At 2:00 I was awake. And didn’t go back to sleep. I lay in bed mentally working on a computational puzzle, which I’ll eventually share with my friend and debate partner. At 6:00 decided to get up because I needed to get up at 7:00 anyway.
I did get a little sleepy mid afternoon but a long and wonderful phone conversation with my brother took care of that. I was nodding off around 8:00 so, after having been awake for 18 hours, was in bed by 8:45.
And awake at 2:00. It’s now 3:20.
Back to the travelogue
Tuesday, August 7 to Saturday, August 11
In the previous post I was describing the International Handbell Symposium and its massed ringing concert of international music. Here’s a photo of the ringing hall during the last rehearsal. My spot was in the second row on the right. An origami class created paper cranes that were placed across the front of the director’s podium.
The Symposium included a lot of massed ringing rehearsal, but there were a few other activities. I attended four workshops. The first was a description of the culture of the Peranakan, one of the ethnic groups in Singapore. The word Peranakan means child of the soil, though that might be hard now with huge population density in the modern city. This culture was originally from along the Malacca Strait and has pulled in influences from Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. The presenter talked about the food, bead work on clothing (the phoenix is female, the dragon is male), the favorite colors of pink and green, and the music tends to be a blend of English and Malay.
I attended a workshop on solo ringing, which I’ve done. The workshop title suggested it might be more advanced than it was.
Another workshop was Canadian folk songs. The presenter talked about the various tunes and we rang through them.
A last workshop was Korean folk dance, well, one particular dance. This one featured extra long sleeves pulled over the hands so that arm motions would make the long cloth flutter. After we all learned the dance the leaders asked participants to perform in small groups while the rest watched. Most in the class were young. I was part of the “old” people – older than 30. As four of us “old” people did the dance others had their phones out capturing the moment for the world. I was shown one of those videos and it may be posted somewhere. No need to go looking for it.
Many of these international symposiums include a cultural excursion. So one afternoon all 350 of us boarded buses and went up the hills to Kuranda and the Rainforestation. Yeah, culture for the tourist. The site included several areas. My half of the group started with the Aboriginal dance theater. Three guys playing didgeridoo and beating sticks accompanied three others who did traditional dances, most of which imitated the kangaroo, snake, and emu. Thankfully, this was only 15 minutes. Then the men allowed us to throw boomerangs (I declined) and demonstrated throwing spears (two of them are record-holders).
The next section was a small zoo, featuring kangaroos, dingos, koalas, and crocodiles. After a pause for a snack (which one could buy) we were loaded into amphibious vehicles, old army ducks, for a tour through the rainforest. The guide pointed out various interesting plants. Of course, one could buy a photo of oneself sitting in the duck with a dozen other people.
Then came supper, which was very nice, and dancing. A three person band played music that would accompany dancing out in the bush and taught us some of the dances. The space for dancing was much too small for this size crowd, so I was content to watch.
On Saturday after the final concert (and a chance to change into party clothes) the symposium ended with a banquet. It was to start with a parade of flags at 7:30, so we were told to be seated at 7:15. The parade happened around 7:35, and … The appetizer was served at my table at 8:10. The main course was served at 8:45. The dessert was served at 9:30. Then the speechifying started – thanks for the workshop leaders, the massed ringing directors, a special honor and response, and … At 10:00 I left. I had booked an early morning event for the next morning. The speechifying could continue without me.
My hotel offered a laundry service for a pretty good rate, saving me the hassle of taking the time and of hauling my clothes to the partner hotel to do it. So I had them do a week’s worth of clothes. Alas, the bundle came back minus a sock. The hotel desk clerk was all apologetic and offered a bottle of wine (I don’t drink) or can of soda (most have sugar or caffeine and I avoid both). I suggested perhaps a voucher to buy a pair of socks. That he wasn’t authorized to offer. Nor could he offer a small discount on the room. So no reimbursement. Sigh.
Sunday, August 12
The early morning event I had booked was to take the Kuranda Scenic Train from Cairns up the hills to Kuranda. That town sits at an elevation of just above 1000 feet. Building the route was begun in 1887 and the railroad would be glad to tell you how difficult it was and what a marvelous feat of engineering it was for its time with tunnels to blast and bridges to build the 22 mile route.
Here’s a photo of the train at the tight horseshoe bend. The old style cars are pulled by modern locomotives that have been painted by an aboriginal artist to show the legend of Buda-Dji, the snake that carved the Barron Gorge, which the train passes.
Here is a photo of the smaller waterfall along the route.
The big one, the Barron Falls, was only a trickle this time of year. The hotel desk clerk (who doubles as a travel agent) suggesting looking for a video of the Barron Falls in flood, which it did last March.
At this point in my writing I was sleepy enough to go back to bed. The time was 4:30. I slept to 10:15.
Kuranda is a pleasant tourist town (emphasis on tourist), so I spent most of my time on the trails that circle the city and go along the river and through the rainforest.
Lunch was at a Thai Cafe. Alas, I got there just after a Chinese group cleaned them out. I did have a meal of fish cakes. Afterward, I went to another shop for a sausage roll (sausage meat in a pastry tube).
The trip back down the mountain was by Sky Train. The best way to describe it is with a photo:
I’ve been on these sorts of things before, such as at Cedar Point in Ohio. This one is notable for a couple things. First, it is long, the whole thing is 4.5 miles. Second, it glides over the rainforest, allowing one to see it without disturbing it. The support towers were brought in by helicopter so an access road didn’t need to be built through the rainforest. There are two stations along the way. One has the option of getting out and provides a look at the Barron Falls from the opposite side of the gorge from the train. The other stop requires getting off (the whole distance has two loops of cable, not one) and offers a look at the rainforest. Here I heard a bit from a nature guide about the plants and animals, mostly nocturnal, around us. Why are tree snakes rarely venomous? While waiting for the mouse to die it will likely fall out of the tree. Dinner is now on the forest floor. This ride across the rainforest and down the mountain was one of the highlights of the trip. Here’s a photo of the final descent.
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