“Your ear, soap”

“Sorry?” I say

“Soap, in your ear, let me just..” and before I had processed what he said or what was going on with my ear (maybe I did have soap in my ear, having just showered to wash the day’s sweat and grim off me) the harmless looking gentleman began digging in my ear.

After being a little heat stroked from the bicycle, taxi, and motorcycle ride in the midday heat of Mumbai, I had set out in search of dinner. Walking at a steady pace with food on my mind, I headed to a small cluster of restaurants I saw where the taxi had dropped me earlier in the evening. I passed by the cluster of restaurants, peered in the window – nothing much interested me – and I carried on. Too tired and hungry to search any more, it would be back to Café Leopold for dinner tonight. Stepping up onto another curb and dodging a few sidewalk vendors, I was passed on my right by a man who motioned and started “your ear, soap”.

I resisted, then relented, then quickly resisted again as I felt his ear tools poke and prod at the inside of my ear. As I pulled away he showed me a brown waxy ball; kneading it around the end of his finger with the ends of his very professional looking metal ear pikes. I guess the demonstration was to prove that this brown ball came from my ear and more determined, and professional assistance was needed. He offered to finish the job and do the other ear (and certainly charge me a fee). I declined… my ears were clean, so I thought. I continued along the sidewalk, and spent the time on the way to Café Leopold checking my ear; paranoid that my street ear man had planted something or removed something or penetrated something he shouldn’t have.

I had been warned of the street ear cleaners by my brother-in-law before I left Canada last week. And by others, I was warned of many other cultural and environmental differences I should expect in India. I find it fascinating to now see for myself and begin to form my own perspective on “India.” Whether it’s a street ear cleaner or the way I find that a head nod in agreement to something is more of head… bobble – India is a different place, and I have to keep my eyes (and ears!) open to these differences, and find the way that I fit into the routines, rituals, and oddities of this land… because I am the traveller, the outsider. And I am the one who needs to adapt and accept the differences and learn to make it comfortable and manageable for my time here. Really it’s the only way I know to approach it.

Feeling slightly violated, I arrived at Leopold’s and settled in. Coming in through a side entrance, I could see the café was packed with young Indian couples, friends, and businessmen, along with domestic and foreign travelers like myself. The lively and loud conversations made the room electric – dulling the generally loud noises of horns and traffic on the busy street out front. Friendly waitstaff soon brought me a Kingfisher beer and some bottled water. I watched as security at the front door checked everyone’s bag as they entered. Leopold’s had been a random victim of the Mumbai attacks of 2008 that ravaged this area of Mumbai known as Colaba. Gunmen targeted two high-end hotels including the the famous Taj (maybe famous to Westerners only since 2008, it’s a landmark many here seem quite proud of), the main railway station not far away, among other sites. As I sit enjoying my meal it’s hard not to spot the marks left from that terrible day. Bullet holes in the high ceiling and on the pillars supporting it. More bullet holes in the stained glass above the murals on the wall and in the glass in a central panel at the front. You can almost imagine the spray of bullets tearing up the room within seconds and the devastation it left behind no doubt. Then there are the commemorative plagues and paintings that speak to the resilience and enduring spirit of the place – one plague congratulating the café on opening its doors the very next day after the attack (though this point seems to be contradicted in other reports that suggest it opened a few days later).

With my meal done I walked back to my hotel and reflected on the busy day and its successes and challenges. It was a full day of activity and exploration of the vast city of Mumbai. Twelve hours of Mumbai traffic was what it took a local cyclist and myself to sort out a route for the Indian Adventure Cycling Tour to cycle into that city. We first cycled 18 km from Bandra neighbourhood (midway thru the city) to the Gateway of India, and our exit point from Mumbai next to the Taj Hotel. Then it was a motorcycle ride to the northern edges of the city and an attempt to find a way in. Unfortunately what was discovered is that it would be 60 km of city cycling to get to our hotel and not enough time in the morning hours to do this before traffic starts getting too mad for cycling, so it looks like we will bus our riders into the city instead.

There is a magical window… a morning calm in Mumbai between sun rise (about 6:30am) and 9am. The larger city streets are very cycle-able almost verging on pleasant. But at 9am the city switches on – seemingly all at once, and the traffic, noise and general congestion continue to build throughout the day… making any cycling (even on a Saturday or Sunday) next to impossible with clogged streets everywhere. Unfortunately that magic window is just a little too small for the distance to tour needs to cover.

Mumbai has been fascinating. I have loved my time here. As with any travel, a place starts to become so much more in your mind than what you had first imagined it to be. Certainly there are problems in Mumbai – enormous slums fill many pockets of the city, sanitation can be more than just a little concerning. The sea all around is creeping higher as the retaining walls that surround the sea facing parts of the city seem a temporary solution to a fundamental problem with the city plans and location. Now off to Delhi, I move on to another city, and another new day of challenges and explorations to be had. One of many we expect to have over the next four weeks here in India.

Lastly, I wanted to pass along a special thanks to Bertram, who guided me through the streets of Mumbai and gave me an insiders look at what cycling is really like here – thanks Bertram! I certainly could not have done it without you.

photo of Jure Robič after winning the 2007 RAAM by Kayvz from Wikipedia english

The niche sport of ultra cycling has lost an icon, and tragically the Robič family has lost a second son in the same year.

Reports came out over the weekend that Jure Robič was killed when he collided head-on with a vehicle while on a training ride near his home in Slovenia.

My only experience of cycling in Slovenia was this summer on our company’s Amber Route cycling expedition. We found the back roads, like those Jure died on, to be lightly trafficked, and beautiful. Slovenian drivers seemed, for the most part, to be accepting of cyclists and a little less aggressive then their neighbours in Italy. From the limited information that has come out so far, it seems as though it was simply tragic timing that Robič and the driver met at the bend in the road as they did.

Flickr photo by ts32raam

Jure is best known in North America as the 5-time champion of the grueling Race Across America – a non-stop race where top athlete’s sleep sometimes as little as one hour a day as they cycle day and night across the USA.

As part of the crew for a two-man team in 2007 I never had the pleasure to meet Jure Robič. But even then, he was the man to talk about at RAAM. A legend in the sport before I had even heard his name. He was the symbol of a sport that very few people even knew existed.

But the double tragedy of the passing of Jure was that on August 7 of this year his brother Sašo Robič also died. Sašo, a ski coach and accomplished alpine skier, reportedly jumped to his death from the Peračica viaduct also in Slovenia.

It is a great loss to their family and to the unique world of ultra athletics, and to Slovenia’s sporting world. Jure Robič and Sašo Robič will be missed by many.

Below, I have put a few links to the stories that I have come across regarding these events.

That Which Doesnt Kill Me Makes Me Stranger – A 2006 profile of Jure Robič by New York Times reporter Daniel Coyle

24ur News Site -  Slovenian news story on Jure Robič death. You can see by the number of comments (876 at time of writing), that he was certainly a well known sportsman in Slovenia. (or read the poorly translated Google vers.)

Slovenian Blog discussing the double tragedy of the deaths of brothers Sašo and Jure Robič translated with Google.

RAAM Winner Jure Robic Dies in Traffic Accident – Velo News

Jure Robic killed in Road Accident – Bike Radar

Ultracyclist Jure Robic Dies in Collision with Car – Outside Magazine blog

It was announced Friday that Amanda Lindhout has started the Global Enrichment Foundation (GEF). Here is the stated vision of GEF from their website launched this past weekend:

The Global Enrichment Foundation believes in developing strengths already within women to assist them in changing their lives. We believe that building stronger communities, cultivating leadership and promoting peace through education are goals which can be achieved though proper support. With the right tools, women in even the most poverty-stricken and violent of countries can forge their own key roles in society, using gifts they naturally possess.The Global Enrichment Foundation believes in developing strengths already within women to assist them in changing their lives. We believe that building stronger communities, cultivating leadership and promoting peace through education are goals which can be achieved though proper support. With the right tools, women in even the most poverty-stricken and violent of countries can forge their own key roles in society, using gifts they naturally possess.

A few months ago I wrote about Amanda Lindhout, about Somalia, and discussed some of its difficult modern history and how the country has come and gone many times from radar of the western media.

Here is an excerpt from my post entitled Somalia – In the news, but soon forgotten… again:

When the five Toronto Somalis fade deeper into the web of jihadist groups and while the former captive journalists begin to return to their normal lives, will the world again turn away from Somali, and wait for a more bad news?

Even though Ms. Lindhout is undoubtedly trying to return to her normal life, she is not forgetting the people of Somalia. Though it was a place where she likely spent some of her darkest days, her Foundation is attempting to give some women in Somalia the ability to govern their own futures through education.

UPDATE: Video and report from the Red Deer Advocate on Amanda Lindhout’s appearance Sunday at a church she attended in her childhood. Amanda discussed GEF and her time in captivity.

On Monday May 10, the Globe and Mail’s world news site will be guest edited by a Kenyan blogger named Ory Okolloh. In the Globe’s words…

Ms. Okolloh has been invited to edit our world site in order to share with readers a view of Africa and African news not normally seen in Canada — “The Africa You Don’t Know.” We want to present our readers with a full experience of what the average news day looks like across the continent, featuring content from bloggers and smaller papers to mainstream media outlets.

I think what we are likely to find in Ms. Okolloh’s articles and links is a much wider variety of topics than what we are used to seeing coming out of Africa.

African bloggers have more on their minds then corruption, poverty, and war. These are certainly areas that are discussed often, but there is a lot of other things being said as well. There is everything from Tanzanian celebrity news on BongoCelebrity to internet trends and technologies on this Ghanaian blog.

You can find a whole range of African blogs on a variety of topics via sites that aggregate and rank the top African blogs. Two of the more popular ones are Afrigator and Global Voices Online, (the latter discussed previously here).

Spend some time visiting Africa on the web – you might be surprised what you find.

Flickr photo of Kenyan Ory Okolloh by Gregor Rohrig

Last week I posted the detailed reports from Slava on the situation currently unraveling in Kyrgyzstan. This post takes from those reports and adds in my personal experiences in Kyrgyzstan when I visited in 2007.

“Did you hear about Kyrgyzstan?” was the message that came across Skype from Slava Koshelev in Moscow. It was April 7, 2010 and almost three years since my time in Kyrgyzstan. Slava was the Kyrgyz tour operator that took me there. Since I met him, he had moved to Russia and was helping his company expand and find more tourists from Russia to explore the wonders of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia.

Slava forwarded me a link to a video that showed images of the violent demonstrations that had taken place earlier that day and that were still ongoing. Crowds of angry protesters overpowering riot police. Armoured personnel carriers in the streets and live rounds being fired at the growing crowds. It would not be many days later that Slava would return home to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan where some of the most intense rioting occurred. His business, and friends back home required his attention.

***

It was late September 2007 and the trek to Saimaluu Tash would start the following morning. Slava and I had already covered considerable ground by car on seasonal roads from Djalal Abad just to reach Kazarman, and the rock carvings were still a day’s hike up into the mountains.

We woke early, and drove from Kazarman over rough tracks to the launching point of the days hike – a honey farmer’s house at the start of the trail. His farm sat on a small groomed plot of land in amongst the surrounding mountains known as Tian Shan or the Celestial Mountains.

We set out, and began hiking. I quickly shed a few layers of clothing. First my hat, then one of my long sleeve shirts, then my gloves as our body temperatures rose with our effort steadily increasing.

The route was upstream along a sharply graded yet gently flowing creek that found its way through a narrow slit between the high mountain walls. Our path was littered with rocks; presumably dragged down from higher heights by glaciers of time long past. We were headed high into the Celestial Mountains in search of the ‘decorated’ stones, rock carvings known as Saimaluu Tash and perhaps Kyrgyzstan’s most sacred place.

***

The devastation to the capital Bishkek and elsewhere in the country was massive. Both in physical damage and in the political repercussions that ensued. There were many burned out cars still lying in the street in the days that followed the riots. Many government offices destroyed or looted. President Bakiyev had fled the capital and was soon to leave the country with his family – maybe never to return. Hundreds of protesters, and police had been killed, or injured.

It was a few years earlier in 2005 that the Tulip Revolution saw popular protests across the country which resulted in Mr. Bakiyev coming to power in the first place – a hope for real democracy and future prosperity. It is now similar problems and continued dissatisfaction that led to his overthrow and the undoing of the revolution.

Slava made his way to Bishkek, relieved to find his business still intact, and his friends and family safe. Though saddened to see his city and country in such a state, he remained positive. When I asked him about the current state of things in his cities days after his first Skype message, he had this to say…

things here are getting back to normal … well, near to normal:

Shops are opening …  well some shops: those that weren’t totally destroyed …

Banks are open for business as normal … well, some banks that is, because five, that have connections with President [Bakiyev]’s family have taken under special administration

Schools and Universities are operating as usual …well, as far as I am aware, all the schools are working, although some classes are denuded as some parents have kept their children at home while they see how things develop

The current situation is still fluid. The interim government certainly has not brought the country back to any stable place yet, and the future remains uncertain.

photo of boy infront of burnt out cars by Ilya Varlamov

***

As the hours passed, our ascent continued, and our legs grew tired. With temperatures dropping incrementally with every meter higher we climbed into the mountains, the layers of clothes we were taking off earlier, were now one by one being put back on.

It was late September and it was reaching the end of the season that allowed access to Saimaluu Tash. Anytime now there would be an accumulation of snow that would stay most of the year at these altitudes.

About four hours into our journey, the walls that lined our route opened up to a grassy, rock strewn plateau. A large field, still sharply sloped, but distinctly different terrain from the previous hours we spent to get there. But after such a physical effort to reach it, the plateau was somewhat anti-climatic. A field of jagged boulders scattered across the morraine.

After spending some time catching my breath and upon closer inspection I saw the significance of this place. I slowly settled into this sacred pocket of land high in the mountains, far from civilization, and conflict.

***

I asked Slava shortly after the April 7^th riots about what his thoughts are for the future of tourism in his country.

Those of us working in tourism are worried, of course, about the effect that all of this will have on the up-coming season.

The big “clean-up” continues and the detritus remaining after the rioting and looting had been cleared away within days – … well, most of it. The city still bears signs of the damage incurred.

So, life goes on …

I am quite looking forward to getting back to dealing with run-of-the-mill everyday matters and making a dent on the pile of papers that has built up on my desk over the last ten days,

***

As I wandered around the area, I started seeing them, the petroglyphs; beautiful, ancient rock carvings of antelope, sun gods, hunting scenes and more. Carved into volcanic stone, there are estimated to be over 11,000 pieces of ancient art scattered here.

Art from not just one time period, but from as far back as (the earliest estimates) 3000 BC up until the Middle Ages.  The Bradt Travel Guide for Kyrgyzstan (1^st edition, 2007) eloquently describes the spiritual significance of the place.

The Bronze Age tradition of marking this sacred spot with rock drawings was continued by subsequent settlers in the region and one of the most fascinating things about the site is not just the sheer extent of the galleries, or the large number of petroglyphs, but the millennia-long continuity of the site as a place of spiritual activity.

We descended the mountain and ended at the old man’s humble honey farm and as part of the community based approach that Kyrgyzstan takes to tourism we were invited into his home. He served us tea, and offered us some bread, some honey of course and other snacks  – much needed fuel as our supplies from the day were depleted.

***

It might be some time before people will be able to travel to Kyrgyzstan and see sites like Saimaluu Tash, but the opportunity for more tourism is certainly there. There are certainly reasons to be positive. Saimaluu Tash is one of many memorable experiences I had while in Kyrgyzstan. It is a place I hope to be able to return to and explore further.

This is a guest post by Slava Koshelev who works in Bishkek and Moscow as a director for a tourism company called Advantour. He has been working in tourism in Kyrgyzstan and Moscow for 11 years, and was born in Bishkek.

His post is in two parts. Part One is his first report from Bishkek from mid last week, and Part Two is an update from a few days afterwards. Slava gives us an excellent and detailed look into life in Bishkek in the weeks that followed the unrest earlier this month.

Part One – from April 22, 2010

It has certainly been a long week … an eventful week.

The interim government has set to work with gusto. It’s not been an easy task. There’s been a lot to do.

To matters more complicated, there is no united leadership. Roza Otunbaeva (former Ambassador to both the US and to Britain) was selected as the chairman of the interim government, and she given four deputies and these five people represent five of the parties that made up the opposition.  At the moment they are trying to work as a team and present a united front, but occasionally differences between them do emerge and we have to wait and see how they will handle in the months to come.

One of the biggest problems they have faced is that of “legitimacy”.  Bakiev was the elected President – even if many people felt that he “stole” the election by using unfair means, (a view that I have heard expressed several times in the last week). Even though the international community expressed concerns over the conduct of the election, no-one declared that they considered the results to have been invalid. Bakiev was the President, but he had “run away” to his home village in the South of the country near the regional center of Djalal Abad, where he met with journalists and others. I hear that he had ended one interview, telling the journalist that his voice was going as a result of having given so many interviews.

There he was in the south of the country, away from the capital, and apparently unable to take command of the situation.  Almost all the power structures are based in the capital, Bishkek, in the north.

According to some reports, even he accepted that he had no power to influence events. Some even said that he agreed that he had no “moral right” to be President after so many people died in the protests. Indeed, he said that he was prepared to resign but complained that there had been no negotiations, that no-one was talking to him. He had his conditions for resignation … he wanted guarantees for his safety, and safety for those of his family, and he wanted to stay in Kyrgyzstan.

He continued to maintain that he was innocent of wrong doing and he laid the blame fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the “opposition”, or the “interim government”, depending on which side of the argument you stand.

If, as he seems to have agreed, he was incapable of fulfilling his duties as President, then the Constitution decrees that the authority passes to speaker of the parliament … but she was in St. Petersburg and afraid to return to Bishkek. If the Speaker of the Parliament is incapacitated in anyway, then authority passes to the Prime Minister, but he had resigned and was, apparently in Kazakhstan.

Every decision the interim government made, every document they issued, every appointment they made, every signature and every stamp was open to question and dispute. The international community noted this and no-one recognized them, although offers of help and assistance to Kyrgyzstan and “the people of Kyrgyzstan” came in.

They seemed to treat Bakiev with disdain … and even disinterest.  “Let him be the President of Osh” said one newly appointed official.

Eventually Bakiev attended a rally in his home village and, somewhat emboldened, he decided to travel to Osh, the second city of Kyrgyzstan, often referred to as the southern capital of the republic.  There, he was basically given “short shrift”, and the people he would normally have counted amongst his allies turned on him.  His security guards fired into the air, pushed him into a car and drove him back home where, according to report, he appeared shaken.

Within hours he had left the country and resigned.

As well as having to find new people to take the posts vacated by resignations of the government, the interim government has had to look at virtually all the posts in civil service.   Some people have been replaced, others not. One particular case has caused considerable debate, that of the Mayor of Bishkek. This is a fairly important post in the Republic, but the latest incumbent had proved to be quite popular and was seemingly making a real difference to the city. Despite this, he was removed from office and a criminal investigation started into his affairs … he denies all allegations of wrong doing and claims that it is all a case of politicking.  I suppose that we’ll have to wait and see.

I am told that, apparently all of the staff who were employed at the [Kyrgyz] White House have been dismissed – no matter how lowly or menial their role.

Of course, anyone who hasn’t been dismissed is eager to show how they are working and how good they are at their job. Tensions are high and tempers seem to be flaring in many a government office.

However, things here are getting back to normal … well, near to normal:

Shops are opening …  well some shops: those that weren’t totally destroyed … Beta Stores is open working almost normally….

Banks are open for business as normal … well, some banks that is, because five, that have connections with President Bakiev’s family have taken under special administration and a couple of others are subject to “special investigation” by the National Bank;

Offices are working normally … well, some offices, because some were looted and they cannot operate without their computers.

Restaurants, Cafes, Bars are welcoming diners  … well, some restaurants, cafes and bars.  Some are still undergoing renovations and some operate on shorter working hours than before, (which is probably wise because there are fewer clients at the moment)

Schools and Universities are operating as usual …well, as far as I am aware, all the schools are working, although some classes are denuded as some parents have kept their children at home while they see how things develop, and some lessons have been cancelled because teachers are ill.

Public transport is operating … Buses, trams, trains, (what few there are in Kyrgyzstan) and taxis are all running normally … well, there are less busses on the street because nearly thirty were completely destroyed and almost ninety suffered serious damage in the events of April 7th.    There is some disruption at the airport, but after the first night, when it closed temporarily, most flights have arrived and departed according to the timetable.

The police are on duty and patrolling the street … well, most of them.  Two policemen died and six hundred were injured in the upheaval, and according to the fifty or so officers who staged a, (peaceful), protest rally in the main square some of them are facing abuse and attacks when they are in uniform.  They complain about being blamed for the tragic events when they were merely doing their duty.  They lost twenty six police cars in the riots, The GAI, (the traffic police) are manning their roadside positions, controlling the traffic, stopping and fining drivers for whatever infringements that they detect.

Construction is under way, … well, at some sites around the city.  Work on the 24-storey building just over the road seems to have been put “on hold” for a while, which, (at least), less banging and booming disturbing me at all hours of the day and night.

The borders are open … well, almost all of them. Three of our four neighbours, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), closed their borders with Kyrgyzstan pretty sharply when the disturbances started, but now only the one with Kazakhstan remains closed, although they accepted a flight with Kurmanbek Bakiev on it, and there are rumours that even that border will soon be open

The big “clean-up” continues and the detritus remaining after the rioting and looting had been cleared away within days – … well, most of it.  The city still bears signs of the damage incurred.

So, life goes on …

On a more personal note:

As far as we are concerned, then I, personally, have been kept extremely busy … writing, attending meetings and so on … and, of course, following the news.  So much so, that the pile of papers on my desk has been constantly growing as I have been called off here and there to attend this or that meeting. The rest of the team has been working away in sterling fashion.

Those of us working in tourism are worried, of course, about the effect that all of this will have on the up-coming season.

Just as in 2005, (when, unfortunately, we went through a similar experience), we have taken a number of cancellations both in the hotels and from tour groups, but most of those relate to people who were due to arrive in the near future.  Those who were planning to arrive later in the year still seem to be adopting a “wait and see” police … waiting to see how the situation develops.  I can’t help recalling that those who did come later in 2005 encountered no problems but, in light of what I have seen on CNN and BBC, I can’t say that I blame anyone for cancelling; especially those who were planning to come here in April and May.

After all the uncertainty of the last week, Bakiev’s resignation has come somewhat as a relief.  It doesn’t mean that everything will now be a “bed of roses”, there’s a lot to do and a lot of problems that need to be resolved, but it does remove a huge question mark which was hanging over the future like the sword of Damocles.

I am quite looking forward to getting back to dealing with run-of-the-mill everyday matters and making a dent on the pile of papers that has built up on my desk over the last ten days, or dealing more mundane crises, like the ceiling falling in on a family of friends last Monday evening … but that’s another story …

Part Two – from April 25, 2010

Anyway, this week … well, it’s been another busy week … It began with an “incident” in Maevka – a group of people from out of town held a protest rally to demand that land be allocated to them for building homes. They wouldn’t listen to the representatives of the interim government and a large number went to the village of Maevka, on the outskirts of Bishkek to mark out plots of land and “sieze” them. The police were late getting there, for whatever reason, and in the resulting fracas five more people died.

There has been some suggestion that the violence had an element of ethnic conflict, but that is not clear. Virtually all of the official statements, (for example, from the government here in Kyrgyzstan, from Russian and Turkish leaders), deny this, but the region does have a long history of ethnic tension. The unrest has led to appeals to the government form various sectors of Kyrgyz society, and from abroad, to ensure safety and security.

The government make statements that the situation is under control, but they have authorised the police to shoot at demonstrators “with the intent to kill” in the event of a repeat of such violent outbursts. This seems a little odd when it is remembered that they came to power and claim part of their legitimacy from the fact that the previous authorities shot at demonstrators, resulting in so many deaths.

Bakiev has now left Kazakhstan and arrived in Minsk, Belarus, where he was welcomed by President Lukashenko. There he astounded everyone by stating that he did not recognise his resignation as valid, that he was still the legitimate elected President of Kyrgyzstan, calling the interim government bandits and gangsters, and asked world leaders not to recognise them. A press spokesman for his one time ally, Russians, promptly told the media that they considered his resignation as effective and the interim government as the new authority in Kyrgyzstan.

Other organizations have also come out offering support, recognition and aid for the new authorities … so it looks as if his appeal has fallen on deaf ears. The reason for renouncing his resignation was that he felt the interim government had reneged on their part of the deal which he understood to be to guarantee the safety of him and his family, but some of his family still in Kyrgyzstan are “being persecuted”, (one of Bakiev’s brothers has disappeared … some say kidnapped and shots were reported by the person he was talking to on the phone at the time), and so he felt that the deal was off. Despite the renunciation, he has also said that he doesn’t “intend to return to Kyrgyzstan as president,” Oddly enough, the Mufti, (an Islamic religious leader), who is said to have had close ties with Bakiev, has also disappeared.

The affairs of the Bakievs have been undergoing scrutiny here in Bishkek. Banks have been put under special administration, companies have been put on notice that an investigation is ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the “Bakiev empire” and influence. Some of the more unpopular measures of his government, especially the increased tariffs for energy and heating have been reversed; some companies have been put on notice that they are likely to be renationalized; … and so on.

An inquiry into the events of April 7th is underway, and the interim government have said that they will seek Bakiev’s extradition following it. Other arrest warrants and extradition requests for some members of his family and associates have apparently been issued. Apart from the Maevka incident, which was widely reported here and in Russia, but received only limited coverage in the West as far as I can tell – presumably because there was so much else going on in the world: elections, volcanic eruptions, sports matches and the like – everything is fairly quiet here. The streets are quiet and people seem to be enjoying the sunshine.

That is not to say that everything is hunky dory. Fortunately the “pro Bakiev” demonstrations in the south have been more or less peaceful, even if the protestors have seized and conducted a sit-in in some government buildings. The police, themselves, have also been protesting and are threatening to go on strike if their demands aren’t met. Although they were late getting to Maevka, they have otherwise done a reasonable task in keeping order, and have been assisted by volunteers who have formed a sort of “civil guard” to help patrol the streets at night.

There is still uncertainty and a certain amount of tension in the air … but, as I said last week, life is returning to normal. There have, for example, been incidents down in the south, demonstrations in support of the “deposed president”, but they have passed. I am told that the resident in another part of the country are “feeling empowered” … which sounds pretty euphemistic for something unpleasant, but, so far, everyday life on the streets is showing signs of “returning to normality”.

photo of Slava Koshelev by Shanny Hill in the Tian Shan mountains near the Kyrgyz border with China

Watch for next week’s post where I talk about when I first met Slava and my personal experiences in his country.

Last week Toronto Mayoral candidate, Giorgio Mammoliti, announced that, if elected, he would introduce bicycle licensing as a way to help pay the cost of proposed new cycling lanes. This is an idea that has been raised before, and as the City of Toronto’s own website clearly states, ‘studies have concluded that licensing is not worth it.’

Besides this recent bicycle licensing idea, Mammoliti also proposed in 2007 that the army should be called in to the Jane and Finch community to curb gang violence. He also suggested a red light district on Toronto Island and a casino on the waterfront.

So the concept of licensing could simply be passed off as another outdated, off-the-wall idea, but Giorgio Mammoliti has been involved in provincial and municipal politics for two decades, and we should look at just how calculated this is.

Marcus Gee of the Globe and Mail summed it up quite nicely last week. He asked, why were the candidates, like Mammoliti, spending so much time on the issues surrounding cycling?

Sad to say, the reasons are purely political. Our ranting candidates are trying to ride what they see as a wave of suburban anger over Mayor David Miller’s administration. For those who love to loathe Mr. Miller, bike lanes represent all the sins of an administration that favours pedal-happy downtowners over the ordinary guy fighting his way to work through traffic. They are nothing short of a conspiracy – the infamous “war on the car” – to rob motorists of their fundamental rights.

So if bicycle lanes are the sin, certainly bicycle licensing is redemption for the car driving citizens and a ticket into the Mayor’s office for Mammoliti?

I think Mr. Mammoliti knows that in practice bicycle licensing might be overly bureaucratic and may fail, but politically it reaches out to all those drivers that believe cyclists don’t contribute to the maintenance of the roadways, and that cycling infrastructure is detrimental to the majority automobile traffic. Dave Meslin puts some of these concerns to rest in his article last week at spacingtoronto.

If the average driver believes that cyclists have less right to be on the roads, then proposing bicycle licensing is appealing to every commuter who drives into the core of the city each day – and there are still many more of them than cyclists.

Certainly the idea of bicycle licensing may not by enough to get Giorgio Mammoliti elected, and licensing is likely not going to be put into effect even if he were elected. This idea, though, is enough to further the division between drivers and cyclists in the news instead of creating divisions – physical divisions in the form of cycling lanes – on the streets.

bicycle license photo by woody1778a

Upon arriving in Sudan a few weeks ago, a friend of mine joked that he had to travel halfway around the world to a country where the president is accused of war crimes to find real hospitality.

I have completed my time on the Tour d’Afrique for this year, and I am now back in Toronto. After the tour left Khartoum I had a few days before flying home, so I took one morning to visit souq Omdurman.

Omdurman is the twin city of Khartoum lying just across the River Nile. It was the site of a crucial battle in the Anglo-Sudan War. The 1898 engagement was known as the Battle of Omdurman, which saw the British reclaim control of Sudan until its eventual independence from colonial rule in 1956.

Another more recent battle in Omdurman happened on May 10 and 11, 2008 when JEM rebels made a daring advance far from their bases in Darfur to attack Sudanese government forces in what they refer to as Operation Long Arm. This major battle was deeply significant to regional politics yet it only briefly made the news in the west (more on this in a future blog post).

The Omdurman Souq, or market, is a sprawling busy place. Everything from brooms, to aluminum pots, to plastic toys, to vegetables and spices are sold here. While there I thought I would do a bit of shopping, but I also needed to find a cardboard box for my bike to transport it back home on the airplane.

As I wandered aimlessly through the corridors of the market, I was invited to sit and share tea with one of the spice sellers. His name was Mohamed. I asked if he knew where I could find a box for my bicycle. We finished our tea, and then he walked with me and he found a place and insisted on paying for the cardboard box.

I also thought it would be nice to take home a Sudanese style coffee pot I had seen many people using on the streets. Mohamed gave me one and refused to except any money for it.

Then again the following day, I sat having some tea at a sidewalk tea stop (one of many found on every street in Khartoum). Another man also sat drinking tea and greeted me as I arrived. Beyond ‘Salaam Aleykum‘ (typical arabic greeting) we exchanged no words and were not even seated next to each other. This did not stop the man from paying for his tea and mine before he finished. There was no expectation from him. I guess, he just felt it was an appropriate thing to do for a foreigner, a visitor to his city, his country.

I used to hesitate to talk positively about Sudan and its people. There is real suffering going on in Darfur and South Sudan. The government stands accused of crimes against humanity – against its own people. But being in Sudan again reminded me of something very simple… in every corner of the world, there are individuals who cannot be judged based on what we know of their country. They are only individuals and their intentions and outlook on life are often much less sinister than that of their leaders.

Some more photos from my last few days in Sudan…

morning soccer practice

Great Mosque next to Souq Omdurman

fresh juice in Souq Omdurman

tea stalls on the streets of Khartoum

Tour d’Afrique staff at ‘Dead Camel Camp’

photos by Shanny Hill

One rider on Twitter said it was ‘the hardest day of my life so far’ while another described it as the ‘biggest EFI massacre ever.’ (EFI? That’s Every Fucking Inch of the Tour d’Afrique without ever riding the support truck.)

It was an epic epic day… actually, from what I am told it was two giant days of riding in the untested roads approaching and inside Dinder National Park – a new route for us at Tour d’Afrique. These will surely be rides that live deep in the hearts of many riders, and surely for others it was simply two soul shattering, frustrating days.

I am in Khartoum tending to a rider who is on the mend from an earlier fall. The first reports I am getting from the tour suggests that it is an extraordinary and doable route, but it will need another day of riding to make it manageable for next year’s group.

As with years past, it has been our style to test new routes… enroute. We did it in Namibia last year and Ethiopia the previous year… both to great success, but not without hardship for the riders and long days for the staff. The cyclists do become part of our navigational experiments and our forays into lesser known, rarely traveled places. 

They don’t all thank us for it.

And, no doubt, we can appreciate why. For many these two days meant the end to their dream of riding EFI, and for others it was a shock to their system that they had not been eased into gently at all. This is the risk we run, and this is the style we like.

To all those cyclists enroute, you have many challenges ahead. But you are all graduates of Dinder National Park school of pain and we salute you for traveling this road with us…

A version of this post can also be found on Tour d’Afrique’s website.

I have mentioned to several riders on this tour that ‘back in my day’ (3 years ago) when I was in Sudan for the first time with Tour d’Afrique, the week of riding from Wadi Halfa to Dongola was one of the toughest on the entire tour.

Now with the completion of a paved road it is a whole new place. It wasn’t long ago that our schedule included five cycling days to get us from Wadi Halfa to Dongola. The days in the heat, sand, and corrugation were grueling but ever so serene in the evenings. The Nubian Desert then felt like a new world – uncharted territory to all of us.

Today, it still retains much of that serenity. And I must admit, as I cycled a relatively easy 150 km to our desert camp two days ago, I deeply enjoyed being able to cover such distances with the old sandy and bumpy road snaking back and forth underneath the groomed, and raised roadbed of this tarmac beauty.

On the old road the daily distances were as low as 70 or 80 km on some of the toughest days. And you never really got the same distance reading as the other riders in the group, because we all rode different tracks that spread like fingers through the desert – some a little longer and tougher than others – and most ending at our Nile campsites.

The road has changed a lot of things for the people in these regions. Some of the small villages that happened to be situated next to the new road will likely be benefiting from increased traffic and opportunity for income – selling drinks, snacks, and other essentials to the truckers, bus passengers, and tourists that pass through.

Though it is a shame now that some villages along the Nile, where the paved road no longer wanders, will likely see a sharp decrease in the traffic (not that there was much before).

There was also something to be said for arriving to a small village of just a handful of families by dirt road, and to cycle through and meet the people. The paved road allows us to pass more quickly to our destinations further along, but what time we gain, we perhaps have lost in the opportunity to have a true chance to interact with the people in these villages.

Unlike the heavy hand of the Sudanese government, regular Sudanese people are some of the friendliest of any place I have travelled. It is one of the few places where I feel as though I am treated as any other citizen on the street is treated, no worse and no better. This allows me to feel at ease, and able to explore and interact more freely.

From an organizational standpoint on the Tour d’Afrique, we have generally decided that with every kilometer of pavement that’s added to our route, we seek to return again to the days of dirt, and so we constantly explore new ways to challenge our clients after they have had the pleasure of riding such a comfortable stretch between Wadi and Dongola.

Our new route south of Khartoum promises a real off-road adventure, exploring a new ‘uncharted’ place, and hopefully having a better chance yet again to slow the pace down and interact with the Sudanese people we pass.

Dinder National Park… here we come! (stay tuned for a report from the new route in Dinder Park coming soon)

Some pictures from the past week…

Cyclists arrive to our desert lunch stop

Village scene in the midday heat

Poster of Sudanese President Bashir President Omar al-Bashir at roadside snack shop