World Reviewer blog

Just in case you though the credit crunch has totally rained on your European travel parade, I’ve found some pockets of Europe where you won’t be held to ransom by the euro.

It’s been a real pleasure for me to put together the new category on Volunteering.  I’ve been lucky enough to speak to a group of people who have had some really interesting experiences doing something for themselves while doing something for someone else.  From Letitia Mckie’s story of he time spend with HIV orphans in South Africa to the vastly different stories about teaching English in Peru, Namibia and Micronesia, I think we have the beginnings of one of our most inspirational of categories, and I invite you to have a wander though it.

That thing about Chinese people changing their names to make them easier for us Westerners to say is well known but I’m proud to say that the man, who on a cruise ship would be called an ‘Entertainments Officer’, in this hotel is called Storm.  I’m assuming that’s not his job title, but he is fab and deserves it if it is.  He recommended that instead of just going to the Summer Palace on the Subway we go via the Beijing Zoo and go on a pleasure boat cruise.  The price of the zoo was included in the ticket so I got to see some Pandas, which I wasn’t expecting.  One of them was asleep - apparently another cultural difference is that in China is that it’s totally acceptable to tap the glass to get zoo animals attention – but the result is still the same louche ambivalence from these ever smiling faces.  Pandas are lovely, and far more people were crowding around them than the kangaroos, so I gave those fellow ex-pats a bit of attention to tide them over on the way to the pleasure boat.  The canal ride probably wasn’t quite what it was when the royal family used to travel along it to get to their summer home away from home, but it was still entertaining if only for the fantastic tour group which joined us and sat engrossed in the loud commentary which was delivered almost without pauses for breath and definitely without punctuation.

As an aside, it appears that when Chinese people go into retirement they’re taken around the sights in matching hats like school children. First we saw the red caps, then the navy caps then the red cap and vests then the yellow hats then my favourites, the Burberry Sailors.  Obviously this is not true but a large percentage of visitors to the Summer Palace today were older Chinese nationals.  I was surprised that quite a few people wanted to have their photo taken with me.  I think they must have thought I was an Olympian hanging back to take in the sights and I began to consider which event it was I may have competed in and whether I may possibly have won a medal…  But that is definitely an aside…

…From the Summer Palace, where all my attention really lay.  What a beautiful thing to create, a whole, lovely landscape, attractive views and ornate buildings as far as the eye can see in all directions.  If I had an endless supply of labour I would love to create something even half as beautiful.  I hope all the matching hats were proud; it was really magical.  Not all of it has been repainted and kept perfectly but that only made it seem more precious and real, for example on the Seventeen Arched Bridge each lion has been carved with some kind of lizard climbing on it, some had a few on their heads which looked annoying while others had crushed the invaders under their feet – my favourite ones looked like they were about to shake them off playfully – but the fact that each one was original and imperfect in their differences made everything seem like so much more of an achievement.  The paintings in the Long Corridor gave me the same feeling of quiet achievement, the patterned roof of individual gold dragons on blue was so much more fantastic because if the slight differences in the dragons. Labour intensive, expensive and wonderful, each dragon I’m sure was painted with its own story playing out in the mind of the artist.

I went the scenic route around the lake which meant that for a long time we walked alone beside lotus thick waters and narrow pathways lined with willows.  It was silent and misty, the hills around us dotted with pagodas which I knew to be miniatures because I’d done the research but they still impressed me – who would think to build scaled down pagodas to improve the view, geniuses that’s who!  I carefully considered the intentions behind the Temple of Collecting Moisture, and The Hall of Happiness and Longevity and the Gate whose Eaves Capture the Clouds, but my favourite was the Temple of Heartfelt Contentment.  I sat on a beautiful stone carefully selected to be positioned in that spot purely for my enjoyment and I enjoyed the beauty of beauty and ornateness for the sake of pure pleasure, watching the boats sail across the lake, their yellow dragon heads only improving on the view.

Later as we were the last to leave the Lama Temple and had to rush down the steep stairs – the Lama Temple is the one you see rising, round on the hill in all the photos – because the staff were hosing off the beautiful goldfish-orange rooves to keep them in pristine condition, I thought about China’s labour-intensive traditions and about how many people it must always have taken to keep the Summer Palace wonderful, and I wondered if they enjoyed the part they played in creating all that beauty or if it was just a job.

It only took me a few hours in China to realise that the drivers here border on the predatory.  The little green man may be welcoming me onto the road but the cars and bikes are on their own missions.  I wonder if that’s why all the horns seem to sound so tinny - if they weren’t toned down everyone would be deaf.  So my over whelming first thoughts after leaving Beijing Airport were all along the lines of ‘oh my god I’m going to die and miss out on seeing all the things I want to see in Beijing’.  Lucky I catch on pretty quick and after a few frightening crossings I adopted the policy of choosing the oldest looking local and walking out with them - I figure they’ve survived on the roads this long they must know what they’re doing… So far, still here to tell the tale.  The other thing that was different to how I imagine the city to be was the lack of smog - that’s right - maybe I’m benefiting from all the effort over the Olympic period, but the sky was clear as in London town.

My first outing after the train and foot journey to the hotel - during which I was offered assistance by several friendly souls, though one of them seemed to know less about reading maps than I do and suggested I go in what I was sure was the wrong direction -  was to Tiananmen Square - walking distance from our hotel (well about 55 minutes walk anyway.).  I’ve wanted to stand in this space for years, but when I really was I felt much the same as I do standing in Trafalgar Square - I realise that it is a historic place but I didn’t get the feeling of awe I’d hoped to get - but that was only until the sun began to show from behind a cloud creating a striking image of the place looking as large, serious and foreboding as it is.  Before the sun showed it to its most dramatic it was just a mess of pot plants being moved around after the Olympics and people waiting for the guards to change.  I waited in the crowd for a while not sure what we were all waiting for but caught up in the crowd mentality - so many people gathered looking in the same direction I couldn’t help wondering what they knew about that I didn’t.  And there are many guards, and men in official looking dress.  I wandered into a rather pretty looking garden and was quickly shooed out by some of them on my way to Tiananmen Square, and though one of them was wearing Converse trainers I have to say that I did feel a bit nervous doing wrong by them, they just seem to have such an unsmiling - I’m sure it’s regulation - presence.  I took a photo of one of the Tiananmen Square guards with his head lined up with Chairman Mao - whose effigy has been made into the hands of a clock on cheap wrist watches ever tenth person in the square wants to sell you.

Returning to the hotel we went for a meal in a restaurant.  In trying to gauge the right kind of place for us - not too expensive but safe - we decided it had to have table cloths and not have strip lighting.  We we’re also looking for a menu with pictures…  I will not be eating dog - especially seeing the street population seems to include lots of tiny cutsey ones - I did say that maybe those are the ones no good for meat, but I won’t say that again…  Our restaurant parameters seem to have been about right - the food was fantastic - though apparently I was the entertainment - the chef was taking surreptitious photos of me with his camera phone all though the meal - I checked to see if I had food on my face and didn’t so I can only hope I wasn’t committing some kind of sin of table manners.  The tea was fantastic.

There are sooo many potential places you can sail or cruise that it’s even harder than usual to get someone to commit to a list of the best routes on the high seas…but here is the beginning of our list of Top Cruise Routes and more than ever I welcome you to give us some suggestions of routes or port you may have been lucky enough to cruise by.

If you’re more hands on and you like to steer your vessel yourself then a sailing journey may be more your kettle of fish in which case our increasing list of Great Places to Sail might be more useful.  Either way H2O is the way to go with new World Reviewer content at the moment - even if some of our latest reviews do involve the frozen kind…  Maybe it’s all that rain last week?

We’ve had quite a few Americans though our door so we thought we should take advantage of some of their location expertise and find out a bit more about the best of the big ol’ U S of A… Enthusiastic, outdoor-type, Jordan seemed like the right person to ask for her opinion on America’s Best Beaches and she was more than happy to oblige, providing us with just that bit more, her top recommendations for nine different kinds of beach experience:

Nightlife: South Beach – Miami, FL

Families: Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, NC

People-watching: Venice Beach, Los Angeles, CA

Romance/Honeymoon: Poipu Beach, Kawai HI

Seclusion: Papakolea Beach, Water sports: Hanauma Bay, Oahu, HI

Relaxation: Catalina Island, CA

Luxury: Main Beach, East Hampton, NY

Wildcard: Siesta Beach, FL

Wildcard: Moshup Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, MA

Dan Brown’s ‘Da Vinci Code’ illicits strong feelings from most people and our newest expert, Bill Mcdonnell is no exception. His first review for us is of Rosslyn Chapel, which you probably already know features in the book, and if you like the book you probably shouldn’t read our review because he’s debunked some of Dan’s code… He, like Dan’s characters, was fascinated by the intricate carvings.

I visited Rosslyn on a chilly, grey afternoon in 2006 and was totally charmed by the detailed stories crawling all over the walls. I was also lucky enough to attend a service there, something I would add to Bill’s recommendation. I would also advise going late in the day (apparently the Dan Brown buses are there in the mornings… you can probably guess which way my feelings for the book tend.).

Welcome to World Reviewer to Martin Gray who has reviewed over 100 of the world’s most special sacred places, from Fuji San in Japan to Mount Athos in Greece. His stunning images and detailed descriptions make this list one of the best anywhere on the net. For a full range of his reviews and images, visit his website, and for a summary of his reviews on our site, see the Martin Gray reviews page.