The longest tug of war ever?

This morning was the opening ceremony of Scifest 2008 where we successfully launched a new style of cross-continent tug of war. One team in Joensuu, led by the mayor of the city, and another team in Grahamstown, South Africa, took part in what is probably the longest ever tug of war, thanks to a combination of modern technology, technical expertise and luck. It looked like Finland was going to lose (they were pulling up hill) but then a large group of children came to the rescue right at the last minute to pull South Africa over (as well as overwhelm the solid construction at the end of the rope!).

If you click on the following link and watch the Finnish 10 o’clock news then after about 16 mins (near the end of the programme and after the weather) you will see some clips of our team (in Finnish of course!):

MTV ten o’clock news

The journey to Joensuu

Three weeks ago today I arrived in Joensuu after a long road trip across Europe. It was five days before that Ed and I set off from a relatively warm Norfolk. Funnily enough, the hardest part of the trip was not driving in Europe for hours on end on the wrong side of the road, but it was the first leg of the journey in England. We both thought that driving to Dover would be a walk in the park compared to the rest of the journey, but we were wrong. We did not take into account the great British weather system!

As we headed for the south coast, we were making excellent time and were thinking of where we should stop for some dinner. Then, as we approached the end of the M11, the fog suddenly worsened. We were soon on the slip-road to the M25 and searching for change for the Dartford toll bridge. We need not have rushed, because barely 200 yards onto the M25 we came to a stop. A complete stop. Luckily it was not just us, no lanes were moving. We sat for five minutes before switching the engine off and getting out of the car to see if we could see what the trouble was. Obviously, in the thick fog we could see nothing, but it was quite funny that we were stuck on a motorway with only a camcorder to amuse us. Half an hour later it was getting less funny! We were hungry, and eager to get to Dover.

Eventually the traffic began to move and we passed the source of the problem: several accidents and stopped cars due to the fog. We were on our way again – albeit slowly – and although we were now a bit behind schedule we were confident we would catch our ferry in time. The fog, however, had other ideas. Over the Dartford bridge we could see nothing apart from the fog lights of the car in front. Soon after the bridge we knew we had to come off the motorway, but unfortunately we took the slightly longer road to Dover which was our first mistake. This would not have been a problem if we did not then make another wrong turn – again due to the fog – that meant we were heading towards Ramsgate instead of Dover. A few hundred yards on the new road, before we had found a place to turn-around, the traffic came to a sudden stop. Moments later there was a loud crash behind us. We got out of the car to discover that just a few cars behind us there had been an accident that was caused by slowing traffic due to an accident a few cars in front of us!

In one sense, we were lucky that we were merely spectators on the accidents. But critically for us, we were sandwiched between two accidents that blocked the road – we were going nowhere! It took almost 2 hours, 3 ambulances – luckily I think there were no serious injuries – and a whole squad of police cars to clear both accidents. We missed the ferry! Luckily there was another one at 2am so we grabbed some sleep and soon we were gladly escaping England. I might even go as far as saying that I was pleased to arrive in France!

The rest of the journey was plain sailing. Driving on the wrong side of the road, guessing the speed limit, and navigating from country to country: it was easy after getting through Kent. We stopped for one night in Bremen, one night in Copenhagen, an afternoon in Stockholm, and finally one night in Helsinki. And so three weeks ago today I was dropping Ed off at Helsinki airport and driving the last leg of the journey up to Joensuu. Ed assures me that there will be a video of our adventure coming soon!

Buddhism in Finland

Just when I thought there was no Buddhism in Finland, I made an exciting discovery…

It happened while ice skating outdoors as the snow was falling heavily from the sky above. There is one guy who maintains the outdoor ice rinks all day long. He drives around in this special tractor that sweeps the snow off the ice. When he finishes one ice rink, he moves onto the next. But even before he has finished one, the previous ice rink is already covered in snow again. And so it goes on…

The road to Joensuu

It has been an unexpectedly busy few weeks since my last post. After the viva I thought it would be nice to do nothing for a while. But ‘doing nothing’ lasted only 24 hours. I soon realised I was not designed to sit around idling the time away and so I went back to Warwick to find something constructive to occupy my mind. For a few days I caught up with the latest developments in the Empirical Modelling group, and then Ilkka came to visit from University of Joensuu (Finland) for a week. It was very enjoyable to be in Warwick again, working on new ideas and thinking up future projects to collaborate on from Finland. In the chaos of finishing the PhD I had forgotten how much I like life at Warwick, and that I will miss all the friends who I have had the pleasure to live and work with.

But times change. Luckily I am heading for another exciting place and I already know that there will be many friendly faces when I arrive. Even getting to Finland is going to be exciting in itself. When I was in Finland last year I had this idea that it would be fun to drive there, and it has been in the back of my mind ever since. Now it looks like it will happen. I set off for Finland tomorrow, but I will not be arriving for another five days. The good news for me is that I am not doing it alone, the incredible Edward Young of ‘shocking Facebook status humour’ fame will be joining me. Just in case you are interested, here is the summary of our plan…

Countries visited: UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.

Cities we plan to stop in: Rotterdam, Bremen, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki.

Country we will spend the least time in: France (for 15 minutes!).

Total driving time: 45 hours.

Driving distance: 1900 miles.

Number of pages required to print the route on Google Maps: 76

Estimated petrol required: 64 gallons.

Carbon footprint: bigger than an elephant’s footprint.

Cost of petrol: unthinkable.

Cost of sitting next to Ed for 5 days: priceless.

The final part of the journey

We were safely back at Pie’s house by Sunday evening enjoying good food and good company. I am not sure how pleased the newly wedded couple were to see us, as they had been enjoying a quiet house since we left – which they needed after the excitement of the wedding. I think they must have missed the entertainment of having us around though, especially Mark’s early morning piano practice, which he resumed the first morning back.

The last couple of days were spent visiting friends, mostly ex-Warwick people, some other Thai friends, and my Thai family. Mark and I got some great dinners, I got a haircut for less than a pound, and I bought lots of fruit to smuggle back for people at home. It was all over too quickly and on Wednesday evening after another good meal I was sent to the airport by Pie, Nun, Mark and Opp to catch a flight (that I almost missed) back to Blighty. It was great to see so many friendly faces in Bangkok, and I really hope I can return again soon. Thank you for entertaining Mark and I, and for all the great food we enjoyed. If any of you are visiting England soon then you are always welcome at my house – I cannot guarantee the food will be as good as Thailand though!

My story does not quite end there. The 24 hours following my arrival in England were supposed to be occupied with intense revision for my PhD viva. However, post-Thailand fever set in almost immediately and I was consumed with updating my blog which had been neglected the last week of my trip. When I finally got around to revision I quickly came to the conclusion that it was too late, and so I just practiced meditation for a short time instead. I am happy to report though that I managed somehow to get through the viva. It was a grilling experience that lasted two hours, and when they sent me out the room I dashed straight to the kitchen for a much needed cup of tea. By the time I had mashed the tea, they were already searching for me to call me back in. With a cup of tea in front of me I could handle the result whatever, but to my utter surprise they told me I had passed without the need for any corrections.

All of which goes to show, a fun-filled adventure with friends is all the preparation you need to answer the most difficult exam questions.

In and around Ubon Ratchathani

On Thursday our driver came to pick up our party (Mark, Opp, Peng and me) at 9am from our nice little guest house in Warin Chamrap. My Thai sister, Joob Jang, joined us too. We got some takeaway fried rice to eat on the bus and then we were off to pick Luangpor and Tahn Manapo from Wat Pah Nanachat. Our destination for the day, Khao Phra Wiharn, is a Khymer temple on the top of a mountain on the border between Thailand and Cambodia. The mountain belongs to Cambodia, since the World Court deemed it so in 1962, but it is not directly accessible from Cambodia. The only access is from Thailand because of the 600m shear rock face that connects the mountain with the rest of Cambodia. The isolation means that you do not need a passport or visa to visit – although you do need to pay of course! At the border crossing the Cambodians are keen to make you aware of your location. There are Cambodian flags everywhere, almost as many as there are landmine signs!

You know you are in Cambodia anyway as this place has a very different feel about it. There are sellers hassling to take photos or offering postcards of Pol Pot, children as young as five out begging for money, and girls following you around trying to be guides. Even the monks were subjected to locals trying to sell them cigerettes! Despite this, the temple ruins on the long up the mountain are extremely impressive. There are three levels, and from from the first it was clear who would reach the top first. By the time we had begun the first few steps, Luangpor was already reaching the top of the first level, and soon he had disappeared out of sight. We took our time, snapping some shots of the ruins on the way. At one of the levels there is an old machine gun which is cunningly aimed at Thailand. The Cambodians must be fairly proud of this place given that according to the geology of the area it would make more sense to be part of Thailand.

At the top of the mountain there are some large rocks after which there is just a shear drop. There are no barriers or fences, you can peer over at Cambodia depending on how brave you are. It would be nice to jump down into Cambodia and see what it is like – I suspect that it might make Isahn look rich and prosperous by comparison.

After our trip out with the monks we went to have a big dinner as we were starving from going without food since breakfast. (You have to be quite imaginative to find eating opportunities when out with monks!) Then we went back to the Spa for another massage to end our exciting day.

Friday started the same as the previous day, eating breakfast in our rented minibus (with driver!) on the way to pick up the monks. The four of us were all wearing football shirts that we had bought for just over £1 – we looked a right bunch of hippies! Luangpor decided we should visit Wat Keuan, a temple he stayed at 35 years ago. The temple is in a large piece of forest on a peninsular that sticks out into Sirintorn Dam in the province of Ubon Ratchathani. When Luangpor was a resident monk there was no road up to the temple, and every morning he walked a couple of hours on almsround to collect his one meal of the day. Nowadays there is a road up to the temple gate, and we were even able to drive a fair way into the temple grounds before we continued on foot. Luangpor told us that the temple is run-down compared to his day, many of the kutis look abandoned and the once beautiful wooden sala building is completely neglected. We walked along a path covered with leaves until it disappeared and then it was up to Luangpor to forge a path through the forest until we came to an opening. It was the place we were looking for, the end of the peninsular where many large overhanging rocks suggested a wealth of photographic opportunities. I climbed on all the rocks and then paddled in the water to get to a further rock sticking out of the water.

We stayed in this idyllic corner of the temple for quite a while before we once again forged a way through the trees to get back to the path. It was a magical place – one of the many unique experiences I have been lucky enough to enjoy during this trip. I think I am unlikely to find this place again – a very remote and ‘unseen’ part of Thailand.

In the evening we sent Opp and Peng to the airport to catch a plane back to Bangkok, so they could do some intense shopping before Peng left for China the following day. This meant that on Saturday there was only Mark and I to accompany the monks on another trip. We roughed it in the back of a pick-up smelling of fish to get to Wat Pah Nanachat. The driver took us on a very long and convoluted route to the temple, which after saying hello to several of his friends in different shops and villages, I realised was probably to show off that he had a couple of farang with him. At the temple we met Peter who would take us all to visit Luangpor’s friend Ajahn Dang. I have heard many stories about Ajahn Dang from Luangpor, so it was good to meet him at last.

Afterwards we went back to Peter’s house where we were served proper English tea in the best fine bone china. Not the sort of thing you expect in a small village in one of the remotest parts of Thailand. In the evening I managed to persuade Joob Jang to let me have a go at riding her motorcycle. I soon got the hang of speeding through the city later at night with no helmet or license. Mark found it quite amusing that Joob’s helmet was kept in the front basket unused, but the next day I realised that you actually need your helmet when the sun comes out to stop your face from getting too tanned!

On Sunday morning I set off with Joob at 7am to visit her family’s house about 40km outside the city. This was quite a distance to travel by motorcycle, but by the time we got there I was much more confident at driving! We had a great breakfast with the family and then we all set to work on digging the ground around the house to prepare for possible flooding during the rainy season. This was hard work in the heat, even if it was only 10am in the morning. What a great contrast in living between Bangkok and Ubon! I hope all those lucky city dwellers get to experience the diversity in their own country as I have done.

After the digging we rode around the village on a motorcycle with some of the children following behind on bicycles. We went to the temple to pay our respects at each of the Buddha images, then it was back to the house for lunch before the long motorcycle journey back to the city where I met a relieved Mark (who had survived getting to the temple and back on his own) at the airport ready to return to Bangkok.

Photographic evidence

... of my latest adventures in Thailand is accessible here: Photos on Facebook

(These follow on from my photos from Malaysia)