Travels in a time of history: March 2020

Friday, 27 March 2020

Travels in Africa

In 2016 my wife and I went on a rail journey through Africa - from Cape Town to Dar Es Salaam. I was born and brought up in Zambia, so it was an opportunity to renew my links to the continent.

The trip was organised by Rovos Rail. We spent a few days in Cape Town, on the Atlantic, before boarding the train.

Cape Town is one of South Africa's 3 capital cities and was settled by Europeans since 1500, although it has been inhabited for at least 12,000 years! A cold front blew into the city when we were there, so we couldn't take the boat trip to Robben Island, where past-president Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.

The famous mountain

Non-violence statue

Ready to board the train

Hex river valley - stunning!

Matjiesfontein - our first stop after Cape Town

That first night was sooooo cold! We had to keep the shower room heater on all night, and the shower was frozen the next morning. But as the day moved on and we got further north, it warmed up beautifully. Next stop was Kimberley, famous for its diamond mines. These were run by De Beers, a company founded by Cecil Rhodes, who played a big part in colonizing southern Africa.

Kimberley (as it used to be!)

Our next port of call in South Africa was Pretoria, the administrative capital of the Republic. It has some startling things to see, among them the Voortrekker Monument and the statue of Nelson Mandela.

Voortrekker Monument

This monument seems quite a strange thing to see in a modern state which has such a multi-cultural aspect now.

Nelson Mandela

This is a stunning memorial to an amazing figure in world history.

Steam loco at Rovos Rail's HQ

Wildlife

After a fantastic wildlife interlude, we made a brief detour by coach into Botswana - a beautiful and peaceful country. Interestingly, its ruler in the 1960s and 70s, Sir Seretse Khama, was married to an English lady - very unusual for that time. We boarded the train again, after going through border formalities on foot.

The train crossed into Zimbabwe in the area known as Matabeleland. I was at boarding school here between 1964 and 1967. It was an interesting time because there were huge political changes occurring. Rhodesia, as it was called then, unilaterally declared its independence from Britain, resulting in sanctions, and ultimately, a long war and internationally-recognised independence.

Victoria Falls remains a massive tourist attraction. The hotel we stayed at reeks of the colonial era - it seems rather inappropriate now. But the falls themselves are a true wonder.

The falls

Statue of David Livingstone, missionary and explorer

Smiling face!

Bridge over the Zambezi river (and the border with Zambia)

Zambezi Gorge

On into Zambia, the country of my birth, and where I lived until I'd finished school at the age of 17. So much had changed - especially the huge fields of sugar cane. But it still looks a beautiful and calm country.

We passed through Mazabuka, where we lived until I was 4, then into the capital Lusaka where I lived between 8 and 17.

Mazabuka

Lusaka station

We headed north and turned right at Kapiri Mposhi, onto the Tazara railway, built and funded by China, to export copper to the coast. Another stop was Kasama, where I lived between the ages of 4 and 5.

Kasama station

The town is notable for the nearby Chisamba falls and the surrender of German forces in November 1918, some days after the armistice was signed.

Chisamba falls

Another smiling face!

And on to Tanzania!

We arrive in Dar Es Salaam, ("home of peace" in Arabic), once the capital of Tanzania. We endure a tough car ride to our beautiful hotel on the Indian Ocena.
But it was worth it for the sounds and views.

Thursday, 26 March 2020

Travel to Wuhan

As a microchip design engineer, I went to many places that have some historic significance.

This first post shows some photos from Wuhan in China (PRC). When I went there in May 1980, as part of a 100-strong Philips commercial exhibition, Wuhan was unknown to me.

Wuhan is 1,000 km or more from Beijing, the political and business heart of China, but we were told to go there anyway! There wasn't much electronics interest there at the time, but the organisers got huge crowds in every day to visit us!

China in 1980 was very different to the modern bustling and busy country we see today. The photos might give you some idea of that.

There was a slight complication getting there - someone in Philips had cancelled my visa to China, just before departure from the UK. On advice, I went on the first leg of the trip to Hong Kong with the main party. Our "man in Hong Kong" would arrange a visa - which duly happened (things just get done in HK).

Hong Kong passport stamps

Visa to get into China

But this took an extra day or two, so I was faced with getting to Wuhan alone. Fortunately, a Dutch guy from the HK office was going too, so we set off by plane across the border. But we arrived late and missed our train connection to Wuhan. We were left by the China Tourist escort to go it alone - by air! (In those days, with very strict Communist Party rule, you had to be escorted everywhere.)
We bedded down in a hotel in Canton (now called Guangzhou), after a game of snooker and a beer.

Guangzhou hotel

Early the next morning we took a taxi to the airport. We started to queue at the ticket office - but the local folk don't queue like we do! We soon learned to push and shove like them - easy for us as we were quite a lot taller than them.

Once on the plane, my colleague amused the passengers around us by playing a tape (!) of a Chinese language lesson.

The hall, inside.
Notice the Netherlands and PRC flags

It wasn't long before we landed at Wuhan airport - it turned out that this is a military airport. The local (lady) commander rolled up in an army vehicle muttering "Big trouble, big trouble"! Oh well ... We were eventually deposited outside the exhibition hall, just as the Dutch minister for trade was opening the show.

The exhibition hall

A Dutch colleague (Wim) and I were manning the telephone equipment stand. Each stand had a local "machine minder" and a translator. Our translator was a delightful lady who was very well educated. She told us stories of the hard years under Mao.

Our translator and Wim

Me on the stand!

Now on to the best bit - the people of the city!

Europeans in Wuhan were a rare sight. There was a rumour of a couple of Germans, who had been left behind after building a brewery. So when we went out we attracted a lot of attention - especially a couple of our red-headed team!

Street view

Adults wore drab clothes - in contrast to their children.

This man makes a confection by heating up rice under great pressure!

The team waiting for the bus from our hotel

Our hotel was fascinating. The bar was notable for very weak beer and even weaker local whisky. There was some kind of plaque inside, mentioning HMS Amethyst - this ship was involved in the Amethyst Incident in WW2 (but I think the incident was downriver from Wuhan).