T-shirted Siseko kept us on track all across the Eastern Cape.

Our English host Rachel added smiles and youth to an old man’s photographs.

And Xhanti put on a braai (or barbecue) for us in the biggest township in South Africa… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/day-in-the-life-of-a-township/

While telling us stories from the armed conflict when he used to hide under the bed from the authorities.

When he wasn’t locked up in a prison cell.

Where the guards would give prisoners a Bible for redemption.

Only the Good Book is replete with stories of how the oppressed will rise up.

Good planning there!

*Our Sout*h Africa: Host Rachel, Bandanaman and Jimmy

Of course there’s always one on every trip.

And as my good friend and doyen of the Travel circuit Eoghan Corry says: ‘if you don’t know who that is: it’s probably you.’

You see I wasn’t being woke enough for my thirtysomething Itish colleague about something or other.

Hey ho, it wouldn’t be the last person I’d fall out with over the year.

Still we made up by the end of the evening and back in Dublin we met at a function and it was air kisses all round.

MEET YOU ON THE ROAD

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My Sporting Weekend – racism and bigotry

28th December 201928th December 2019 funtime65

World Cup winner Paul Pogba’s personal gesture against racism in wearing a black and white wristband commends him.

Which is something you don’t often hear many people say about Manchester United’s mercurial Frenchman…

The wearing of rubber bands denoting charitable or political campaigns seemed to kick in in the Noughties.

And I’m a fan www.kickitout.org although it’s more to do with destinations I’ve visited.

To remind me on a wet and dank day in Ireland of sunnier climes.

So I have California http://www.visitcalifonria.com and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/06/22/my-weekend-with-marilyn/ and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/07/03/stair-wars-3/at hand.

Denver http://www.denver.org and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/go-west-denver-buffalo-bill/ and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/29/the-new-pioneers/too.

And Portugal http://www.visitportugal.com and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/secret-portugal-classy-centro/

While there’s Dresden http://www.dresden.de and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/dresdens-renaissance-martin-luther/ as well.

My link with the Maldives https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/12/atoll-tale-the-maldives/ and http://www.kuramathi.com and http://www.kandolhu.com was broken.

When the band snapped over the Christmas season.

Although my memories never will.

Symbols have always been at the very heart of sport:

The colours and designs of strips or uniforms, club badges or crests and buttons.

Although sometimes they can land you in trouble.

And the players in the Celtic and Rangers Catholic and Protestant divide know it.

Whether they grew up in the West of Scotland or bought into it.

Mo Johnston controversially crossed the divide and himself (well at least when he was at Celtic, the Catholic gesture particularly provocative to Rangers fans).

While Paul Gascoigne gullibly responded to the egging-on from Rangers fans by mocking a flute player.

Another incendiary action in Glasgow’s religious tribalism, conjuring up the Protestant King William of Orange’s victory over the Catholic King James II.

Sometimes even the football forces its way into the argument.

The debate du jour in English football is whether players and teams should walk off if they are racially abused from the crowd.

I never had to encounter being either physically or verbally abused over the colour of my skin.

But I was spat at on a bus by religious bigots in Glasgow as a child because of the colour of my uniform.

Which is why I was so drawn to Rosa Parks’ sit-down protest on the bus in the Deep South.

And was so humbled by the sacrifices made by black (and white) Civil Rights protesters.

On my trip through Memphis, Tennessee www.memphistravel.com and www.deep-south-tourism-com Mississippi. And www.visittheusa.ie.

Not our problem

No such discussion is had regarding religious bigotry in Glasgow despite they’re being on average one murder surrounding the Old Firm game every time the two meet.

Which they do tomorrow.

Worthy words will be expressed in Glasgow, my home city http://www.peoplemakeglasgow.com and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/04/15/sportstraveltraveltravel/.

And when (and it’s almost always when, not if) it kicks off there will be no end of head-shaking.

But no talk of partial ground closures, playing behind closed doors, walk-offs, fines or points deductions.

It’s not for nothing Celtic and Rangers are called The Old Firm. The religious divide fuels their economy.

So the answer is in Glasgow vernacular: Nae Chance.

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Jocktails – Pour me an Espresso Martini

26th December 201926th December 2019 funtime65

The Appletini doesn’t fall far from the cocktail tree.

It was our thing, me making cocktails for The Scary One on a Saturday.

Until I didn’t. Work got in the way which it never should.

Now the Son and Heir is working and making cocktails (he doesn’t drink them all), he has taken my place.

And so Christmas Day started (we waited until 3pm) with an Espresso Martini.

You’re wondering why I’ve got the sausages out.

No, I’m not about to cook them. It’s just my nod to Tobago Soca Christmas Parang singer Scrunter…Visit http://www.visittobago.gov.tt

And his standard Piece Ah Pork which was the soundtrack to my pre-Christmas trip to Tobago… It’s Robinson Crusoe’s very own Tobago and Not any old Glasgow bar.

Of course you can drink your Espresso Martini with anything you like.

Though, in truth, it’s pretty filling in itself.

Dick Bradsell is credited with creating the Espresso Martini at Fred’s Club in London.

After a woman is said to have asked him to give her something ‘that would ‘wake me up, then f*** me up’.

And so to your Espresso Martini:

You want 43mls of vodka, 21mls of espresso, 21mls of Kahlua and 9.5ml of sugar syrup.

Pour into a shaker with ice. Shake, fine strain and pour into a chilled Martini glass.

Garnish with a coffee bean and serve.

Alternatively give it a dry shake without the ice and it will foam up all the more.

Honey, honey

While a nice touch is to add honey.

London, of course, has many more cocktail stories to explore.

And as many cocktail bars as coffee beans… try Scarfe’s https://scarfesbar.com/#homepage-popup in posh Holburn.

Where I swear the double bass player accompanying singer ‘Marilyn Monroe’ is Boris Johnson… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/07/31/londons-punch-and-judy-show/ And http://www.visitlondon.comGet cocktails done!

And for another Jocktails with a coffee twist… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/05/jocktails-tenerife-coffee-liqueurs/

And as I say I rested up my shaker although I’m always happy to be on tasting duties.

MEET YOU IN THE BAR

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Hungry and Thursday – curried Christmas Turkey

26th December 201926th December 2019 funtime65

Yes, it’s a thing here in Ireland where St Stephen’s Day (Boxing Day to everyone else) is when they curry the left-over turkey.

Which obviously got us thinking about the no-neck poultry.

You’d think that they’d have a built-in antennae for the time of year when they’re most in danger.

But these guys I met in Tobago www.visittobago.gov.tt on my Caribbean adventures https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/12/07/ready-steady-goat-in-tobago/ seemed totally oblivious.

You see my cooking has come on leap and bound this year…

I even cooked something.!

After being given the recipe for Dahl curry by our hosts G Adventures in Dublin… https://www.gadventures.com/?aw_ag_id=49375547731&aw_kw_id=aud-360242417736:kwd-296402816580&aw_ad_id=297109875494&aw_nw=g&phonecode=PPC_SEM_Brand&gclid=Cj0KCQiArozwBRDOARIsAHo2s7t7hmH99Ist6icPt9oHDzkak2RC_How1OfDnhxuuj7arpD5lLi6X2MaAl0BEALw_wcB.

Of course it’s only a start and nothing like the feasts our Jordanian hosts put on for us… Petra and the sands of time And http://www.visitjordan.com

And in the desert too!

Going underground

With their zarb where they bury meat, veg and rice in a pit in the ground, add lots of embers.

And wrap it in blankets and bury it in sand.

The zarb is put on in the early afternoon and by the evening it is meltingly tender.

Not much call for it though in chilly Greystones here in Ireland.

So where’s the best curry. India? Probably. But remember it is Britain’s national dish.

Curry belongs to Glasgow

And in Glasgow where there is a big Asian population and where they gave birth to Chicken Tikka Masala.

When Ali Aslam, the owner of the Shish Mahal restaurant http://www.shishmahal.co.uk added tomato soup and some sauces to his chicken curry.

To satisfy a Glasgow bus driver who had sent it back because it was too dry.

Scottish and Sub-Continental fusion is a definite thing.

Which I knew about being of the Caledonian variety myself I belong to Glasgow but with which I renewed acquaintance…

Piping hot

When I visited the World Pipe Band Championships… https://www.theworlds.co.uk

In ma wee hame toon Glasgow https://peoplemakeglasgow.com/visiting/top-reasons-to-visit-glasgow and https://www.visitscotland.com.

The perfect fusion between Scot and the Sub-Continent is in fact in the Sub-Continent.

Or more precisely with the Sri Lankan staff on the Maldives with Island… Atoll tale – the Maldives and http://www.kuramathi.com And http://www.kandolhu.com

Where I played cricket, of sorts, and football (chased shadows).

And, of course tucked into their food which comes from everywhere.

Although I might arrange for them to get some Irn-Bru shipped in.

And now that we’re well into the Christmas drinking… here, by popular demand, Jocktails, your favourite Cocktail column by your Scottish cocktail guru.

And this is a reminder of what we’ve got in the bar… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/01/jocktails-the-strawberry-daiquiri/, https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/15/jocktails-bajan-monkey/

While try out https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/29/jocktails-mimosas/

MEET YOU IN THE BAR

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Forget the Fairytale… my Christmas song

25th December 201925th December 2019 funtime65

Now this qualifies as treason here in Ireland, and it’s probably because I’m a contrarian but…

The Fairytale of New York is not the best Christmas song of all time.

In fact it doesn’t represent New York City https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/21/old-new-york-hamilton/ and http://www.nycvb.com.

There is no NYPD choir, for example.

And the ‘Irish’ pipe band didn’t know Galway Bay (obviously) so did the ‘Mickey Mouse Club March’ instead.

Now I love Da Mouse and Da Minnie Why I love The Donald and Stair Wars. And http://www.visitorlando.com and http://www.disneyland.disney.go.com and http://www.disneyworld.disney.go.com .

Enough Fairytale already… here’s what I call a Christmas song.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gjYWYJudTPE

Yes, Johnny Mathis’s When A Child Is Born.

Talk the talk

Too scmaltzy for you, the lyics, particularly Johnny’s spoken lyics?

But I love it and I love a talky interjection.

So hit it

And all this happens because the world is waiting,

Waiting for one child

Black, white, yellow, no one knows,

But a child that will grow up and turn tears to laughter,

Hate to love, war to peace and everyone to everyone’s neighbour

And misery and suffering will be words to be forgotten for ever

The Christmas Office Party Bore

Now you’ve probably met the office bore at your Christmas party who gives out about Jesus being wrongly portrayed as white.

When he was born in the Middle East.

And how the whole Christmas story is wrong.

But what really matters is not what Jesus was: white, black, yellow, red, but that he WAS.

Bah, humbug, white liberal intellectuals should just see how the Christmas story is celebrated in the Caribbean….

The ‘other’ Jesus

I should cocoa – Christmas in Tobago and www.visittobago.gov.tt.

And in Mississippi… http://www.visitmississippi.org and The Promised Land, The story of the Blues and http://the king of kings

Though I’d be flabbergasted to think Jesus was an earlier incarnation of Phil Collins.

The West Indians have their own slant on the Christmas songs and put a calypso or Soca rhythm to it.

Put the two together with just the right amount of sauce and you get parang, an example of which is….

Scrunter’s ‘Want ah piece ah pork’ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FLpEvkj9jTc.

Now Christmas can be a challenging time for many.

And although it was never written as a Christmas song, it has entered the pantheon for its lines:

Wish I was at home for Christmas

No more war

Jona Lewie’s anthem was, of course, an anti-war song. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2HkJHApgKqw

And as we move further away from the centennial of the end of the First World War In Flanders fields and http://www.visitflanders.com…

Lest we forget amid the commercial gluttony of a 2019 Christmas those for whom an extra mince pie and some grog.

A peaceful Christmas

And some respite from being bombed and shot at.

And the chance to have a kick-about with the opposition on a muddy battlefield was Christmas gift enough.

Let me know what your favourite Christmas song is… mmmm mmmm mmmm!

A CHILD IS BORN… MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Cruiseday Tuesday – Cruisemass Eve

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I’m going cruisey with the Christmas cracker humour… it’s my time of year.

And hopefully that old man with the white beard will have a Cruisemass surprise for you under the tree.

And Santa too.

Our friends on the seas want you to go cruising with them next year.

Now it’s traditional for me to fast for a few days after New Year’s Day.

Not because I’ll have overindulged (I will have) or that I’m embarking on a New Year Resolution (as if).

But because I’m leaving room for the annual Wendy Wu lunch in Dublin (it’s cruise ship buffet portions)… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/11/16/holiday-snaps-going-solo/

Wendy, who I had the pleasure of interviewing a couple of years ago, graced the launch of the 35-cavin Victoria Mekong this month.

From Can Tho, Vietnam to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The ship is a key plank of Wendy’s four new group tours and two new private tours through the two countries.

All with a maximum of only 18 people per tour.

The new tours include the. 14-day A Mekong Experience from £3390pp.

It includes Tai Chi lessons on Halong Bay.

As well as the chance to learn farming techniques in Hoi An.

Includes flights from UK airports. Visit http://www.wendywutours.co.uk.

Close but no cigar

It used to be a tradition of mine from my family days to light up a big fat cigar after Christmas dinner.

And although it is a good, though looking back now a slightly pompous look, I no longer inhale.

Because I never enjoyed it and, in popular parlance, often took a whitey.

Such as on my honeymoon on one of the first days… the Metaxa brandy from the night before might have something to do with it too.

So that when the new Mrs M was down swimming in the pool the next morning I had the after-taste of an ashtray.

You’ll work out what’s good for you, and what’s definitely a winner is Corfu.

Where TUI www.tuiholidays.ie and Marella Explorer cruise.

Here’s what they’ve got:

Dublin to Corfu: Idyllic Italia, seven-night all-inclusive from €1342pps.

Dublin to Corfu: Aegean Explorer, seven-night all-inclusive from €1404pps.

MEET YOU ON THE SEAS

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I’ll vouch for a last-minute gift

24th December 201924th December 2019 funtime65

It’s the night before Christmas so there’s still plenty of time to buy your present.

In fact no self-respecting bloke will even think about his gift until now.

It was important that I keep my gift for the Scary One fresh.

The bacon, sausages and eggs and tray of puddings.

You see I couldn’t very well give her just the non-stick frying pan.

Which in my defence she had told me earlier in the year that she wanted.

Though not necessarily for her Christmas.

And the next year… I got her a spa voucher.

Vouchers may seem prosaic but they really do the job.

Better somebody gets to buy what they want.

Than they have to gamble that it’s a surprisingly good gift.

Ryanair www.ryanair.com vouchers start at €25. And with flights from as low as €9.99 you’ll be quids in.

If like me you live in Leinster in the east of Ireland. Or if it’s one of your favourite places.

Then you’ll know all about the InterContinental http://www.intercontinentaldublin.ie and from my stay there… The InterCon… what a Ledge!

The Dublin 4 institution is offering the chance of winning an overnight stay in an executive suite including Full Irish breakfast.

If you buy a voucher. From €25 up to €500.

Likewise Lusty Beg Island (now there’s a name) and Enniskillen Hotel. From €50-€500.

Visit www.reservations@lustybegisland.com and info@enniskillenhotel.com.

And if you’re sights are set on the US for next year, mine’s always are…

Then American Holidays www.americanholidays.com have vouchers for sale to make your American dream come true.

And if you’ve found you’ve missed the boat get your coloured pencils out and draw a voucher.

In lieu of the gift you’re giving. And it’s got your imprint on it.

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Holidos and don’ts – Christmas luggage

23rd December 201923rd December 2019 funtime65

I’m among the hundreds of people waiting at arrivals at Dublin Airport.

Mine’s is Daddy’s Little Girl, on her way home from Edinburgh.

Now Santy is here, there are well-wishers with Welcome balloons and I dare say a choir will appear any minute now.

Have you a giftie for me? Santy at Dublin Airport

And I’m looking at the trolleys of suitcases.

Nothing different there. Only I’m wondering what’s in them.

Not that I’m weird or anything. I’m just thinking that many of them will be packed with presents.

Which makes me think… why?

OK, there might be that Christmas gift you can only get in that country you’re coming from.

Although you can buy most things over the internet now.

And have it delivered to the family home or a relative to pick up.

Or even tell them what you want them to buy and recompense them when you see them.

Because packing your bags with gifts only means that you have less room for your own stuff.

And if you’re only home for a couple of days and can get away without taking a suitcase at all…

Because rucksacks hold more than you think and then you can always get your clothes washed at home.

Or better still change your wardrobe with some new clothes in the Boxing Day sales.

And then you won’t have to go to the carousel.

And you know what I think of carousels…

Having had to wait a day for my undelivered luggage to be sent to my address. I wasn’t alone.

The smaller the airport, of course, the smaller the carousel and the ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago is definitely my size.

It even has reminders of home.

Here are a few reminders of some precious memories from that trip… Ready, steady, goat… in Tobago, Give us this Day – Sunday School, Tobago and I should cocoa – Christmas in Tobago.

And www.visittobago.gov.tt.

This being Christmas Eve’s Eve this will probably be my last airport visit of the year.

Although I live in hope!

So a big thank you to all the airports that have hosted me this year, particularly my second home, Dublin Airport… www.dublinairport.com

And while it’s probably too late for you to heed my advice, remember that the best gift you can bring is…

Yourself!

Unless you can persuade Rihanna to visit… A kiss from Rihanna.

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Trawling the graveyards of history

23rd December 201923rd December 2019 funtime65

I’m dying to share this… how one woman is remembered in the Caribbean.

From the inscription which marks the span of her life.

From sunrise to sunset…

You have to think that Emily was a ray of sunshine herself.

Well, she was from Tobago, an island where rain is known as liquid sunshine… www.visittobago.gov.tt.

And I left with a mountain of memories… It’s Robinson Crusoe’s very own Tobago and I should cocoa – Christmas in Tobago.

I was thinking about death today (no, not a heavy Saturday night) but a regular occurrence.

After visiting the ancient burial ground of Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, near my home here in Ireland.

I may well have inherited my fascination for graveyards from my Dear Old Dad who I’ll meet there one day.

The Tobagonians have a unique way of seeing life… and death.

As evidenced by this riddle on what has become the most famous grave on the island.

So that you don’t have to strain your eyes too much the gist of the inscription on the 1783 grave in Plymouth reads in part:

‘She was a mother without knowing it, and a wife without letting her husband know it except by her kind indulgences to him.’

Riddles in Tobago

Now we were asked by our hosts the same question they pose to every visitor: ‘What the heck does it mean?’

My answer, the obvious one, is it’s a woman, whoever knows what goes on in their minds.

I keep my eyes open for graves and final resting places wherever I go.

Just this year I discovered that Marilyn Monroe’s final resting place is off a busy street in LA… www.visitcalifornia.com and www.discoverlosangeles.com.

Where she is forced to spend eternity with her old nemesis Hugh Hefner which I tell you all about on this blog… My weekend with Marilyn

Of course, graveyards have strong personal connections to those who are related to, or are friends of the deceased.

World War I battlefields

Such as when I was the first of my family to kneel at the graveyard of my Great Uncle Willie who fell in Ieper, or Ypres.

While on that tour of the World War I battlefields In Flanders fields with www.gtitravel.ie and www.visitflanders.com and http://www.visit-somme.com I visited the Canadian and German memorials.

The Canadian memorial with its Caribou statue has a special resonance for my family as Grandpa George fought for the Canadian Army.

And met Granny Mary, a nurse, when he returned to Scotland.

A South African tale

War and graveyards tend to go hand in hand.

And in a visit to the Eastern Cape in South Africa at the start of the year What’s new pussycat? I braved the cold and the damp…

And the big game to visit the graveyard of an Afrikaans resistance fighter from the Boer War…

Of course hanging around graveyards at this time of year you’re liable do get some spooky vibes.

And the lines between this life and the next can become blurred.

Make of me and my colleagues from that trip to South Africa what you will… www.southafrica.net.