Donkey Double

I apologise, it's been so long since I put up any travel tails. There really haven't been too many in recent months, so I'm giving you a double! I'm working in Islamabad, Pakistan and there are a few creatures around the place, but I'm not allowed to get out very much to see them. But I've seen monkeys by the side of the road that leads up into some hills (apparently if you walk up the tracks you can see more of them), and foxes that run across the road at night. And I'd even seen a few donkeys pulling carts along the side of the road. Of course cruising past in a 4WD does not a good photo make.

I noticed these donkeys from the roof of our office, helping with a construction site that has apparently been going on forever. There are about six donkeys that cart dirt up from the big hole in the ground to a spot behind a brick fence. If you stand there long enough and watch them (which I do when I need a break from my computer) it becomes obvious that the donkeys are pretty cool. They stroll down the ramp unassisted to where the labourers are picking away at the dirt, and wait patiently to be loaded up. Then the donkey totters back towards the ramp and makes it about half way up. It just stands there for a while, not sure of what to do next, and the labourers are so busy with their shovels that they don't notice it hasn't quite made it. Eventually one guy will walk up behind it and give it a slap on the rump, and off it will go. It becomes more amusing when there's a donkey pileup on the ramp.

Perhaps now they've brought the donkeys in the building might actually get finished!!

After my wonderful safari in Kenya I spent a week on the island of Lamu, at the far end in a quiet little village called Shela. There is apparently one car on the whole island, but by far the most popular form of transport is the donkey. The walk between Shela and Lamu town takes about 40 minutes, and during the stroll you get passed by men riding donkeys at break neck speed (all calling out a very helpful "excuse me ma'am" just in time to allow you to get out of the way) and other donkeys that are laden with all sorts of food items.

The streets of Shela are narrow and mostly sandy, and around almost any corner there are donkeys. I liked the little ones.

Hard work

A very recent tail to share, but not much of a tale. Just 2 days ago a group of friends journeyed to the north east of Lebanon to go for a bit of a hike and a picnic. Along the way, we drove through lots of tiny villages, where life was being led on the streets. There were people sitting outside cafes drinking coffee, butchers cutting off sides of meat, men greeting each other outside mosques, and all of this taking place on the side of the road.

The strength of donkeys never ceases to amaze me, and this one was no exception. He lumbered remarkably up the slight incline, with his owner struggling to keep up. Amazing what you can notice from the window of a minivan!

Posing in Petra

I have to say from the outset that this photo wasn't taken by me. I tried to take this photo numerous times but it just didn't work out as well as my friend Jeremy's did. So thanks to Jez for taking this fantastic photo, I'll make sure he gets some percentage of any future book sales...

I'd wanted to go to Petra in Jordan ever since I first saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a kid, and then found out that the magnificent structure at the end was a real place. Funnily enough, many of the people I've met who've been there had the same inspiration. Jez and I, along with our friend Emma went to Jordan on holiday from Bangladesh and I was giddy with excitement at the thought of seeing the Treasury building (the one from the movie). After we'd bought our tickets, a bus load of ageing European or American tourists pulled up in matching white caps. We took one look at them and rushed towards the Siq, the long rocky corridor that leads to the Treasury, not wanting our first view to be masked by all the white caps. As we came around the last corner and got our first glimpse of the Treasury, through a narrow opening at the end of the Siq, my heart skipped a beat. It was absolutely stunning.

After admiring the view for quite some time, and throwing off attempts from the Bedouins to check out their merchandise, we headed off through the ancient city and started the ascent to the Monastery. Side note: have you ever noticed how so many wonderful places sit atop hundreds of steps? It was a long trek up, I think over 400 steps, and the summer heat was almost unbearable. But we made it in the end, and the Monastery was quite a sight to behold. While not as ornate as the Treasury, it was much, much larger. And there stood this donkey, perhaps taking a breather in between lugging unfit tourists up and down those 400 steps.