A web site dedicated to Tom Harrington's family containing news, gossip and tales of the unexpected. Fun for all.
If everone adds a few lines of news and information - others will look at this site and it will spiral into a web log of the Harringtons!
It is so easy to add comments even I can do it.
Tom
|
|
What time is it there?
Tom's Training Routine
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click for Bigger version
[AD]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Here are a few more pictures - I may add some new ones of Nora when I get round to it. Tom
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Hello Siobhan and Rizwana – is anyone else out there? - I am not only writing about my adventures up the viewing figures and put some classy stuff on here
Shiv –sorry about the number- I must have been too stressed out thinking about what to do next – cycle into the mountain behind the village or go horse trecking 1? I could not reach decision so I have done both. Cycled yesterday and went horse trecking today
Rizwana –I would love to come home soon but Philp’s second Iyee has had to take a week off and he has been telling me how much he is struggling with only the one maid so I have agreed to help them out when I get back to Beijing. And I have to go and see your brother Abid. In fact he want to come over to Phils and cook us all a good Paksitani curry!
I know you will all be wondering how I am getting on – but the main thing it to let you know is I am now staying in a nice courtyard guest house in a room with TV and wait for it - en suite facilities! Its great here in the off peak season – as soon as one B&B finds out what you are paying they offer to under cut it! On my first day I popped into a few guest houses and must have agreed to stay at 4 of them the following day as they each made me a better offer. I am paying 3 quid a night now for a decent if still cold in the middle of the night room. But I am happy there and the staff speak good English!.
Just a quick update on what I have been upto: I cycled all over the hillside yesterday, visiting villages and seeing some temples and other made for tourist sights – but best of all was getting out to see some of the old village life – amazing architecture and agricultural way of life.
Old people working in the paddy fields, farm animals dotted all over the place with only a few seeming to be tied up. I rode through all this with a good number of “HELLO” calls to me. They are all friendly and I answer them back to their amusement I rode up hill on the hired mountain bike –up and up stopping for a drink every now and then trying to re create what it was like for Phil on his Tibet cycle trip. I had snow covered mountains to one side and hills to the other as I wound slowly up the valley.
There is another cycle trip to Everest and Tibet this June if anyone is interested? 22 days of this though would kill me! I cycled on and up and set myself a limit of stopping at 4 as I had to get back before it got dark but this did not worry me as the Chinese ride bikes in the dark without lights! I stopped at 3.50am as I was half riding and half pushing the bike . After 6 hours riding up it was then Wheeeeeee all the way down , I free wheeled most of the way back in 2 hours.-
After a hot bath and some food I still felt exhausted to went to bed! But I have now a red face and red hands – sun burnt in the South of China!
Today I have been upto the mountains by bus and then horse trecked for a few hours up through an ancient forest. It was fantastic but I was linked to me guide my a rope in case I went off the path. Once he saw I knew how to handle a horse it took me on a few gallops when we got to the less dangerous precipice pathways. exhilarating stuff that you all would have enjoyed.
I am heading East tomorrow – Dali and then Guilin on some long train and bus journeys
Jack/Mum/Dad please -make sure the boys, Brian, Victoria and , Annmarie know this here for them too as I cant send them post cards
The food here is good – all very spicy
Once you get the hang of what is meat and what is not. I ate in a local market street outside café for locals only this afternoon., It was nice and warm . Here is the cheapest and lowliest eating establishment but you could see how and what they had as they cooked it on a make shift stove in front of you. It was all very spicy., I had dofu and toffu of various types, fried and covered in Chili powder and some potatoes also covered with some spicy paste - hot stuff but yummy!
This was very nice and cost a fraction of what I would have paid for in some tourist restaurant in the old town, And a new and strange eating experience. A young kid of about 4 came over to us on our table with a bowel – I assumed he was begging for money but no it was for food! I Odered I stick of Toffu for him and he went off to share it – he did not seem very happy though. Then again maybe they don’t show emotion as we would expect. I saw a traditional Naxi conert lasts night – fantastic music from an orchestra of moslty old men of a type of music that has died out everywhere else in China except here.
The music was fine but a glummer set of people I have never seem before – they all had sad looks on their faces whilst paying and waiting. I wonder why! But I will never discover why.
. The more I am here the easier it becomes as you learn tricks and pick up what they hell is going on.
. Night night
love
From the man with his pulse on the Ways of the East
posted by Michael on 3/02/2004 01:54:00 PM
|
|
| |
|
|
|