History | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

My Love-Hate Relationship With Kathmandu – Year Two

Published June 14, 2012 | By Barbara Weibel

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Kathmandu Valley

My second annual visit to Nepal’s capital city was less stressful. I knew what to expect and was familiar enough with the city to find my way around. This time I vowed to see all five remaining UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu that I had missed the previous year, beginning with Swayambhunath Buddhist Stupa. I hopped on the back of a friend’s motorcycle and we wove our way through Kathmandu’s massive traffic jams to the hilltop site.

Swayambhunath Buddhist Stupa in Kathmandu, more commonly known as Monkey Temple

Swayambunath’s main feature is the Maha Stupa, reputed to be more than 2,000 years old. It’s brilliant white dome, which represents the spotless pure jewel of Nirvana (freedom from the endless cycle of reincarnations), is topped by a 13-tier golden spiral tower. Between the dome and the tower the traditional all-seeing eyes, painted on all four sides of the stupa, gaze out over miles of the city. It’s stylized lotus mandala base is said to be built on the precise spot where the Chinese saint Manjushri saw the flaming lotus floating on the lake that legend says once covered the Kathmandu Valley. Desiring to worship the lotus, Manjushri cut a swath in the hills that surround Kathmandu with his giant sword, draining the lake. Continue reading →

Posted in Asia travel |

Tagged blogsherpa, Boudhanath, cultural travel, culture, history, Kathmandu, Nepal, Pahupatinath, Patan Durbar Square, Swayambunath, Travel, UNESCO World Heritage Sites |

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Ghosts at the Bridge on the River Kwai

Published March 15, 2011 | By Barbara Weibel

Like most people who have seen the 1957 film, any mention of the famous Bridge on the River Kwai conjures up images of leech-ridden swamps; a relentless, searing sun; and sweat-drenched prisoners marching back to camp in formation while whistling the Colonel Bogey March. With my knowledge admittedly stemming solely from the movie, I decided to take a day trip from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi to see if reality lived up to movie myth.

Based on a true-life story, the film depicts World War II British POW’s who were forced by the Japanese to build a bridge that would facilitate movement of supplies on the Burma Railroad. After a brief stop at the local War Museum, I slogged two blocks in oppressive heat to the foot of the iron trestle, gazed out over the placid stream and tried to imagine the torture prisoners had to endure in this unforgiving landscape. More than 100,000 conscripted laborers and 12,000 prisoners of war died during the project.

Can’t view the above slide show of the Bridge on the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, Thailand? Click here.

Stepping carefully between railroad ties and track, I crossed slowly to the other side, at one point scrunching to the railing to allow passage of a tourist-filled miniature steam locomotive that chugs across every few minutes. Although the movie ended with a spectacular explosion of the entire structure, the arched iron spans at either end are original, as are many of the iron tracks. In fact, I learned that the bridge was actually destroyed by bombers, not by explosive charges set by ground troops, as portrayed in the movie.

The list of inconsistencies and mistakes in the film is extensive but perhaps most glaring is that the river over which the bridge was built is not the Kwai. Kanchanaburi is located at the confluence of the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai Rivers and the bridge spans the Khwae Yai. Not unsurprisingly, British corrupted the word Khwae (correctly pronounced “kwhere“) to “kwai.” Kanchanaburi, hoping to capitalize on tourism and bowing to the power of the cinema, renamed the stretch where the bridge was built to River Kwai. Still, the movie’s mystique endures. I marched back to my minivan, accompanied by rhythmic marching and whistling carried on the winds of history.

Kanchanaburi Vacations

Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged Bangkok, blogsherpa, Bridge on the River Kwai, British army, cultural travel, culture, history, Japanese, Kanchanaburi, Kanchanaburi Province, prisoners of war, railroad, Thailand, Travel, travel stories, world travel, World War 2, WWII |

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An Architectural Gem on Every Street in George Town

Published October 12, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

Malaysia’s State of Penang is made up of a turtle-shaped island and a large strip of land on the mainland, joined by one of the longest bridges in the world, however when tourists refer to Penang (or Pulau Pinang in Malay), they almost always mean the island portion of the State. Featuring an exotic melange of old and new: the south side of Penang is home to the country’s second largest airport, an industrial area where electronics manufacturing reigns, and the world’s only Snake Temple; while on the northwestern tip, Penang National Park lures visitors with unspoiled natural beauty of Monkey Beach, waterfalls, jungle paths, and a meromictic lake.

Can’t view the above slide show of George Town, Penang, Malaysia? Click here.

In between, on the east coast, the capital of George Town melds a bustling port with one of the largest collection of intact pre-war buildings in the whole of SE Asia, earning it the designation of UNESCO World Heritage City in 2008. The British laid out the city in a grid system designed to segregate the races and to some degree, these invisible boundaries still exist, with neighborhoods such as Little India and Chinatown. I found the historic center of George Town to be compact and easily seen on foot; surprising me every few feet with another 200-year old temple, church, mosque, clan house, market, historic government house, or bazaar. Continue reading →

Posted in SE Asia travel |

Tagged architecture, blogsherpa, cultural travel, culture, George Town, history, Malaysia, Penang, peninsular malaysia west coast, pinang, pulau penang, Travel, UNESCO World Heritage |

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San Miguel de Allende, Just What is All the Hoopla About?

Published May 15, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

I just don’t get it. For years I’ve been hearing about San Miguel de Allende. People rave about it being the place to go in Mexico, pointing to its huge American expat community, its strong ties to arts and culture, its lovely architecture, etc., etc. But for some reason, I just could not make up my mind if I wanted to spend any time in San Miguel, so I opted for a day tour from Guanajuato to check it out.

Gorgeous pink granite Church of St. Michael the Archangel, surprisingly, is not a Cathedral

Typical street scene in San Miguel de Allende, with earthen tones predominating

In a nod to colonial days, some police are still mounted and dressed in traditional uniforms

Band kiosk in the central plaza (jardin/garden) at San Miguel de Allende

It may have had something to do with the fact that I was on a detested tour, being subjected to stops at the guide’s preferred stores to shop and his favorite “excellent buffet” (isn’t that an oxymoron?) restaurant for lunch. Or it may just be that seeing Guanajuato first has ruined me for all other Mexican cities, but basically, I couldn’t wait to leave San Miguel de Allende.

Continue reading →

Posted in Mexico travel |

Tagged blogsherpa, cathedral, colonial architecture, culture, day tour, Guanajuato, history, Mexico, northern central highlands, San Miguel de Allende, Travel |

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Dolores Hidalgo and Atotonilco, Tiny Mexican Towns with Big Histories

Published May 13, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

The City of Guanajuato may be the birthplace of Mexico’s Independence, but the sign stretched across the road proclaimed the town of Dolores Hidalgo to be the cradle of its independence. My visit to this tiny village was serendipitous. Wondering whether I really wanted to keep San Miguel de Allende on my travel itinerary, I’d taken a day tour from Guanajuato to check it out, and the towns of Dolores Hidalgo and neighboring Atotonilco were on the itinerary as well. Since both figured prominently in the Mexican struggle for Independence, and since 2010 is the Bicentennial of Mexico’s Independence, these two historic pueblos turned out to be the highlight of the tour.

Cathedral on main Plaza in Dolores Hidalgo

El Centro - the main plaza in Dolores Hidalgo

A statue in Dolores Hidalgo's main Plaza honors parish priest Miguel Hidalgo

On September 16, 1810, Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo stepped up to the pulpit in the town of Dolores and delivered an impassioned appeal for revolt against the Spanish rulers of Mexico. His timing was perfect; anti-Spanish sentiments had long been simmering and his “Grito de Dolores” (scream of Dolores) brought discontent to a boiling point. Continue reading →

Posted in Mexico travel |

Tagged Atotonilco, blogsherpa, culture, Dolores Hidalgo, history, Mexican Independence, Mexico, northern central highlands, San Miguel de Allende, tours, Travel |

19 Comments

Guanajuato – Birthplace of the Mexican War for Independence

Published May 6, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

From the top of San Miguel Hill, the massive stone monument to Juan José de los Reyes Martínez Amaro gazes serenely over the valley that cradles Guanajuato, but back in 1810 this uneducated miner was bent on revenge. Martinez was known by the nickname Pipila, which some claim was a reference to a deformity that caused him to walk like a hen turkey and others say referred to his pockmarked face, which resembled a mottled turkey egg. Further exposing himself to ridicule from his fellow workers, Martinez protected himself from falling debris by wearing a long, flat slab of rock on his back when working inside the mine, but events would soon conspire to turn this transform this simple worker into a hero.

Monument to the miner known as Pipila, who led the first charge of Mexican War for Independence in 1810

By September 28, 1810, independence sentiments had reached fever pitch in Guanajuato. Incited by the rhetoric of Miguel Hidalgo, a priest from the nearby town of Dolores Hidalgo, Mexicans and indigenous Indians attacked the Spaniards. The Governor, the soldiers under his command, and Spanish civilians living in the city gathered all the riches they could carry and barricaded themselves inside the Alhondiga de Granaditas, a stone granary thought to be invincible.

Jardin de la Union, seen from atop San Miguel Hill

Guanajuato Overlook at Pipila Monument

The insurgents attacked but were repulsed by Spanish musketeers firing from their position high atop the grain tower. Just when things were becoming desperate, Pipila donned his stone slab, crawled to the wooden door of the granary, covered it in pitch, and set it on fire. Once the door of the Alhondiga was breached, the outcome was certain, since the locals severely outnumbered the Continue reading →

Posted in Mexico travel |