Friday 29 May 2015

Perpignan - Carcassonne, Day 4

Looking back along the Aude towards Limoux.
Last day then, and only sixteen miles or so to do, which is good since I have a flight to catch, departing at 5:30pm.  At least today I will actually get lunch, Limoux is big enough to have shops that open so I walk out of town with some food in my bag.  The walking is easy enough, I head north along the Aude valley, crossing the local rail line a few times.  Then at around six miles in I have a choice, I can either keep north and walk another ten miles straight to the airport, or cover the same sort of distance but a little more to the east, to reach the famous citadel of Carcassonne.  Of course I will then need to find a taxi or some such, or miss my flight.

Approaching the citadel.
Well, it is a no brainer really, and in the event the rest of the walk is a largely pleasant trek through vineyards and woodland.  Although I do pass through quite a bit of private land, including a section where I need to divert through the trees to avoid some angry dogs.  But I survive, and eventually cross a rise to see the walls of the citadel in front of me.  It is certainly very impressive, the sheer size of the thing is such that once I get up close it is hard to get any sense of scale, other than by walking around the battlements, it takes twenty minutes or so just to get a quarter or so of the way around.

I have time to get inside, it is rather reminiscent of Mont-St-Michel, but much larger.  Same plethora of tourist tat, though, on the plus side I'm able to get a beer.  I'm sure I could happily spend the whole day exploring here, but sadly I have a plane to catch - at least getting to the airport is easy, a tourist bus turns up just as I step out of the citadel gate.  All went according to plan then... and a pretty good plan it was too if I say so myself.

At the main gate.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Thursday 28 May 2015

Perpignan - Carcassonne, Day 3

Thermal baths at Rennes-les-Bains.
An early start, and I'm able to check out the thermal baths before heading out - the water really is as hot as, well, a bath.  Again, I fail to find any kind of shop to stock up for lunch, well, will survive on my fat reserves if nothing comes up I'm sure.  Had a big - and excellent - dinner last night, and plenty of beer anyway.

Plenty of iron in the soil here.
An easy enough day this then, only eighteen miles, in a series of gentle climbs and descents.  A dramatic landscape this, rivers run through deep gorges, the Pyrénées gleam to the South, and at one point I walk through a terrain marked by rich, red earth - fuel, I guess, for the tile factory I pass towards the end of the day.  Not before getting a bit lost in some woods though - my planned route at this point seems not to match anything on the ground.  Only a few hundred yards of slogging through dense forest, but I'm glad it's not longer.

Destination today is Limoux, famous for it's carnival apparently. It's a decent sized place with a choice of restaurants - I enjoy a local Fricassée de Limoux, which contains parts of a pig that would probably be frowned upon in the UK.  There's even a selection of bars here, so I'm able to have a few beers, and watch at least the first half of the Arsenal game before heading to bed.

Église Saint-Martin in Limoux.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Perpignan - Carcassonne, Day 2

I wish it were easier to find maps with French rights of way.
After a good night's sleep I head out of Cucugnan, this is the longest day of the walk, twenty-one miles, so I'd better get moving.  Don't spot anywhere to buy some lunch but I'm sure something will turn up.  At least, the going is easy enough, a gentle climb that I make good pace on.  Of course, it wouldn't be one of my walks without crossing some private land and leaping an electric fence or two, but I get away with it.

No luck finding lunch, so I settle for the two day old shortbread I brought from London.  I am
therefore pleased to get to the village of Bugarach at around 4pm and find an actual bar.  Only a few miles left, I've made good time, so I definitely deserve a beer.  From here it is a pleasant walk through forest to today's endpoint, Rennes-les-Bains.  Interesting place, a thermal spa dating back to Roman days and now a pretty village along both sides of a river.

Was very glad to find this place.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Monday 18 May 2015

Perpignan - Carcassonne, Day 1

Crossing the river Agli at Cases-de-Pène.
OK, another short walking trip then.  These generally end up being wherever I can find some suitable flights, so this time it's southern France, practically in the Pyrénées, should be good exercise then.  I spend a night at the Stansted Premier Inn - failing to eat the monstrous burger I get there - before an early flight getting to Perpignan for 10am.  Let the walk begin!

The Tour del Far.
The plan for today is twenty miles, doesn't sound too hard, but it sure is hot here, worse than Thailand last week I'd say.  And after a few miles it becomes clear that my route involves climbing a very large hill.  It may not be much compared to the snowy peaks visible to the South, but by English standards this is a tough ascent.  Seems to have some kind of structure on top as well, which turns out to be the Tour del Far, which I'd guess is a folly (nope, turns out it is a medieval signalling tower, the name meaning tower of fire).

Not long after I pass the ruins of real fortifications, this part of the world has been fought over since before Roman times.  I still have a way to go, and while it is mainly downhill, nonetheless it is around 7.30pm when I reach the days destination, Cucugnan.  Charming place, built on a hill, itself within a steep sided valley, the village climbs up in a series of lanes and steps to the hilltop where there is a windmill.  For me, I enjoy a fine dinner with a pichet of wine, then get an early night - for some reason I'm a bit tired.

Cucugnan.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

Thailand, Part 4

Surviving railway sleepers.
Last full day out in the Thai countryside, and I have a bit of walking to do, hopefully this time I won't get stopped at a checkpoint.  From the hotel, a few miles of footpath and minor road through the jungle should take me back to the railway, but obviously beyond the last station at Nam Tok.  Rather, there is a section of line a few miles long where the Office of Australian War Graves has cut back the jungle so that you can walk along, the route passes through various cuttings including the infamous Hellfire Pass - so named because as the POWs worked into the night digging into the landscape, the scene, lit by bamboo and diesel torches, resembled something from Dante's Inferno.

Hellfire Pass.
I've planned the route out in advance on my GPS device, so I know when I need to turn left onto the line - except when I get there it is blocked with barbed wire.  Still, I can see it is right and has been walked on so whatever.  I follow the route for a couple of miles passing a few signs providing information about the building of the line and so forth, then as planned turn around and head back.  Emerging from the barbed wire again I notice a sign saying 'reserved for the Royal Thai Army' - oops.  Got away with it anyway.  Carrying on things are better maintained, the route passes through a series of cuttings, embankments, and sections where I need to scramble down and up, back in the day wooden viaducts would have spanned these but are long since gone.

It is hot but bearable here in April, though of course I am just walking.  It is hard to imagine what it was like for the men seventy years before, hauling rocks and digging holes for explosives in the heat of a Thai summer.  The death toll from this railway, around one hundred thousand from disease, starvation, accident or the brutal treatment from the guards, is staggering.  Well, they are not forgotten - in fact, I have come at the right time for this, it is nearly ANZAC day and there is a large party of Australians at my hotel, including, I'm pretty sure, at least one veteran of the railway.  There's also a Japanese TV crew there to interview him.

Peace Vessel at the Hellfire Pass Museum.
Must confess that I don't bother taking the train back to Bangkok as planned - by the sounds of it the journey would take around eight hours.  Instead I find an air-conditioned bus for just 140 Baht, it gets me there in just a few hours, in time for a relaxing evening.  Well, this was all fun I must say - almost proper backpacking, four star hotels notwithstanding.  One of these days I will come back and do the real thing... looking at the map, it is entirely possible to get buses or trains to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.  Might take a little bit longer than a few days mind.

Back in Bangkok - at the North Bus Terminal.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Friday 8 May 2015

Thailand, Part 3

At the bridge.
Next day, and I will get to this bridge.  In fact it is only a mile or so from the hotel, and proves to be impressive enough as seventy year old railway bridges go.  There's certainly a sense of history here as I walk across the span, the outer parts of which are the original whereas the centre was replaced after being damaged by American bombing.  Time to take a look at the station here then, my plan is to get a train at 1.30pm which will take me to Nam Tok, the furthest the line gets from Bangkok.  Unfortunately it seems I've screwed up, the next train doesn't go at 1.30pm at all, but rather 4.30pm.  Oops.  I get a coffee, have a wander around the 'JEATH War Museum' - no, not a misprint, it stands for Japan, England, Australia, Thailand, Holland apparently.  Interesting collection of WWII artifacts, plus rather gruesomely numerous bones of those who died building the railway.  Generally there isn't much to do though so I head back into town and grab a few beers while waiting for the train.

Sun setting, still on the train.
It is, of course, an hour late, and then takes its time to rattle along the track towards Nam Tok.  We are getting into the hills now and the route starts to take in steep inclines and sharp bends, the decrepit seeming diesel engine struggling much as I imagine the steam trains did back in the day.  At least nobody is dropping bombs on us.  By the time we arrive though we are even further behind schedule, and I am here nearly five hours later than I'd expected.  Not really ideal when my hotel is something like ten miles away... I had planned to walk it, and as I don't see any taxis and while numerous people are about - hell, there is some sort of party happening - English doesn't seem to be spoken, I hoist up my pack and set off.

I should be able to get there before midnight or so, and at least it isn't too hot at this time.  But, before long it turns out the route I planned is less of a country lane and more of a dual carriageway, not much traffic but what cars there are tend to flash lights at me, I suspect I'm not doing a very normal thing here.  Lightning from distant storms flashes around me, at one point I pass through fires on either side of the road, it is certainly atmospheric.  But in the end I only get a few miles before reaching an immigration post.  They are mainly looking for people coming the other way, from the direction of Myanmar, but they're still not keen on me walking along the road and so call up the hotel and ask them to send a taxi - I'm not really complaining.  My hotel turns out to be more of a resort and is certainly nice, my room is more of detached bungalow overlooking the river.  Bit of a shame both the bar and restaurant are shut at this time though, so not much for it but an early night.

Home Phutoey Resort - nice, pity about the bar opening times.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Thursday 7 May 2015

Thailand, Part 2

Phutthamonthon.
Day two, and I take to Bangkok's comprehensive, and air-conditioned, bus system, aiming for Phutthamonthon, a sprawling landscaped garden / Buddhist sanctuary a little way out of the city.  Once out of the centre the bus moves swiftly enough, a pity it drops me a mile or so from my destination though... still, while I must now navigate a mile or so along a couple of motorways, there are pavements and footbridges.  It is worth it anyway, Phutthamonthon is rather nice, I must say if a country is going to spend money on religion this is the way to go.  You don't have to be a believer to enjoy the maze of water features, and the giant standing Buddha at the centre is most impressive, as are is the Marble Pali Canon Temple, where there are what seems like hundreds of man high marble tablets, each gold inlaid with Buddhist scripture.

Back in town, I enjoy some incredibly spicy soup, and a few beers, and find some live music at Bangkok institution Checkinn99 - has been there since the Vietnam War days, which counts as historic around here.  But anyway... I'm not here to hang around in the capital, so next morning I make my way to one of the rail terminals.  This is a tricky process involving the 'skytrain' (excellent, air-conditioned), a river ferry, and a mile walk.  The station resembles something from a village rather than a major city, while Thailand has a larger rail network than many of the surrounding countries, it still isn't much.

Thonburi Station.
The train is hot, even with every window fully open, but it is a good way to see the country, which to begin with is pretty flat.  I watch exotic birds startle at our passing and take to the air, they seem to keep pace with the train, which says something about our pace.  Even at this speed though the carriage wobbles alarmingly as we rattle over the tracks, and I wonder how well maintained this line is.  Eventually, hills appear to either side and start to close in, these are the foothills of the high country that marks the border with Myanmar.  For this is the famous Death Railway, built by prisoners of the Japanese during World War Two, and I am headed for the bridge on the River Kwai.
I don't quite make it... the train reaches Kanchanaburi where my hotel is, just a few miles from the bridge, half an hour late.  It then stops... nothing happens, and after half an hour I give up and head for my hotel.  It's a hot evening, and while my hotel has aircon, the rest of town seems not to have heard of it.  I have a good meal, drink a few beers, and play some pool with a lady who, of course, wants to go back to my hotel.  It's a bit too classy for that sort of thing though...

Riding the train west.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

Thailand, Part 1

OK, actual proper travels, of the kind that people do when they say they are going travelling.  Foreign parts and all, there will even be getting about by means that aren't walking... first though, a cycle, for a change.

Bang Krachao.
So, I'm in Bangkok, gateway to Thailand.  It is hot, smelly, and traffic is horrible, not the ideal place to cycle.  However, if you head to a little known pier and take a ten baht (twenty pence) ferry over the river, you reach Bang Krachao, a near island cut off from the bustle of the city, and pretty much undeveloped.  Here there is mangrove swamp, and a network of raised concrete walkways just about broad enough for a bicycle, or indeed moped which the locals use to reach the homes dotted about.  It's a charming place and I couldn't come to Bangkok without visiting it, so a hundred baht to hire a bike and I'm off.  Still hot though, so I head for a village to the south of the peninsular to look for water - and get rather more than I bargained for.

I survived Songkran!
Thai New Year, or Songkran, has just passed, and in the city proper the celebrations are over, but here it seems they're going strong - and that means a massive water fight.  Those with bikes or pickup trucks cruise along with water pistols, while at the roadsides there are gangs with hoses, buckets, and also bowls of talc to smear on peoples' faces - my bet is the idea is to make you look like a ghost.  So I buy a water pistol and join in of course, and get very wet indeed.  I suspect I get special treatment as a foreigner as I end up caked in talc, which clearly amuses the locals as I walk back to my hotel.  Time for a bath, and then a cold beer or three...

Photos to go with this post can be found here.