Boxing Day Recovery Run

Boxing Day pre-breakfast bash on the summit

I have been a less regular participant at the weekly meet of the local running group this year, but I managed to make it to the Boxing Day bash up Lime Craig before breakfast. Our resident Met Office weatherman, Colin, had advised on the best window for the run between the frequent festive storms, which were generously laced with heavy rain and strong winds. He called it right, and we were becalmed on the summit for what was my 180th ascent of the hill.

I had taken a flask of gluhwein, and this was drunk more out of politeness than any desire or need to warm up; it was another of those feverishly warm, wet days that have smothered us in December. Despite managing my best year of running since 1993, with 1300 miles clocked so far, I was slower than I hoped up the direct steep path; it may have been the flask of gluhwein, but then I am the old-timer in the group. The women are still in their late thirties, and the men are mainly in their fifties. We took the longer scenic route down the zig-zags, which loosened me up for breakfast.

On arriving home, there was an ambulance at the house. Ellie, my 92-year-old mother-in-law, who was staying with us over the Christmas/ New Year holiday, had been very ill on awakening whilst I was out running. She had not been able to partake in Christmas dinner and had retired to bed in the afternoon. The Doctor had been called, and after an examination, he immediately requested an ambulance. Aileen went with Ellie in the ambulance and was at the hospital;  the house was empty. Gregor had returned to his flat in Glasgow, Amy was on a ski holiday in the Alps, and Eva had gone to her husband's mother's house for Christmas. I was all alone on Boxing Day for the first time I can remember; it had always been a time to relax and play games in the reassuring embrace of the family. It felt like the end of the family Christmas that I had always known them.

Sunday Ritual; remembering Ellie

Blairgarry

One of my rituals, most weeks in recent years, has been to drive over the Duke's Pass on Sunday to collect Ellie, my 92-year-old mother-in-law, and bring her over for lunch. It is a pleasure on days like this when the traffic and even the cyclists have hibernated for the winter, and the bright noon sunshine brings out the late autumn colours. Today brought back childhood memories as I drove over the Duke's Pass, which I first visited on a family holiday in 1961. We camped above Aberfoyle to split the two-day journey home from Lovett Bridge at Beauly to Lancashire after a fortnight's tour of the north of Scotland.

I took some time out from the usual trip today and stopped by Loch Venachar. I walked along the shore, mesmerised by the clarity of the views and the shadows cast by the oak and birch woodlands that stretch down to the Loch. When I picked up Ellie, she was elegantly dressed and greeted me as always with a hug. Our usual easy chat was put on hold as we absorbed the views and landscapes that changed with every twist and turn of the journey.  Despite having made this journey with Ellie on hundreds of occasions, today seemed very special. We were at one with each other and with the stunning scenery that made the journey memorable.

Postscript: And so it was, it turned out to be the last time we travelled over the Duke's Pass. We made another trip in December on the longer route through Callander; she thought the Duke's Pass would be too dangerous in the icy conditions. But after two spells in hospital immediately after Christmas, Ellie died peacefully in hospital on 11 January 2014.

Duke's Pass campsite of 1961

Loch Venachar

View of Ben Venue

Oak woodlands

Winter water

Winter in December

Foothills of Ben Ledi above Blairgarry

Back to Blighty

First Minister  checking out  the Emirates Arrivals team

After 3 weeks marvelling at the vitality and energy of South East Asia, there was something definitely not ethereal about gliding through the dense cloud cover and into the great grey yonder of Glasgow airport on the Emirates jet. The captain announced that it was -2º C and hoped we would soon fly again. As the doors opened and the cold air entered the fuselage the temptation was to stay seated and accept the Captain's invitation. 

But we followed the other passengers and that depressed us even more. The narrow shoddy-looking corridors leading to the terminal seemed like a tunnel to the third world after the sumptuous airports in Dubai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, and Saigon. A narrow strip of worn-out carpet, grey walls, cheerless lighting, some RBS adverts with the usual hyperbole, and a couple of moving pavements that were not working. Why do so many airports have to be portals of misery filled with overpriced franchised retailers and fast-food chains. The ambience of Scottish airports has changed since the days of BAA, we are now left with rampant aviation capitalism and armed police in Scotland that is far from conducive to delivering Donald Dewar's vision of a confident and egalitarian country. There was little to suggest that we were entering an ambitious, dynamic, well-functioning nation on this gloomy grey Sunday morning.

The luggage turned up in reasonably quick time and the bonus was the cheery Border Control staff who welcomed us with the quick repartee and warmth that is the Glasgow style. An hour later we were home having witnessed the airport fox stalking around the car park and then gathered some bread and milk at the co-op. The house was freezing, the newspapers full of acrimonious stories about dodgy celebrities, political intrigue, and corporate greed. We both grabbed for the travel section.

Cambodia - Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

The short flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap in Cambodia did not even allow time for a drink but the flights are cheap. The new Cambodian Airline, which works closely with the excellent Vietnamese Airlines, ran a shuttle service from several Vietnamese and Thailand airports to Siem Reap. We arrived at sunset and were surprised at the slightly hostile bank of customs officials, who stamped our visas without a smile as we ran the gauntlet of 15 of them all dressed in severe military uniforms before we were allowed to have our passports inspected. They must have been trained by the Americans who specialise in having the most officious bunch of officials at border control. It was mid-evening by the time we made the hotel so we decided on an early night before the full day of tours the next day.

Angkor Wat lies at the heart of the Angkor Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which covers 154 square miles and contains scores of other Khmer temples dating from between the 9th and 15th centuries. Angkor Wat is six kilometers north and is the temple closest to Siem Reap. Our guide suggested we visit Angkor Wat early in the morning before visiting the temple of Ta Prohm and then after lunch exploring the massive citadel of Angkor Thom. This was the reverse order of the majority of tours and meant we had the sun behind us as we approached Angkor Wat. A large phalanx of Koreans were coming the other way from lunchtime onwards. The sheer scale of Angkor Wat and the Angkor Thom was beyond our wildest imagination. They are approached through superbly landscaped grounds with serene lakes and beautiful woodlands.

The masterpiece of Angkor Wat is Cambodia’s best-preserved temple. The 500-acre site is one of the largest religious monuments in the world and represents the architectural pinnacle of the Khmer Empire. It was founded in the 12th century and originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It has been identified as a replica of the universe, and its towers, moats and concentric walls reveal an architectural sophistication. The walls are covered in bas-reliefs with figures of either apsaras, the dancing girls, or depicting triumphal battle scenes during a wealthy period of history. The figures are carved into sandstone and remain pristine despite the blackening on the female figures where thousands of tourists have stroked the carvings.

Ta Prohm is one of the most photographed temples, deliberately left mostly unrestored, and tangled and strangled by undergrowth. It famously featured in the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. This was evidenced by the queues to be photographed in the doorways and beside the tree roots that dominated the decaying temples on this site. We continued through the site to one of the local restaurants for a lunch of noodles, fresh vegetables and fish.

We began the afternoon by entering to the huge citadel of Angkor Thom which once housed almost a million people. The focal point is the Bayon temple, the towers of which are etched with enlightened bodhisattva faces and where bas-reliefs depict ordinary Khmer life rather than Hindu gods. Unfortunately, the afternoon light was flat but the dozens of carved faces provided a jigsaw of immense proportions and it was difficult to leave such a remarkable temple. We exited the Archaeological park by a bridge over the wide moat which was decorated with carved heads. Elephant rides were available but we returned to Siem Reap to enjoy a night out which included cocktails in the colonial club before a ride back to the hotel.

The next day was our final one and after a couple of hours swimming and reading by the pool we enjoyed a few hours in the markets of Siem Reap before flying back to Ho Chi Minh. We had to kill five hours before the flight to Dubai and then Glasgow but the excellent airport restaurant was a wonderful contrast to the franchised food outlets in UK airports. Cambodia had been a great finale for the trip and along with Vietnam a worthy contender for any traveller but just as special were Hanoi, Halong, Hue and Hoi An.

The moats that surround Angkor Wat

Friendly locals

Approaching Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat towers

Heavenly Dancers

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Apsara dancers

Angkor Wat entertainment

The grounds of Angkor Wat

Local children

Entering Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm roots

Tomb Raiders

Angkor Thom monks

Bas relief at the foot of the Bayon temple

Carved bodhisattva faces

Buddhist Monks descending from Angkor Thom temple

Carved heads on the bridge over the moat to Angkor Thom

A real moat

Siem Reap market

Vietnam: Mekong Delta

Mekong barges

We awoke to another cloud washed day in Saigon. Breakfast on the roof garden of the Majestic overlooking the river brought back thoughts about the terrible events that had occurred in Saigon through much of the last century. I had been reading Anthony Grey's book, Saigon, and the final chapter was about the fall of Saigon in 1975. It referenced many of the places that we had visited yesterday and its 800 pages covered the tragedy from 1925 to 1975 as the country fought for and eventually achieved its independence. It felt right to be moving on and we left at 8:00am for the 4 hour drive to Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta, from where we would take a 24 hour boat trip across the main distributaries and canals of the Mekong Delta to reach Cai Be and the floating markets.

The boat was modest in size with just six cabins. There was a party of six French and two other British couples. We were fortunate to have a local guide who bubbled with enthusiasm. We began the cruise on the Hau river, one of the two massive distributaries of the Mekong, and followed a series of smaller rivers and canals across to the Co Chien river. It began to rain as it only can in the tropics and we sat on the covered deck watching the flow of traffic on the rivers with massive construction barges, ferries and sampans competing for channel space.

At dusk, we transferred to a small tender and went walkabout to a small village. The lush vegetation and muddy paths led us to a house where we were invited to partake in an afternoon tea and sample the exotic fruits that grow in abundance in the delta. Washed down with green tea it was a a wonderful feast. Our guide, Lan, had the knack of bringing the best out of everyone and we left the family in admiration at their sustainable lifestyle and the superb diet of the villagers. Returning to the boat, we had some time to ourselves whilst we covered a few more miles along the waterways before it dropped anchor. We were served a Vietnamese meal which had a perfect balance of fish, meat, vegetables and fruit. After a couple of weeks of Vietnamese food we were feeling very healthy.

The next morning we were moving at first light. It began to rain heavily again as we crossed the mighty Co Chien river during breakfast. Despite the dense vegetation along the river banks, there was a lot of villages, construction work and commercial activity along the waterways. We eventually left the boat and took a small launch around the local floating market at Cai Be.

We went ashore and visited a family run factory that made rice wrappers, rice corn and other rice based delicacies. The technology was intermediate but the results were impressive. The trip had been thoroughly enjoyable and as we swapped email addresses with Lan, who wanted to improve her already impressive English, we hoped that we would see her again even though she had yet to venture as far as Saigon.

Leaving Can Tho

Mekong parking

Mekong traffic

Barge

On the deck

Mekong village

Lan

Water Melons

In the Rice factory

Rice Wraps

Garden Plantains

Tropical Fruits

Spot the Plimsoll line

Crossing the canal

Construction traffic on the canals

Floating Market at Cai Be

Breakfast