Geocentricities - Part Two

Let's move further north to territory that should be more familiar to all of us. Should be. The land called China. Home to ancient history, terra cotta soldiers, silk, tea, Tiananmen Square, cheap goods and 1.3 billion people.

Australians, particularly mineral-rich Western Australians, have a keen eye on China. Where its fortune goes, so does Australia's. The global economic crises has demonstrated that. China's economy has not stalled, just slowed to single digit growth. Which means, due to lower demand for mineral resources, WA's economy has slowed. Is it because of the closer proximity or the direct commerce that this relationship is seen so clearly? Is it because of the further proximity and indirect commerce that makes it harder for North Americans to clearly see their relationship with this burgeoning financial giant?

It is by far easier to coach than play and Aussies fondly fondle the whistle. There are weekly reports in one medium or another analyzing what other countries are & should be doing, in their opinion. Some give real pause for thought. The financial relationship of China and the U.S. comes to mind. Twenty-five years ago I wondered why U.S. businesses were so eager to lay down at the feet of the Chinese government. Did they hope that all 1.3 billion people would be buying their stuff? Didn't think so then but hadn't given much thought about it since then. Like my fellow citizens, too busy moving along in the machinations of my own tiny world to give lots of thought to the big picture. "Made in the U.S.A." , "Buy American" and the anti-WalMart campaigns didn't quite penetrate the national psyche deep enough. Did the global financial crises do it? Do my fellow Americans see what appears much more clearly to me now from a distance; that China is well on its way to owning the U.S.'s financial soul? In my experience, northern Asian populations have been terrific savers and that excess money has been bailing out the living-on-credit American population. Someday, the piper will need to be paid. Have we figured out yet that we need to: reduce personal & collective debt, keep jobs within our own shores and, for pity's sake, stop shopping at places like WalMart?
As a Global Citizen, China leaves much to be desired. As Banker, we can all learn from it.

I have been to China twice--actually the same corner twice. Fascinating, it is. And very different from it's other three corners we see in the National Geographic and Lonely Planet publications. I'm going to need a few more lifetimes to catch it all.....or many friends that travel there and send me lots of letters, postcards & pictures.

Geocentricities

It is not coincidence that "egocentric" and "geocentric" are almost the same word, they are almost the same thing--the lens is just wider on the latter. And I, like most people, are guilty of both. Don't think you are? Draw a map of your country, freehand--no tracing and without looking at a map. Now compare your drawing to a real map. Look how you have magnified your little corner of the nation and in such greater detail than everywhere else!

Now think of drawing the world. My freehand tracing of this part of the globe was pretty pathetic. How could it not be? In the eastern half of U.S., the word 'international' conjures up images of Europe (the South thinks further south and the West coast can more easily picture the other side of the Pacific.) No different here in Australia, particularly in Western Australia where the population is far from anybody. In fact, it's cheaper to fly to many SouthEast Asian countries from Perth than to fly to Sydney or Melbourne. Or to buy lots of gasoline and drive to the opposite side of this huge state. That's why everyone gets so excited about vacations in SE Asian hotspots. Woo hoo! We're going to Vietnam! Holidaymaking in Indonesia! Thailand, here we come!

Still catches me up short. My mental images of most of these places comes right out of the pages of National Geographic...in the 70's. And the occasional glimpse through the Economist doesn't actually help the imagery much. Go ahead...I'll name a place and you say the first thing that comes to mind: Vietnam (rice paddies, refugees) , Cambodia (mud people) , Saigon (helicopters) , Jakarta (jagged metal shadow puppets) , Laos (ah...rhymes with louse?) , Bangkok (dangerous place) . Burma (shave) , India (cattle & elephants) and Thailand (child sex trafficking) . A far cry from the typical Aussie who thinks: RESORTS! BEACHES! RESORTS! FUN! BEACHES! EXOTICA! MORE BEACHES!

I am trying to replace these mental images. Jakarta (hotel bombings), Myanmar/Burma (rubies, but the people dealing them still have pained refugee expressions on their faces), India (nasty smelling/tasting curries). Not much of an improvement. But I working on it all the harder. Kev has booked us for a trip to Laos in October. People who have been there like it because it is cheap and not yet overrun with tourists. I am debating whether to wipe the mental slate clean and let whatever pops up fill the void or read every possible guidebook and compare reality with literary. The empty-slate method worked on the detour through Malaysia on my way here. We'll see....

And don't fret, I'll faithfully report back on my findings, as always.

No Laughing Matter for Kookaburras

Kevin and I attended a "Christmas in July" event this weekend. Usually at nice country pubs/resorts, we spend most of our time noshing on hors d'oeuvres, eating heavy meals and talking. Photographically speaking, these weekends are dull and/or indictable so I didn't bring my camera. I have lived to regret this decision on many an occasion and Saturday was one.

We never race from home to destination. There are too many corners to peak around on the way. This day found us eating lunch at the sheltered gas grill at Serpentine Dam. The shelter is nice to have, as the same winter rains that promote the brief period of green across this land also make soggy lunch stops. It's a nice park area and Kev has readied a nice picnic; marinated Kakadu kangaroo and a very colorful salad that includes homegrown rocket lettuce.

We push the button to start the grill. While we are waiting for it to heat up, we notice the birds in the area; ringneck parrots (bright green with a yellow 'collar' and dark head), magpies (black and white) and two kookaburras. Isn't nature wonderful?! Oh, the grill is ready now and the the chunks of meat start to sizzle immediately.

As fast as you can burp Tupperware, we had company. The ringnecks and magpies brazenly flew and walked up as close as we would let them. The kookaburras rested on the metal guard rail. Unmoving. Except for their eyeballs. At one point Kev held up between two fingers a small piece of roo. "You want a piece of this?" In a flash, one of crafty kingfishers swooped in and, with surgical precision, snatched it from a startled chef's fingers. Which he still had.

Grill scrapings I tossed on the grass interested them not. Kev walked right up to one with a bit of rocket. The bird took it but dropped it almost immediately. blah. And finally, a last big piece fell out of Kev's sandwich, so he again fed it directly to the bird. The kookaburra, and all his new friends, went to the fence. The kookaburra kept whapping the meat against the fence--the same way they kill off snakes they catch by bashing its head against a hard surface--before deciding it was dead enough to eat.

Excellent dinner theater, I tell you, and not a single shot of it to share. (The photo here is someone else's obviously similar adventure.)

The Fourth of July 2009

By now, everyone should be aware that below the equator July = winter. That's why Christmas movies appear on TV. That's why locals wear heavy coats even if the daytime temps are 68F. That's why I made a Thanksgiving Day-esque turkey supper. Bought it on super clearance the day after Christmas, a day when insensible Europeans will roast a turkey for 5 hours in 98F heat, and put it in the freezer for a better day.

And what better day than the Fourth of July, an Independence Day feast. Our neighbor, Keith, loves roast turkey yet rarely gets to eat it. I tried new recipes for the sweet potatoes and green beans (well, it wasn't actually Thanksgiving Day, so I thought some experimentation was allowable) and, Miracle-O-May, everything was ready at the exact same time! Oh yeah, send me my Girl Scout cooking badge now. Keith brought the usual two bottles of champagne and a special surprise for dessert. It was a mud cake (like a cheesecake) decorated with an American Flag in frosting. PLUS, adorned with star sparklers-shaped like four-leaf clovers instead of straight sticks-which I have never seen before. What fun! I giggled madly as sulphur smoke filled our tiny townhome, John Phillip Sousa played on the CD player and we toasted the day with another glass of bubbly. Predictably, we all fell into a food coma that night and it was leftover turkey for breakfast, lunch and dinner today.

We could have had guests last night. A U.S. naval ship, the USS George Washington, is anchored just offshore and the city is awash with moneyed sailors on their first leave in 30 days. I bumped into two yesterday morning in the downtown area and made an open invitation to join us for supper. A former sailor myself, getting an invitation to a local home is most welcome. They didn't show up (their loss) but that's OK. Funny, I did not ask if they were US sailors, I assumed they were as I recognize my own breed. Kev can, also. It is sometimes hard to define exactly, but one can tell who the Europeans, Americans and (foreign) Asians are at a glance.

Anyway, Perth is thrilled to have cash ladened sailors in town. Put up a big sign saying so. The TV news channels have been heralding the arrival also with video. One of the stories showed sailors in full dress uniform visiting sick kids in the hospital. This beaute of a PR move preemptoratively coats good-will over any potential future negative "incidents" that might arise from sailors on leave. I spotted a few of these guys in a pub at 11a.m. with a beer and high amusement at the sports programming on the TV. Can't blame them--rugby can often look like a cross between football and Twister, very amusing.

Something I didn't know: the USS George Washington is likely to be anchored in open water rather than docked (probably in Fremantle at that) is because some countries do not want nuclear weapons in their country (Canada being one, say my friends) and the U.S. will not disclose which ships are or are not carrying. So, the good sailors tender in (take small boat shuttles to shore) and book hotel rooms for a couple of days.

Three-thousand-plus sailors could do worse than Perth for a few days leave. I hope they have a good time.

The Ocean Road Home

As fun as it is to rattle one's innards and car alignments on endless, unsealed, washboard gravel roads, we needed a see change for the last days of the trip. So this includes gritty mining port cities of Port Hedlund and Karratha. They seem to exist totally for the export of mined iron ore but I do applaud the permanent residents (as opposed to the fly-in,fly-out workers) efforts to improve quality of life. Art programs and art galleries featuring Aboriginal artists work, community programs and Target stores. I'm afraid their greatest offering to us was real beds, real showers and a chance to do a bit of laundry. We stayed at the holiday home of the CWA (Country Women's Association, see 3-28-09) a pleasure and a bargain at $40 in a city where a basic box hotel is $200 a night.

If Port Hedlund exists for mining, Exmouth exists for tourists. Ningaloo Marine Park is such a wonderful change from the grit of the interior. There are beautiful bays with snorkeling amongst the coral almost at water's edge in shallow, moderate waters. A squall followed us in, so it was two days before water activities became fun or even recommended by park staff. Of course, this did not stop Mr. Intrepid from giving it a go each day anyway. I don't know how our tent, anchored into sand, didn't blow away...even with us in it. What we didn't get to do was swim with the sharks. Whale sharks, that is. They eat krill, not people, and winter in Exmouth. They're a big draw, understandably, but expensive also. The official operator asks $380 for the couple of hours worth of thrill. I'll just feel my heart speed up looking at stock photos.

Carnarvon, the green stop of the vacation. Another CWA unit, no where near as homey as Port Hedlund, but an excellent base for exploring as it is located right downtown. Carnarvon has just the right conditions to be able to grow crops year round. In fact, 80% of all winter produce for the state comes from this area. We toured a banana plantation, which grows relatively few bananas compared to other crops, and learned heaps about how farming is done from underground water sources which are alloted by a shire water scheme. Very interesting. We visited every produce stand open on every farm hoping to stock up on farm fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, eggs and ice cream. We hiked along a one-mile jetty and strolled through a sheep shearing station museum.

This really ended the exploratory part of the vacation. We had already visited some of the spots between Carnarvon and Perth ( see The Old Pearler, 2-13-09) so we broke up the long ride home with a stay at the Old Priory hotel. It's an old convent school that functions as an upscale country pub on beautiful old-growth property. Kind of a halfway house back into civilization as Kevin watched rugby in the pub and I lazed in a heated room drinking Baileys and watching Christmas movies (Christmas in July, the southern hemisphere's answer to Hollywood's northern version) and each having a good time.

Random Photo #1: Bound and determined to make the most of every possible experience this trip, Kev spits in the eye of Fate (or was that his own eye?) to stand at the very edge of a gorge eating fresh prawns. He would have called his stockbroker if we could have gotten cell phone reception. (OK, not really. But it sounds good, anyway.)

Random Photo #2: OZ has a thing for giant tourist landmarks. Meet Mr. Egg, a bit larger than Mr. Prawn, more colorful than the giant Guitar, but not as colorful as the giant Banana but not as sweet as the giant Pineapple. etc., etc.

Random Photo #3: Not to be confused with the giant landmarks in Photo #2, but there are oodles of these giant termite mounds in the Pilbara. Somehow, I hadn't associated termite mounds with this continent before this trip.

Random Photo #4: The Faithful Steed. Coated in red dust and now missing a tailpipe. Kev's coworkers had bets that the old jalopy wouldn't make it to the end of the trip. We're kind of amazed ourselves. Had a Plan B if the old gal gave up the ghost along the way--it entailed looonng hikes with whatever we could carry on our backs.
Advanced aged and creaking parts never seemed to deter Kev from driving 120 kph on the most wretched of roads. Hail Mary, full of grace...

Karijini National Park

Brrrrrrrrrr, it's cold here at night. 40F, maybe? And in our fairweather tent? This kidney stone is threatening to rattle again. Are you sure you inflated this air mattress properly? What, do they only have two grills in the park? And no water supply at all? It's a full moon casting those eery shadows of tree limbs. Are those dingoes howling out there?

Karijini National Park, unlike so many other "national" parks in WA which would barely qualify as metro parks back home, is worthy of the designation. And, by day, a fabulous place to be. And a reminder of where you are in the country: no fresh water, no trash cans, no picnic tables, no full service ranger center. A few outhouses, a couple of gas grills (found in EVERY park as open flames and their forest fire potential are resoundingly banned) and a pair of old pensioners functioning as volunteer guest hosts (another common fixture) are there to abate trouble and maintain order. You bring it all in, you pack it all out.

But the gorges are gorgeous. Geological forces on grand display in a most glorious way. Kevin took them all on and swam in each pool with great, goosepimply gusto. I descended into only the narrow gorges I knew I could get myself out of again. These weren't wide, mawling canyons at the bottom of all the striated rock. God has to only spit once and the marked hike trail is the bottom of some serious white water rafting course. The daytime temps were perfect for these hikes.

I found a magical place at Millstream Chichester National Park. It's a former cattle station (ranch) which suffered land loss to the state to supply fresh water to the burgeoning mining port of Karratha with eminent domain claiming the rest for a national park. The homestead remains as an interpretive center. The out kitchen is roped off (to all but pooping kangaroo) but is still interesting. But follow the path of ancient paperbark trees and date palms to a magical place, beautifully lit in early morning sunlight. Recent rains have made the streams flowing out of the lily pond swell. The water is warm and everything it touches is a color of green that would induce jealousy in a leprechaun and not found anywhere else in Western Australia, I am sure. The date palms and the lilies were planted by the pioneers but add beautifully to the ethereal beauty of the place. I have to use a tourism office photo to sort of convey the scene I witnessed. I was too busy drinking it all in to tinker with cameras. No swimming though. This spot is/was considered an important corrobee site for a wide arc of aboriginal communities.

These primitive but premier parks are a magnet for gray nomads. [see Gray Nomads, 3-10-09] The price is right, $6.50 pp/night, regardless of the acreage they take up parking the caravan, extending the wide canvas annex, popping open the shower tent, adjusting the satellite dish and splaying the solar panels. Doubtless, many are disappointed that there is a 28-day limit in the parks. I did the math and figure these folks are paying less than $400 a month "rent", precious little in "utilities" as the sun powers/heats everything (those solar panels were bought with a government go-green subsidy)and a bit for groceries- all of which should be covered by their pensions. Charge $1,500 or so a month in rent for the home they left behind and presto! instant pension-stretcher-strategy. I call it a hog-all-the-spots-in-the-park-so-no-one-else-can-get-in conspiracy. Shoot, we saw someone park/sleep in their truck first in line at the ranger station (no reservations taken) at night to be sure to get an open spot at eight the next morning.

Move along, buffalo.

North for the Winter

Headed north for warmth during a winter vacation--that's southern hemisphere talk for you. Headed to the Pilbara, where the romance--and grit--of the outback starts to come alive. It takes about ten hours of driving through nothing to start seeing widening in the roads that are/could-be ghost towns, endless brown dirt turns to endless red dirt, medium brush turns into small brush and lonely roadhouses are prominently marked on maps.

Pretend for a moment that you are Jed Clampitt aiming your gun at a critter, pull the trigger and discover gold. Red gold. Iron ore and jasper rock.

This part of the state-containing little more than kangaroo and a few "black fellas"-- could have been sold off for a few bucks and some bright beads had not a couple of geologists come through and found their idea of a playground. Iron ore makes big bucks and madmen of all who toil in the hot sun (one area had 160 consecutive days over 100F in the 20s) in the industry that keeps this state financially viable. The LARGE earth moving equipment and vehicles seem to fit in with the sharp spinifex brush. Good thing, too, as it is quite a fact of life here, even usurping generals-on-horseback statues as a favorite piece of community art at the visitor centers. We toured an open pit mine and gawked in amazement. We posed for photos by 10 foot tall ($30K) Goodyears like all good tourists.

And we collected some of the rocks that make this land unique.

You can't help yourself, its much like collecting pretty shells at the beach. Marble Bar is unbelievably exotic in the way it plainly and precisely demonstrates how strata developed on the Earth's surface. It's actually jasper rock, but throw water on it and indeed it looks like a marble worthy of any fancy palace. But look, don't touch. The extreme age of

this rock and Aboriginal importance of the place make it a protected

aspect of the area, so deemeth the federal government.

Oh, that red dust is fine and insidious. Who knew there was enough gap around the door handle to allow this earthy powder to spread out like a bouquet around it? Our clothes and hair appear to be permanently recolored, I don't even bother changing. And other than the windshields, the car won't get cleaned either. You and I need to visit a few national parks yet, as well as take an ocean drive, before real life and rain change the vision.