19 to 24 October : Mongolia and return

The stay in Mongolia was only in Ulaanbaatar this trip, unlike the great visit of 2006 when I went  for a 20 hour drive to a mine site. This trip was a mission to lecture on mining and modern good parctices and to disucss the uranium market etc. I was met at the airport at 0930 Monday morning and we drove straight to the Ulaanbaatar Hotel  where I was staying.

This view of the city from near the aiport road shows the smog layer with the stacks and towers of a power station just visible in the murk.

The air was clear but it was -7 degrees and remnants of the recent snowfall were evident on the streets and the surrounding hills.  UB traffic is horrendous with far too many vars and lilttle discipline amongst the drivers. To my amazement in the week I was there I only saw one significant  real "fender bender" accident and we were only involved in one small event when we bumped the car in front. Anyway the hotel was OK especially as there was  an excellent indian restaurant on the top floor and that was where I ate most evenings. On the last night I saw well known British comedy actor Martin Clunes  there with a small film crew having a curry and beer supper.

The air quality in town varied with the wind direction; when the siuth wind blows everything is clear and fine but otherwise thw coal smoke, smog and car fumes clog the air and an inversion sits over the city  which even made my eyes sting at times. The 4 coal fired power stations and all the little coal stoves in the houses and gers (yurts/tents) do not help at all.

work went well and the view from the lecture room reminded me that it was cold outside.

One morning on the way to the office we stopped at the main square and my guide insisted on photographing me in front of the statue of Ghengis Khan. I had seen the statue before but the surrounding building had not been completed at the time of my last visit

Ulaanbaatar is a city that is expanding fast with very many modern structures since my last visit barely 3 years ago. I was surprised at how much it had changed.

On the last evening I was taken to a very good folk dance and song show which was apparently celebrating its 20th birthday. It appeared that this troupe was a national treasure and so the TV cameras etc were there in full force. As one of the few  foreigners in the audience I found myself an object of interest for one camera man who wanted to see me clapping at the end of ecah act! Certainly the show was great with long song, short song, dancing, amazing acrobatics and throat singing - a great Mongolian tradition.

Still on saturday morning the job was done and I was on my way back to Bejing for anothr overnight stay back at the HWA hotel. A fine journey in clear weather. Another afternoon in and around Tianamen - sadly it was still too crowded to see inside the palace - and a dinner again at the amazing restaurant.

Sunday was an early start for a walk around the shopping area before the  trip to the airport and an all day flight to Vienna; same plane and same "new" uncomfortable seats. Bejing was a balmy 14  degrees and even Vienna was warmer than Mongoia at 11 degrees.

So that was Bejing and  Ulaanbaatar. A few more days at home in Vienna and I will be off again - Malawi is calling!

October 18th: Mongolia - via Beijing

Another Saturday evening and another trip to Vienna's airport for yet another duty trip. It was a cool evening with a bit of rain but I decided to take a cab as I had a case this trip. As the weather in Bejing was cool and Ulaan Bataar was downright freezing I felt that a few extra clothes might be a good idea.

At the airport  I arrived a bit early so had plenty of time to take in a restorative Bloody Mary in the airline Senator lounge before heading off to the gate lounge. This was already prettty crowded  and before long we weer being asked if we would give up a Business Class seat for an economy class seat and 800 euros. This was soon followed by an offer of any economy class passenger  willing to take  750 euro cash refund and a trip on the next day's plane. It seemed that we were not going anywhere until a brave soul "walked the plank". I was travelling with another member of the agency staff and whilst we were tempted to help, the thought of all the paper work to explain things later plus the issue of what to do with the cash  made us keep quiet.

Anyway some brave soul eventually put up a hand and we finally we boarded our ageing Boeing 767 and found it had the "new" Austrian Business Class seats. These turned out to feel narrower and shorter but with more gadgets and buttons, a retrograde step in my book especially as they were certainly less comfortable for anyone over 1m 75 in height we agreed.

The on board chef  got into his uniform and we had a good meal with nice wines; but the entertainment system is still very old fashioned with all the movies running at set times and no chance to see a proper menu on screen or start and stop films at will, as you seem to be able to do everywhere else nowadays.

Anyway, 9 hours or so later we hit Bejing and the new  terminal built for the Olympic Games. All very smart and super efficient - a great improvement on the old place I had seen in 2006, now it is very clean and well organised.

My travelling chum had booked the hotel so we got a cab and headed off.

Bejing Airport Expressway

Beijing traffic is still pretty bad but a 60+ minute ride cost us  less than 25 euros which seemed to be pretty good value for two. We were dropped off on the wrong side of the street and then found oour way, eventually, across the road and into the hotel. Not real big on English language skills but friendly and they took VISA so what more could we want? The rooms were quiet, clean and quite large suites in fact all for $75 US per night with breakfast! Sadly we would have to forgo breakfast as our flight toi Ulaan Bataar would require a 0500 departure from the hotel.

The view from my room shows the crowds on the street.

A quick wash and we were off for the  1mile stroll to Tianamen Square as my chum had not been to the city before. It was very windy with lots of dust in the air and bits coming down off the tress all the time. The place was pretty crowded as it was a weekend after the national day so heaps of internal tourists and barriers everywhere to control pedestrians.

 

Tianamen Square

Flower gardens at the side of Tianamen Square

Anyway we wandered around and  decided to walk back around the rear of the palace gardens. The people in the courtyard of the palace  were shoulder to shoulder so we hand long since abandoned any idea of going inside-next time perhaps.

Anyway it was an interesting walk with some different views and  few other foreigners  until we got back to the hotel.

We chnaged some money and then sat down for a Tsing Tao Beer or two. A quick rest again and then a stroll around to a local restaurant with only a picture menu  but the meal was good and pretty cheap by Vienna standards. And then back to the rooms before 9 pm to get some sleep before the early exit.

Liverpool: 13-15 October

Another flying visit; this time it was to the ICEM'09 conference in Liverpool to chair a session on Environmental Remediation, give a paper on the latest situation on the work at South Alligator Valley back in Australia and then help run a meeting of the Uranium Mining and Remediation Exchange Group (UMREG).

So off to Landstrasse station to catch the 0805 City Airport Train (CAT) and off to Vienna Airport. The flight was with Swiss but I had to change at Zurich - where I met up with Alex, an old friend and colleague,  (and a fellow member of the UMREG committee) so we could travel on together to Manchester. There we hired a car for the drive to Liverpool and our hotel. I was driving as Alex figured I was more used to the left hand side of the road. Anyway, we made the trip without drama and found our  destination. The Hotel Campanile was located close to the convention centre  and the rejuvenated area of Albert Dock.My room looked out onto the old Queen's Dock and beyond to the Mersey itself. We arrived mid afternoon so lunch was called for (Swiss don't do meals in economy anymore.). The closest pub was a place nearby  was called the Pumphouse and it turned out to have Greene King IPA beer and good pub food, so we were well content.  A quick check around the conference centre to sort out details for Wednesday and then it was out for few drinks with old colleagues from the remediation business.  Suddenly Tuesday was finished.

Wednesday began at 0700 outside the Campanile's dining room waiting for the place to open so we could get to grips with the "full english" breakfast, The meal was good and by 0730 we were at the speakers' gathering at the Convention Centre to check everything was ready for the day, All went well and we went  off to work. The papers in the session were interesting and  well presented and  there were several old mates in the audience. After lunch we spent the afternoon with UMREG which was all papers from well known chums and  covered a wide range of topics related to the remediation situation in uranium mining.

A group of 6 of us from the UMREG meeting went out to dinner after the session and enjoyed a good meal  at one of the many restaurant bars around the old Albert Dock.

Thursday morning  had not dawned and we were  off on the road at 0600 for the drive back to Manchester Airport. A bit wet in the dark but not too much traffic and so the journey was fine. We negotiated a few dodgy sign posts and found teh rental car retrun desk OK. Then the Swiss check in and although the staff were great the news was that we had a 45 minute delay. As they told us this so my phone  received the same news from Swiss via a text message.  Anyway my Austrian Airlines card got us into the lounge and although we had missed a Campanile's "full english" we did do pretty well  for breakfast there while we waited. The plane arrived and  off we went. An OK flight but the  delay meant that it as quick cheerio to Alex at Zurich (his closest airport) and a rush for me to cross cross Zurich Airport to board the Vienna flight in time.  There had been about 5 or 6 of us connecting  between the same flights so we arrived more or less as a group to find the plane full and then the door was shut and off we went. Reaching a 3 degree Vienna  was little surprise after seeing snow on the mountains en route and even some sprinkling on some of the hills around the city.  The weather has changed and winter cannot be far away. Friday the car was booked in to the garage to ahve the winter tyres put on ( a leagl requirement in Austria) and a winter check.

Saturday I am off to Mongolia via Beijing, !  No rest for the wicked......

4 October: Auschwitz

This was an day that I described to somebody afterwards as "Glad I went but in no way happy".

Sunday morning was bright but windy with some clouds around to keep the temperature cool. We had pre-booked a minibus to make the tour and it arrived at the hotel on time and had a very capable, english-speaking driver. I can recommend the operator we used as very efficient(http://www.krakowshuttle.com/index.html). Our driver explained how the day would be organised as we set off for the 40 minutes or so drive out of Krakow and through the countryside to the Auschwitz site.

We arrived at the car park for the Auschwitz site to find it was pretty crowded and hordes of people milling around. Anyway our man was pretty efficient and explained he would buy the tickets and make sure we had a good english speaking guide, a mate of his called Michael, all part of the service.

While we waited for him to get organised I noted that this was another World Heritage site.

The tour starts in a cinema witha showing of an old Soviet propoganda film about what the Russians found on arrival and how they helped the surviving inmates. All very heavy soviet music and language that is reminiscent of today's spin doctors but no less effective for all that. The film could have been full of true horrors but I have to say it was in no way harrowing but still a very thought provoking 20 minutes or so . Outside the cinema we met up with the driver and were introduced to the guide, Michael, who gave us our headsets. All the groups have a guide and headsets with a separate channel so you only hear your own guide. This keeps the level of noise and chatter to a minimum which adds to the sombre and respectful atmosphere in the site despite the many hundreds of people milling around.

Outside we also caught our first sight of the camp buildings and the double barbed wire fence.

The next sight was the front gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp with the infamous motto "Arbeit macht Frei". A bizzare sensation as one had seen this image so many times before on TV and at the cinema and there it was exactly as I expected. sadly my picture does not show the lettering off to best effect.

From th gate we walked through the camp hearing Michael's very good description of the history of the camp and the stories of some of the inmates. The history is interesting as many of the "facts" that one thinks are known before the visit turn out to be less than accurate. The camp was initially set up in the mid 30s nd was for political prisoners initially, the deliberate exterminaton of various groups began later. The camp was always a brutal place however.

We visited many of the buildings but there is no photography permitted inside any of them to preserve the dignity of the memory of those who suffered and died here. The displays include many pictures taken by the jailers at the tme as well as some aerial photographs taken by the allied airforces and a few images taken by inmates at incredible personal risk. Some displays also show the collections of shoes, spectacles, suitcases and other personal effects collected from inmates; and of course there was the room-sized display case full of human hair, taken from the prisoners, truly ghastly to contemplate.

Outside we came up close to the original fence; a double fence with electrified barbed wire, lights and watch tower and an original  warning sign.

At the end of the walk we ended up in the gas chamber and crematorium that had been added to the camp once the extermination campaign had been implemented. Again no interior pictures  but a truly moving place to visit, and everyone coming out was very quiet.

From here we went back to the bus, handing in the headphones on the way, and stopping for a quick drink of water (provided by the driver) and a chocoltae bar (provided by Tim) before the short drive to Birkenau. This was the  camp built specifically for the extermination campaign although  a substantial slave labour force was based there too. Our guide Michael re-apeared to show us around this place. By now the wind was stronger and cooler and the clouds were thicker adding to the sensation of  sadness and desolation that pervaded the site. A short walk through the woods at thr back of the site as the guide explained we would start at the back and walk through to the front thus avoiding many of the crowds for much of our visit.

The visit began at the great international memorial that sits at the far end of the site. 

The memorial is  an incredibly complex piece but the 21 plaques across the base all bear the same message which so poignantly recalls the horror of the history of the site

Standing at the memorial one is between the ruins of two of the four large crematoria  that were used  in the extermination campaign. The ruins have been left as they were after the facilities were destroyed by the Germans before the Russians arrived. Much of each complex was underground  and so thus picture is looking along he line of the entrance to the "changing rooms"  which led in turn to the "showers" (gas chambers) and the furnaces beyond at ground level.

Walking past the ruins and the ponds used for disposal of the ashes  we came to a fence  and noted that here there was only a single barrier around the site, but still electrified. Through the fence we could see the  huts which were used to hold  those people who were destined to be executed in the chambers  almost immediately.

We walked through the wire and  went inside one of the huts  to see how awful it must have been to be there waiting for the inevitable. Triple layer shelves with on;ly straw as bedding and 8 or 9 people on each set of boards 2m X 3 m  approximately, to think that people spent their last days like that was very depressing.

From the huts we wlalked to the railway lines that run up the centre of the site, effectively dividing the extermination camp from the labour camp. This was another emotive image from so many films and photographs but again to be there and see the reality was really a powerful sensation.

We went up into the man watch tower over the front agte to get an overall view of the site. The large number of chimney stacks left as reminders of the wooden huts that had also been on the site are an eerie reminder of the past; this area was within the former labour camp.

There was time for a final look over the site from the tower  to see the chimneys, the remaining huts, the fences and watchtowers and some of the crowds.

 And then we were off back to Krakow.

As we walked through the main square looking for somewhere to have a cup of tea we saw a bride getting ready for her wedding

The others arrived as  expected later that afternoon and  then there was just time to fit in a dinner for the 7 of us at a restaurant next door to Chico and Iwona's flat before I was off to the  station and the night train back to Vienna after a weekend that had been  extremely interesting but also very sombering at times.

The night train to Vienna

2-3 0CTOBER: Trains & a salt mine - Poland again

Well I was back from from Limoges but after one night in the flat it was off again to the railway station at West Bhanhof and the 2220 train to Krakow. Those (both?) of you who read this blog may recall that I went to Krakow in the snow in February and promised Iwona and Chic, my friends there, that I would return to see leaves on the trees. Well, October was starting to cut it a bit fine on that point but it was still very green .

Anyway, I arrived at 0630 on time after a good trip on the train but hungry-Polish Railways throw in a "breakfast" of a chocolate croissant and a Mars bar and some water and a small bottle of juice which keeps you going, just. I headed off to my hotel (http://www.hotel-amadeus.pl/?p0=11&l=2) which was located on the edge of the old city centre and was where I was hoping to meet up with my dear friends Tim and Wendy as well as my sister Soo and her husband Mike over the weekend. Chic and Iwona would be back in town too from their London base, but staying at their place just on the other side of the main square.

The hotel staff were helpful and charming but there was a problem, my room had lost its electricity supply so they had relocated me to the 5* Holiday Inn (http://www.hik.krakow.pl/) a few hundred metres away and I could have the room right away for no extra charge, which was very nice of them.

Holiday Inn Krakow City Centre

The porter insisted on rolling my bag over there and I was duly checked in by even more helpful people who also fixed up a tour to the famous salt mine at Wieliczka with a 0930 departure the same day. So after a proper breakfast and watching the Grand Pix qualifying from Japan it was onto the minibus and off to the salt mine for a full tour. We drove out past the Krakow palace which looked fine in the morning sun.

The trip took less than 3o minutes and then we were at the mine. It was very crowded but as a World Heritage site I guess it is bound to be popular.

The World Heritage sign at Wieliczka Salt Mine

The mine still has a working headframe which stood out over the skyline in a dramatic fashion

The entry to the mine was down 384 steps in one of the old shafts; round and round we went and a couple of people felt dizzy at the bottom.

Underground the mine is full of salt sculptures including this one of Copernicus, one of Krakow's better known sons. Some sculptures are old and some are contemporary and vary a lot in style but they are all skilfully done.

Also throughout the mine there are dioramas of the old working methods which are very well done.This one showed a major haulage and winch system powered by horses.

The workings open to the public are the top three working levels of the former mine so we walked down quite a few more steps on the way around. As with all mines there is water around and from time to time we saw lakes underground including this one where they used to run boat trips. Nowadays it seems these are few and fare between and mostly for special guests only.

The workings are extensive with many dioramas and long passages, but the mine is really famous for the 3 chapels underground carved from the salt. The largest chapel is quite something and is the size of a small cathedral .

The underground "cathedral"

The tour continued with a walk into yet another chapel and a visit to a large cavern (with another gift shop - three in all on the tour!). At the end we came across the most unexpected thing - a large salsa dancing class at 135 metres underground. All very serious and a great wooden floor etc - most impressive. However, we moved on, resisting the temptation to join the dancers .................

........ past an example of the old workings as they had been at the last time of the commercial workings and then on to the lift shaft

The lift was a true miners' cage with 4 compartments like telephone boxes and 9 persons in a box! It was pretty crowded but as a concession to the public the cars had lights in them and anyway the haul to the surface was only about 30 seconds or so and then we emerged and had a chance to see the lifts in daylight.

Then a chance to see a fourth gift shop before the drive back to Krakow. I confess I did buy a bag of salt to use in the kitchen. The salt from the Salzburg salt mine has just about run out. A great trip but very touristy and crowded but worthwhile for all that.

On the way back to Krakow we saw the "Kracow Eye" in the sky over the city. This is a tethered balloon and I wanted to have a go but there was no free place that afternoon sadly.

So instead I wandered around the city centre looking at the tourist stalls outside the old market and museum building which is being refurbished at the moment

And then a wander through the flower stalls............

And at the end of the afternoon Tim and Wendy arrived so we had a drink and went out to find dinner in one of the multitude of restaurants and cafes that are all over the city centre.
As the others were not due to arrive until Sunday evening we had decided to visit Auschwitz
on Sunday and so that is the next blog.

30 September and 1 October

After a long day on Tuesday, including some very heavy duty discussions with government representatives we finally called ita day at about 6.30 PM. The evening meal on Tuesday was at a gourmet restaurant with a true ' belle epoque' decor and atmosphere but food that I felt was only OK. The meeting went through all the second day and although it was hard at times we made good progress and completed our schedule. ...in time to catch the 5.20 PM train back to Paris . I had the very last seat in the train and although I had the row to myself the carriage did seem to move around a lot. The view from the back of the train behind my seat was different....
Shame about the dirty window in the door!

Back to Paris then the Metro out to the airport then a longer than advertised wait for the shuttle bud to the Radisson which I finally reached at 10 PM. More or less straight to bed for a good night's sleep with no trains!
Up early for a normal hotel buffet breakfast and then the Air France (Austrian?) flight back to Vienna AF were late, as usual in my expereince. "A l'heure" translates as "on time" in my dictionary but it is obvious that for AF this means" in the next hour or so". Anway by midday I was getting out of a taxi at the office and thinking about getting ready for the next trip - Krakow on Friday night.

The other issue from France was that I may have to go back to be there as a member of the team to present the final report to the Environment Minister as I shall be doing the English version of the summary...........Oh well, another day, another 10 euros I suppose.