Mount Popa, Myanmar: It's Very High

It's like something out of Harry Potter: a gold spired monastery clinging to the top of Mount Popa, a craggy finger of rock towering 700 metres above the surrounding Myingyan Plain.

Ever since I'd seen a panoramic photo of Mount Popa in a magazine, I knew I had to go and visit it during my visit to Myanmar. It seems almost unreal, the gold of the monastery spire at the top of Mount Popa nearly blinding as it catches the intense mid morning sunlight. And the rock itself on which it perches looks frankly supernatural, thin and narrow and surrounded by flat plain all around it 700 metres below. It's like the temple got suddenly elevated skywards, straight up and half a mile above the ground.

Mount Popa and the town below
Here's a closeup of the temple on top of Mount Popa which is a bit clearer (both of these pics look a lot better in the enlarged versions - click for bigness). Mount Popa itself is apparently an extinct volcano that last erupted over 300 years ago. Unsurprisingly, its dramatic appearance has led Mount Popa to be a revered holy site for centuries, and it's considered to be the home of the most powerful "nats", or spirits, that dominate Burmese mythology and religion.

Mount Popa closeup
The climb to the top of Mount Popa is not to be undertaken lightly. I saw a middle aged French couple almost have twin coronaries two thirds of the way up. There's a lot of stairs, some of which are steep, but it's an entertaining climb. On the lower reaches are plenty of hawkers touting their wares, which thin out the higher you get. At the main entrance there's a collection of outdoor tea shops providing refreshment for Burmese pilgrims coming up or going down. And wherever you are on the climb up or down, there are always the monkeys, which bounce around you, swing from the walkway's roof rafters, and fight over the cornets of peanuts which visitors like to buy and hand out to these slightly tatty looking furry agents of mischief. you probably want to avoid getting bitten by one of them...

Monkey on the steps
Once at the top, there's a labyrinthine of different shrines in the temple to explore.

Courtyard, Mount Popa

The Moroccan Medina

Current Location: Essaouira, Morocco
Cole loves French.  He flirts with the Moroccan women, drawing them closer, giving them non-verbal permission and when they sweep him up, he doesn’t try to wriggle free, but giggles and returns their kisses and calls them ‘mamama’.  Which, if you ask me, is the highest compliment.  When you walk the medina with a toddler, you walk very slowly and you discover many things and meet everyone.  But in the end, we just carry him, largely because his sense of direction is crap.

China asserts itself in S. China Sea

China rejects the Philippines' accusation on the South China Sea issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told a press conference Tuesday.

Hong said "Chinese vessels were cruising and carrying out scientific studies in waters under China's jurisdiction and their activities were in line with the law."

Recently the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs said the interests of their fisherman were harmed by the increasing activity of Chinese vessels on the South China Sea. The activity also undermined the peace and stability of the region, violated maritime jurisdiction and disobeyed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, Xinhua reported.

Hong, in response to the Philippine accusation, said China holds a long-term and consistent position on the South China Sea, and the position remains unchanged for centuries and is in accordance with international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He said "China asks the Philippines to stop harming China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, which leads to unilateral actions that expand and complicate South China Sea disputes … The Philippines should stop publishing irresponsible statements that do not match the facts."

To properly handle the dispute, China is willing to seek solutions by directly consulting or negotiating with the Philippines, he said.

He also said that China is also willing to work with all sides involved to fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to safeguard the stability of the sea by practical means and build it into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, Xinhua reported.

Driver to death for killing herder

Li Lindong, a coal truck driver, was sentenced to death Wednesday for using his vehicle to kill a Mongolian herder, according to the verdict of the Intermediate People's Court of the Xilingol League in Inner Mongolia.

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>> 2 stand trial for killing Mongolian herder

The decision was announced immediately after the six-hour trial ended.

Lu Xiangdong, who was sitting beside Li in the truck when the herder Mergen was dragged to his death under the vehicle, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Two others, Wu Xiaowei and Li Minggang, were both given jail terms of three years for obstructing justice.

The four men said they would appeal their sentences.

About 160 people witnessed the trial, including relatives of defendants, as well as Mergen's relatives.

Mergen and 20 other herders attempted to block Li Lindong's coal truck to protest the noise and dust created by coal trucks running through Mergen's village, which is located in the West Ujimqin Banner in the Xilingol League.

According to police, Li Lindong dragged Mergen under his truck for 145 meters before he died.

Wu and Li Minggang later blocked the way when police were trying to stop the truck, allowing Li Lindong and Lu to escape.

Panic stations

THE TWO New York hotels at the centre of the furore over inappropriate behaviour by guests have announced plans to issue their employees with panic buttons. The Sofitel, where Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF, was arrested on charges of sexual assault last month, and the Pierre, where Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar, a former chairman of the Bank of Alexandria, was arrested two weeks later, are both taking steps to safeguard staff who may visit guest rooms alone.
A slew of articles in recent weeks have attested to the sad regularity with which female hotel workers suffer unwanted attentions: in the words of the rubric of one article in Newsweek, "Many married men expect sex along with their room service, according to a NEWSWEEK poll". Things aren't that bad, but a culture of acceptance of poor behaviour has seemingly taken root within an industry unwilling to take actions against high-paying guests.
The publicity attendant on the recent arrests may have stung a rather embarrassed business into some sort of action. The Sofitel and the Pierre want employees to carry the panic buttons, which according to the latter will be like those used by elderly people who may need emergency help. And the fates suffered by Messrs Strauss-Kahn and Omar should ensure that perverts around the world think twice before allowing their hotel robes to fall open at the wrong time.
Sadly for decent-minded guests, the relationships they enjoy with staff are also likely to suffer. In particular, it will become harder for a man in his room to behave in a normal, friendly manner when a worker on her own enters. Who will risk having their intentions misinterpreted? It's probably easier just to leave the room.

Adventure Travel : From London to Greenwich

Next week I’m going on break to London for a couple of days, partly to attend a conference in PHP programming, partly also to visit the small town of Greenwich.

Greenwich Maritime Museum

I’m not interested so see where he passes the Greenwich meridian as famous to visit the large National Maritime Museum, where I include, among other things, the war jacket Horatio Nelson led the famous Battle of Trafalgar, where Admiral died musket shot that pierced midriff. In the coat of the legendary British military can see the entrance hole of the bullet, left shoulder area.

The coat of Horatio Nelson

Another of the attractions of Greenwich for me is walking through the streets, much quieter than the hectic capital of England. Perhaps I may go to see the famous ship Cutty Sark, and try to stop by the market that is mounted in the center, to see the ambientillo you breathe. Or just lose myself streets looking for their small businesses, breathing its air alone.

Cutty Sark

Transport for London to Greenwich

Unfortunately, the London Underground does not reach the next village, but we can connect with trains DLR (Docklands Light Raiway) from Bank tube stations and Tower Gateway (near Tower Bridge underground station). If you have a travelcard that covers the area, is valid for this train.

If we take as an example as a starting point the King’s Cross area, which is my case, the journey is not to be over half an hour, and just to do a transfer.

I’ll tell you around what such a visit to Greenwich, but something tells me it will be one of my most enjoyable outings this year.