Turkish Welcome

We dropped anchor at midday in Kusadasi’s beautiful harbour and got off the boat to a welcome from a Turkish band. At first my best laid plans didn’t go so well… we were a big group with too many chiefs and not enough Indians. So I teamed up with Steve, Ai and Akiko and together we made the most of Kusadasi. We climbed the hill where a statue of Ataturk overlooks the harbour and we were joined by some kids who wanted to play guide. They led us down to the causeway that connects to Pigeon Island and its small fort where we sipped a strong Turkish coffee. Then in latish afternoon we bussed to Ladies Beach and I had our first swims in the Med.
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Human Pyramid

My highlight from Egypt was not the pyramids or the Sphynx. Nor was sitting in a cafe alleyway smoking Shisha and drinking chai surrounded by crumbling colonial style buildings. Those things I had enjoyed before on my first visit to there 2 years ago. But it was still cool, of course, doing those things again with new friends. We made a human pyramid in front of the pyramids and rattled off snaps like Japanese tourists. Thanks must go to Peace Boat for arranging that tour for us for free. More »

Baqa Camp kids

The Peace Boat docked in Aqaba, Jordan in the early hours of Oct 19th. We cruised up the Red Sea past the dunes of Saudi Arabia, the jagged mountains of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and the bright lights of Eliat, Israel. 2 years ago I spent about 8 days exploring marvels such as Petra, Wadi Rum and Jerash. But on this occasion I was a tanto (leader) for a very different GET challenge to the Baqa Palestinian refugee camp near the capital Amman. Passengers had raised about US$7000 the night before for the camp by auctioning off their talents to each other. A four hour bus drive took us to the camp where we met our home stay family. This was of course a very rare opportunity to meet people in Baqa camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in the world, and to learn about their lives, experiences, sufferings, hopes and their dreams. When most people think of a refugee camp they think of rows of tents. But Baqa camp was first established after the 1948 war and had major intakes of refugees after the the 1967 Six Day War with Israel and again after the first Gulf War. Because of this length of time, dwellings have become more permanent and conditions in the camp have improved… at least in comparison to other Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon and other friendly Arab states. They are still unhappy, some are desperate. They are still refugees. More »

Drinking a coconut in Kochi

Such an unmistakable smell; we had definitely arrived in Kochi, India. The old black and yellow rickshaws were waiting for us. Passing through that gauntlet of brisling moustaches offering tours and rides brought back my old memories of India. Too bad it was only for a day. We began with a local ferry to the mainland of Ernakulum and sat down for chai and masala dosas at the Indian Coffee House. I checked out some markets, bought an orange dhotti, and sat on the road side drinking a freshly machetied water coconut. The Shiva Temple wasnt quite what I remembered it and the smell of raw sewerage down that part of town bought back more memories. More »

Kandahar Street

The Peace Boat docked in Singapore having navigated the pirate infested straits of Malacca. We poured off the boat into an hour long wait at customs. The effiency of the MRT (subway) wasn’t what I’d expected either. (When purchasing a ticket you have to pay an extra dollar deposit which you need to claim back when you get off.) We had only 12 muggy hours in Singapore so a small group of us planned to head uptown to the Arab and Indian towns first. An unintentional detour led us around Midtowns parks and colonial buildings, watched over by towering sharp angled skyscrapers. But in the Arab district the ’scrapers gave way to colouful shuttered buildings and narrow lanes and a food market on Kandahar street. The Indian district was full of (surprise!) Indians. But not only.. the multicultural feeling of Singapore is total. Noone is a foreigner.
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Danang Welcome

I was still sleeping when the ship’s engines wound down after 7 days at sea. I woke to the sight of land and small Vietnamese boats skirting around the merky harbour. We had docked in Danang. A group of young Vietnamese welcomed us with a dance performance. Huge smiles broke out across our faces. Dry land can do that to you. We were ready for Vietnam!
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The 59th Peace Boat voyage departed Yokohama with charged fanfare. We popped the champagne for the 1000 passengers and together shouted a big KAMPAI. We have incredible 110 days ahead of us to circumnavigigate the globe. Its hard to believe!
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NEWS FLASH: On September 22nd I’m leaving Japan aboard the Peace Boat.

‘On the what…?’ I hear you splurt from your office desk over your morning Nescafe. ‘Some kind of Hippy Tug boat?’

The Peace Boat, my friends, is a Japanese NGO with a goal to spread a global message of peace, cooperation and to take concrete steps to build a better world. After a competitive application process I am lucky enough to be chosen as a volunteer for the 59th voyage. I’ll be teaching Global English on board, which means English with a focus on global issues. I’m currently training in Tokyo with a great bunch of people with whom I’ll be cruising around the world for 110 days. Needless to say, Tanoshii mi! Friends in NZ note that I’ll be pulling in just before Christmas so there’s every chance of meeting up and sharing a slice of Christmas cheer together. I’ll be blogging it all, so check back for updates. More »

Gifu Crows, Champions!

There was no way I was going to miss the Awaji Soccer Tournament on my last weekend in Japan. Things started badly when traffic delayed us and we had to default our first game. But we then put together 2 solid wins, before being mercilessly dealt to by the favourites, Real Osaka. After the first days play that left us midway in the standings and able to reflect over some cacophonic karaoke.

By this stage we were fortunate to have suffered no injuries having only been able to scrape together 11 players. But the next day we were boosted by Ben who had come down on a night bus. I had no problem putting the last nights beers behind me and tucked away a hat-trick to help us to a 4-2 quarter final win. That somehow left us facing Real Osaka again in the semis. Capitano Marcel decided to sure up the midfield with a 4-5-1 and planted myself in the heart of defence to rough them up a bit. Those tactics worked as we repelled waves of attacks to hold them to a 0-0 draw. In the shootout Ben, Pepe and I converted our 3 penalties and Steve pulled off a cracking save to send Gifu through to our first ever final.

We stuck with the same tactics and when Flo found the net at the close of the first half it was all the motivation we needed. Running on empty, we battled out the second for a proud victory to the mighty mighty Gifu Crows!

At the Summit with the crater behind me

A month ago our expedition was thawted by a typhoon that rolled through Japan. This time nothing was going to stop us from conquering the highest peak in Japan - Fuji-san. Most people who want to say they’ve stood on the roof of Japan start from the half way mark at the 5th Station; Zurui! Not us. The real way to climb a Mt Fuji is from the bottom.

And so we set off from the Fuji Yoshida Sengen Jinga, which gave us a special feeling of ritual before our ascent. We collected some Dragon Water from the honourable dragon at the foot of the shrine, which no doubt would boost our strength and stamina to super human levels.
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