"Top End" to the City of Churches
By Keith Langston
ITWPA Member
Laden waiters seem to ricochet off each other once guests find seats. Space is restricted and the floor has a rhythmic sway. I have visions of cascading cream of pumpkin soup, but bowls swiftly find a safe landing. Wines arrive and the first course begins while the wide, brown land outside the picture windows rolls graciously by. From a very narrow and crowded kitchen, well-prepared meals have emerged -- and all on a trundling carriage. Tables seat four and it’s likely you’ll have potential new friends from anywhere on earth as fellow diners. 
It’s lunchtime and you have comfortable seating in the timber-paneled “Queen Adelaide” dining car on the only major train journey in the world that travels north-south across a continent. You boarded “The Ghan” in Darwin in the “Top End,” and two sleeps, 1,847 miles, and a few deserts later you’ll enter Adelaide on the Great Australian Bight.
Afghan cameleers who exploited this route had The Ghan named after them. This hotel on ribbons of steel easily snakes through an often searingly hot desert.
Don’t expect a train that glides serenely through bushland, deserts, and stations. This is Australia, and the carriages roll on a freight line. Freight trains of well over a hundred cars take precedence. The Ghan pulls aside to allow them to pass -- which adds to the mystique of the journey. You see the day-to-day happenings in the outback as a fly on a wall watches events unfold in a kitchen. In the middle of the night, from the top bunk, you peer through the unshuttered window as a never-ending diesel train rumbles past, the silvery moon glinting on the metal as it careers on.
Outside it’s uninhabited and except for thousands of station and wild animals, you probably pass unnoticed. The Ghan is lost in the vastness of the outback, even when it could be forty-eight carriages long!
In your cabin, you pop into the shower, a tiny but adequate space shared with a “pull out of the wall” toilet and wash basin. Then you waddle the corridors to the lounge carriage where people spend hours chatting with fellow travelers. You are salivating for your choice of one of two dishes in each course in a three-course dinner. But first, armed with a drink, you watch the dusty, bronze-red sun sink over a sundrenched desert. On retiring you discover that the bunks are lowered and beds made. Falling out of the top bunk does not appear to be an option even when in the small hours the train traverses many “rocky” miles!
Most people choose the first sitting for meals but the second sitting is more relaxed. Lingering at table with new friends is then an option and it also means no rushing to breakfast with the first announcement.
On the last night you cement relationships over drinks and another superb meal.
In the morning you will find inhabited areas outside the window and cattle replaced by sheep. Adelaide, the City of Churches, beckons, and a genteel, artistic culture awaits your pleasure. Hopefully your new friends will tarry with you awhile.
Reservations: www.greatsouthernrail.com.au
Tips:
- Single cabins with shared facilities are available on the train.
- Watch for special prices!
- A reservation from Darwin will secure accommodation for a night in the city. Transport is free to the station in the morning. Travelers from Adelaide will have accommodation secured for the first night in Darwin.
- Don’t miss the desert-stay whistle-stop tours to see Katherine Gorge, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and Kings Canyon.
- May - October is the best travel time.
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An Affordable Kerala Backwaters Experience
By Robyn Quin
ITWPA Member
For travelers wanting to experience the tranquil and exceedingly beautiful backwaters of Kerala in India there are affordable alternatives to hiring a houseboat. While there are hundreds of kettuvallams (houseboats) available for rent for any period from three hours up to a week or more, this option is expensive and beyond the reach of most independent travelers on a budget. Just as importantly, the backwaters around Alleppey are packed with tourists and the converted rice barges are too wide to enter the tiny canals which are the center of village life on the backwaters.
A cheaper option and one that offers a more authentic experience is to hire a small motor boat in Kumarakom. This is a small town on the eastern side of Lake Vembanad, the largest lake in Kerala. A patchwork of backwater canals, tributaries and streams fans out from Kumarakom and creates massive wetlands which are home to thousands of migratory birds.
Motor boats can be hired from the Kumarakom jetty. Prices are negotiable but do not expect to pay anything more than eight dollars per hour for your vessel. The boats are small enough to take you into the tiniest of the coconut palm-lined waterways which link the villages on the backwaters. 
The banks of the canals are constantly busy. Depending on the time of day, locals will be cleaning their teeth, washing their clothes, and rinsing their cooking utensils. The young men throw fishing nets while the older men idly cast their lines into the dark water. Small huts along the banks offer freshly grilled fish and shellfish. The boat ride passes paddy fields, small farms, mangrove swamps and groves of coconuts. Eventually the boat emerges on to Lake Vembanad, and skirts the shores before returning to the Kumarakom jetty.
Kumarakom is also home to a bird sanctuary. The reserve covers more than 14 acres of forest and waterways. Between March and November it is home to many species of migratory birds, including storks, from Siberia. The best way to experience the bird life is to see it from outside the sanctuary, from the water. The fact is that the birds don’t know it is a sanctuary so outside of the nesting season they are more readily seen from the lake and canals.
The simplest way to see the birds is to go to the bird sanctuary entrance, but do not purchase an entry ticket. Outside the sanctuary a dozen or so guides will be offering their services. You can pick up a guide for 250 rupees an hour (about fifty cents). He will pole you in a narrow wooden canoe through the tiny waterways bordering the sanctuary and onto Lake Vembanad itself. Birds are in abundance -- waterfowl, darters, woodpeckers, kingfishers, cuckoos, herons, waders, cormorants, ducks, and many more. On the lake curious otters pop their heads up to inspect the canoeists.
Getting there:
Kumarakom can be reached by ferry, car, or train. Kumarakom town can be reached by public ferry from Muhamma (thirty minutes by bus from Alleppey). The journey across Lake Vembanad takes forty minutes and costs less than four dollars. Alternatively the journey can be done by road or by train. The nearest railway station is at Kottayam, ten miles away. From there an autorickshaw will take you to Kumarakom.
Accommodation:
There is a range of accommodation available in town or nearby, from clean and comfortable homestays to five star resorts on the banks of Lake Vembanad. This is not a malaria-prone area so homestays with fan-only rooms do not pose a health threat.
Food:
The grilled seafood served in the small huts by the banks of the waterways is fresh and delicious. A seafood feast for two costs less than ten dollars. However, it is basic. A banana leaf serves as a plate and you eat with your fingers. No alcohol is available and it is advisable to take your own bottled water.
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Taking the Plunge: Cave Tubing in Belize
By Patti Morrow
ITWPA Member
Grab your tube and water shoes and get ready for a true wet ’n’ wild adventure -- a journey that starts with a mostly uphill jungle trek hauling your own professional-grade inflatable tube and includes fording a portion of the beautiful, green Caves Branch River.
The vigorous hike through untainted rainforest followed by an exhilarating tube-cruise through ancient river caves is one of my favorite things to do and it’s available in few places other than Belize.
Along the way you can take in exquisite examples of flora and fauna indigenous to the Central American rainforest while listening to a guide recounting the fascinating history of the region.
Around 40 minutes into the hike, your sweat-drenched body is rewarded with the refreshing sight of the entrance point where you will plunge into the depths of the chilly river to explore the cave system. The caves were carved out of the foothills of the Maya Mountain by the powerful force of water over thousands of years. Gliding in a human chain through currents intermittent with small rapids, you’ll meander lazy-river style, dipping and swishing and lunging through an underworld of interconnecting limestone caves with only your tube beneath you and a headlight to illuminate your path. Your guide will point out waterfalls, ancient ritual chambers, myriad stalagmites and stalactites and unique cave formations. But no matter how awed, be sure to keep your mouth closed, because there are bats hanging above your head!
Expect to lay prone in your tube to pass through low cave openings, and if you hear your guide yell “Bum!” make sure you immediately lift your derrière to avoid making contact with the rocky riverbed.
The highlight comes deep within the cave bowels, when the guide instructs everybody to turn off their headlights.
Darkness. Extreme, utter, complete darkness accompanied first by eerie silence, then by gasps of amazement. Vertigo begins to envelop you as sensory deprivation of position and direction prevails.
You keep expecting your pupils to re-focus and acclimate to the dark passage, but it just doesn’t happen. This is the stuff of nightmares for some people, but not for me! Even though it was too dark to see my pearly whites, I was grinning from ear to ear.
The stunning contrast as you reemerge from the darkness to the lush green of the jungle, white-washed cliffs, and aqua-green river is well worthy of the applause that will inevitably erupt.
If you go:
Jaguar Paw Jungle Resort, off Mile 37, Western Highway by the Caves Branch River, Belmopan, Belize, USA toll free 1-877-424-8552 or 011-501-820-2023, fax 011-501-820-2024, email info@jaguarpaw.com, www.jaguarpaw.com
Cost for tubing: $50+/- per person, depending on tour operator
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The Elusive Belizean Deli Sandwich
By Sharon Hiebing
ITWPA Member
On a street with just about as many businesses, shops, and restaurants as you can fit along a tiny one-way road, it can be hard for tourists and locals alike to learn about all the different types of cuisine available to them. This is especially true on Burns Avenue in the small town of San Ignacio, Belize, because most restaurants don’t have menus out for passers-by to peruse. So unless you make an effort and ask to see the menu, you could theoretically walk by an establishment continually, completely unaware that a food item you’ve been craving is just waiting for you to order it.
That’s what happened to me when I first moved to this bustling area, 15 minutes from the Guatemalan border, in early 2011. I hail from California, and deli sandwiches, or submarines as some folks called them, were one of my favorite foods. Not a single restaurant I ate at offered this American classic.
Unfortunately, subs are not something Belizeans (who are a mixture of Creole, Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, East Indians, Chinese, and Mennonites) eat as part of their mainstream diet. Instead, they dine on a lot of rice and beans, as well as pigtail, pork, chicken, or fish (stewed, curried, fried, or barbequed), tacos, and tamalitos. And while most of it is very tasty food, for months I was having a hankering for a big ol’ deli sandwich.
Lucky for me, I found it, in a very unlikely place. Ko-Ox-Han-Nah (which means “Let’s Go Eat!” in Mayan) is one of the most well-known restaurants in the Cayo District (they’re number one on Trip Advisor), and you can’t come to San Ignacio Town, or Santa Elena, its sister town, without dining on their authentic Belizean fare. However, what most people don’t know is that catty-corner across the street, they also have a deli, bistro, and meat shop by the same name, where the food, service, and atmosphere are just as good, but with more of an American culinary spin.
Seated on their outdoor raised patio at a small wooden table, one can choose from, among other things, such dishes as a toasted bagel with cream cheese, tomato, and onion (from their breakfast menu), a chef salad stacked high with vegetables, chicken, ham, cheese, and egg, or the reason I was there, a submarine sandwich.
After much consternation over the various choices, I ultimately chose the lamb and brie sub on a whole wheat roll (you can also get it on thick slices of sandwich bread), and a lime juice, a local favorite. This sandwich is huge, considering it only costs BZ$10 (US$5), and some people can’t even finish it. Every bite delivered the wonderful flavor of roasted lamb, soft and creamy brie cheese, and the crunch of lettuce, onions, sweet pepper, and pickles combined.
Sitting on the patio at Han-nah’s (as the locals have nicknamed it), watching the traffic jetting by on the narrow street and the merchants selling their local wares to anyone walking by and the pedestrians wandering aimlessly looking for somewhere to eat, I couldn’t help feeling like I had discovered a bit of a secret. That yes, even in Belize, one can enjoy a sandwich to rival any deli chain back in the U.S.
Hope I won’t regret letting the word get out!
Located at 5 Burns Avenue, San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, Belize, Ko-Ox-Han-Nah Meat Shop, Bistro & Deli is open Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 011-501-834-4014
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The Elusive Belizean Deli Sandwich
By Sharon Hiebing
ITWPA Member
On a street with just about as many businesses, shops, and restaurants as you can fit along a tiny one-way road, it can be hard for tourists and locals alike to learn about all the different types of cuisine available to them. This is especially true on Burns Avenue in the small town of San Ignacio, Belize, because most restaurants don’t have menus out for passers-by to peruse. So unless you make an effort and ask to see the menu, you could theoretically walk by an establishment continually, completely unaware that a food item you’ve been craving is just waiting for you to order it.
That’s what happened to me when I first moved to this bustling area, 15 minutes from the Guatemalan border, in early 2011. I hail from California, and deli sandwiches, or submarines as some folks called them, were one of my favorite foods. Not a single restaurant I ate at offered this American classic.
Unfortunately, subs are not something Belizeans (who are a mixture of Creole, Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, East Indians, Chinese, and Mennonites) eat as part of their mainstream diet. Instead, they dine on a lot of rice and beans, as well as pigtail, pork, chicken, or fish (stewed, curried, fried, or barbequed), tacos, and tamalitos. And while most of it is very tasty food, for months I was having a hankering for a big ol’ deli sandwich.Lucky for me, I found it, in a very unlikely place. Ko-Ox-Han-Nah (which means “Let’s Go Eat!” in Mayan) is one of the most well-known restaurants in the Cayo District (they’re number one on Trip Advisor), and you can’t come to San Ignacio Town, or Santa Elena, its sister town, without dining on their authentic Belizean fare. However, what most people don’t know is that catty-corner across the street, they also have a deli, bistro, and meat shop by the same name, where the food, service, and atmosphere are just as good, but with more of an American culinary spin.
Seated on their outdoor raised patio at a small wooden table, one can choose from, among other things, such dishes as a toasted bagel with cream cheese, tomato, and onion (from their breakfast menu), a chef salad stacked high with vegetables, chicken, ham, cheese, and egg, or the reason I was there, a submarine sandwich.
After much consternation over the various choices, I ultimately chose the lamb and brie sub on a whole wheat roll (you can also get it on thick slices of sandwich bread), and a lime juice, a local favorite. This sandwich is huge, considering it only costs BZ$10 (US$5), and some people can’t even finish it. Every bite delivered the wonderful flavor of roasted lamb, soft and creamy brie cheese, and the crunch of lettuce, onions, sweet pepper, and pickles combined.
Sitting on the patio at Han-nah’s (as the locals have nicknamed it), watching the traffic jetting by on the narrow street and the merchants selling their local wares to anyone walking by and the pedestrians wandering aimlessly looking for somewhere to eat, I couldn’t help feeling like I had discovered a bit of a secret. That yes, even in Belize, one can enjoy a sandwich to rival any deli chain back in the U.S.
Hope I won’t regret letting the word get out!
Located at 5 Burns Avenue, San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, Belize, Ko-Ox-Han-Nah Meat Shop, Bistro & Deli is open Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 011-501-834-4014
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A Vacation Destination in Switzerland Worth Exploring
By Renate Strub
ITWPA Member
As the boat slowly glides through the waters of Lake Thun, you admire the stunning scenery from the deck while enjoying a snack and a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine. It is a balmy summer afternoon; a few clouds linger over the snow-capped mountains of the Niederhorn range. It is astonishing -- you can clearly see the snow on the high mountains, but they seem so far away. Here on the lake it is warm. A slight breeze mitigates the summer heat. The lake is calm and its blue, tranquil waters have a soothing effect. From time to time the musical note of the boat’s horn announces a stop at one of the many picturesque towns along the lake. A few people disembark, others come aboard, and minutes later your journey continues.
Congratulate yourself for having chosen to come to Spiez instead of one of the more well-known -- but rather crowded -- tourist areas in Switzerland. Located at the south bank of Lake Thun (Thunersee), this delightful small town is less than 45 minutes by train from Bern, the capital of Switzerland. The population is about 12,000 and the altitude is less than 2,000 feet. It doesn’t have a great nightlife, but it offers first-class hotels and restaurants, and an array of daytime activities.
Lake Thun is about 11 miles long, with a maximum width of two miles. To board a ship in Spiez, walk down the Seestrasse towards the lake, where you will also find several outdoor restaurants. Ask your hotel for information regarding departure times and destinations.
For a schedule of the Swiss Railroad, see: www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
Spiez has many scenic trails, some more strenuous than others. You could take a leisurely stroll on the Strandweg (“walk along the beach”) towards Faulensee, an easy walk of less than two miles that will take you along the lakeside, under tall trees and across open spaces. Waterfowl such as swans and common mergansers abound. Sit on a bench and let your gaze wander from the lake to the impressive Morgenberghorn and the trio of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains; or watch the sailboats and ships tracing their ways on the lake.
To take the Strandweg trail, walk down the sloping Seestrasse until you see the Strandweg sign on your right-hand side. This will take you down to the marina and the Spiez bay. Once you reach the shore, walk to your right. From Faulensee you can walk back to Spiez or take the ship. The signs for walking/hiking trails are yellow and list the destination and the time it takes to get there.
A landmark is the Castle Church of Spiez: www.sacred-destinations.com/switzerland/spiez-castle-church
For hotels and restaurants, see: www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g580339-Spiez-Hotels.html
Hotel Eden special feature: catering to people traveling alone. Tel. 41 (0)33 655 99 00, www.eden-spiez.ch/en_neu/
Hotel Belvedere: Tel. 41 (0)33 655 66 66, www.belvedere-spiez.ch/e/
Hotel Bellevue: Tel. 41 (0)33 654 84 64, www.bellevue-spiez.ch/ (currently German only)
For an extended stay in Spiez, you could rent a house or an apartment. This apartment house is part of the Hotel Eden: www.eden-spiez.ch/en_neu/wohnen/Residence/index.php.
Find an Introductory Offer at: www.eden-spiez.ch/PDF/Preislisten/re_Einlageblatt_Preise_2011_EN.pdf
Two restaurants (in the Hotel Belvedere and in the Hotel Bellevue) have the prestigious Gault Millau designation. Gault Millau is one of the most influential French restaurant guides.
Official Switzerland Tourism website: www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
Also see: www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Switzerland/Kanton_Bern/Spiez-690215/TravelGuide-Spiez.html
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