In my recent post ‘In my grandmother’s footsteps’  I explained why I have started saving for a trip to China and I’d like to share with you a few photos from a number of albums my father still has from the thirties.

I’d also like to make a request, if I may, I have entered Intrepid Travel’s latest competition and would really appreciate you checking it out. It’s a long shot, but the prize would enable me to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps to Shanghai. So if you like my entry please vote for me. Why not enter yourself and if you do please do add a link on the comments here -  I’d love to read it. You can vote for as many entries as you like (although only once for each entry). Plus everyone who votes or enters gets 15% off an Intrepid Travel adventure.

You can vote for my entry and submit yours here.

My grandparents and father in 1935

China around 1930

Father making new friends on holiday in Japan

My father on holiday in Peitaiho, North China, 1937

In 1927, at the age of 23, my grandmother boarded a boat to China following the man she loved to Shanghai.

The Inspiration Initiative
I’ve enjoyed reading other people’s recent posts about what inspires them to travel so I was delighted when both Suzanne from The Travel Bunny and Lucy from On the Luce nominated me to join in easyJet holidays’ Inspiration Initiative.

The idea is to write about ‘who, what, where and when’ has inspired you to travel and then nominate 5 other bloggers to do likewise. So here is just some of the things that have inspired me to travel.

Bubbling Well Road, Shanghai 1928 curtesy of Northampton Museum*

Who… Grannie
As a little girl I used to love listening to my grandmother tell me tales from her travels. Her fiancé had moved to Shanghai in 1925 to take up a teaching position. Two years later he sent for her to follow. I can’t imagine how my great grandparents must have felt about their daughter going off on such an adventure! The journey took weeks by boat rather than hours by plane as it would now and of course there were no mobiles, emails or skype to keep in touch with love ones.

They married in Hong Kong and then lived in Shanghai, where my father was born, in Bubbling Well Road now called West Nanjing Road.

Grannie’s stories about her life in China transported me to a world of haggling in the markets, holidays in Japan, visits to India and sailing on the Queen Mary. I remember laughing and squirming when she told me about her cook who had one really long finger nail; she was always telling him off because he used it to stir and taste his cooking! Last weekend I spoke to my father about what he remembers about growing up in China. I’ll share it with you in another post. It really is quite a tale.

What… Souvenirs and old films
The painted plates, vases and intricately carved furniture showing scenes of the orient that filled my Grandmother’s house in England fascinated me; pretty scenes of cherry trees in blossom, willow trees hanging over little bridges with figures in strange costumes. These and watching old films like Casablanca made me wonder what it would be like to go to far away, romantic sounding places like Timbuktu and Mandalay collecting exotic souvenirs as I went.

One of my photos of Kerala taken on my second trip to India with Annie. There are more photos on Flickr.

Where… India
Another person who was a big influence on me was Annie, one of the designers/photographers I worked with producing holiday brochures when I first started working in the travel industry. Every year we’d spend a few days together selecting images for the next seasons brochures. While there, Annie would also show me photographs of her big passion, India, telling me all about her travels. When she invited me on a trip to India I couldn’t resist. It is the most exciting country I have ever been to: the hustle and bustle of Jaipur, the calm serenity of the Kerala backwaters, luxury and poverty side by side, vivid colours and patterns everywhere. Over the next few years I found Annie an inspiration on many different levels and she encouraged me greatly with my own photography. I don’t think she has any idea just how much she influenced me, both professionally and personally. Thank you, Annie!

Here’s a link to another photo I posted from Kerala that had a few people hankering to pack their bags! Drifting along the backwaters of Kerala

Tanji fish market, a place I will take my friends to on their first visit to Africa

The Gambia
The company I work for now specialises in West Africa (amongst other destinations). I had only ever been to North Africa before so it has been wonderful to get to know another part of this great continent, in particular, The Gambia. Even though each trip is relatively short I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been and it has given me the chance to get to know a place in more depth. I now have many friends there and I’ve got involved with two Gambian schools. Back home I’ve founded a choir singing songs from around the world including many from Africa. We raise money to help the schools and some members of the choir now wish to visit The Gambia. So later this year we will be off. Most of them have never been to Africa before so it will be quite an adventure for them. I plan to make it one they will never forget!

One of my images of Corsica that I hope has inspired others to visit this beautiful island

Corsica
Another place I have returned to a number of times is the beautiful island of Corsica but I have yet to explore the interior. I’d love to take the train from Bastia to Ajaccio stopping off for a day or two here and there to enjoy the mountain villages and scenery. I’ve heard that the train ride itself is a real treat winding through the mountains, tunnels and gorges, at times hugging the cliff face, other times plunging into forests. At one point it traverses a valley via the enormous Vecchio viaduct, engineered by Gustave Eiffel. There is even a superb waterfall known as the bride’s veil which overhangs the railway before the train meanders through the lush green foothills to Ajaccio.

A few people have told me that my posts and photographs have inspired them to add Corsica to their ‘bucket list’ which is wonderful. I even heard today that my photos had inspired someone to buy a camera, which I was extremely pleased to hear!

When… Aged 10
My first journey abroad was at the age of 10, when my sister (aged 12) and I caught the ferry to France where we’d be staying with a French family for the week. It was very exciting being allowed to travel by ourselves on the ferry – not quite a “Slow boat to China” but an adventure non-the-less. It was a wonderful experience (apart from what looked like raw mince that they tried to feed me; I was somewhat less adventurous than I am now when it came to food!)

And now…
I’ve been blogging through ‘Travel with Kat’ since last September and I have really enjoyed receiving feed-back from fellow bloggers and reading their inspiring posts too. Suzanne from ‘The Travel Bunny’ has certainly got me hankering to visit Hoi An, Vietnam.

Lucy’s blog ‘On the Luce’ is another one of the many blogs I really enjoy following and I’ll be looking to her for some inspiration on my forthcoming weekend in Paris.

Recently I was lucky enough to meet and interview travel writer Frances Linzee Gordon. Her tales of travelling solo across countries such as Morocco, Ethiopia and Yemen are fascinating. She believes that you should never refuse an invitation while travelling. She goes by her instincts and uses her three-second rule of maintaining eye contact with a stranger to see if she thinks they are trustworthy. She is certainly a very inspiring lady! I have done some travelling on my own before but Frances has certainly spurred me on to step that little bit further out of my comfort zone. Perhaps I should now make the journey to Shanghai myself and walk down the street that was once called Bubbling Well Road. I wonder what my grandmother would make of today’s Shanghai. Yes, I really must go and have an oriental adventure of my own, walking in my grandmother’s footsteps!

My nominations…

Madhu, The Urge to Wander

David & Veronica, The Gypsy Nester

Sherry, Fabulous 50′s

Cynthia, Hapi Dayz

Jennifer, My Sardinian Life

Links

*Northampton Musem on Flickr

India photographs on Flickr

Gambia photographs on Flickr

Corsica photographs on Flickr

Last Sunday I woke up to glorious sunshine, made a cup of coffee and, as is my habit I’m afraid, checked my emails. I was delighted to see a post by Nomadbiba saying that I’d won the last round of Travel Photo Roulette (Sunshine) with this image taken just after sunrise in the backwaters of Kerala, Southern India.

It was a lovely surprise and I immediately started thinking about a subject for the next round, which I was really looking forward to hosting.

Local Character

I decided on the theme ‘Local Character’ remembering some of the wonderful people I had met on my travels such as the philosopher and poet, Guido, who everyone in the Italian town of Polignano knows (he can often be seen writing on the walls of the buildings of the towns) or this young boy in The Gambia who joined the crowd watching a singing workshop I helped run in a village school. He looked so cool with his hat perched at a jaunty angle. I think he’ll be quite a ladies’ man when he grows up!

Of course the theme can be interpreted in any way that inspires you!

Contest Overview

The contest rotates through travel and/or photography blogs as such, the winner of the previous round of Travel Photo Roulette hosts the subsequent round on their own blog. The new host then chooses the next theme, a generic keyword or phrase and players submit their interpretations of the theme over course of the week of the contest. At the end of the week, the hosting blogger chooses their favorite photo from the submissions and displays it as the week’s winning entry. They then include direction to the new host for the next round. Readers can attempt to lobby the author toward a certain photo via comments – the author can accept or ignore any lobby as they see fit. The game is repeated with the winner hosting the following week’s game and choosing a phrase for new photo submissions.

Guide Lines

• One submission per Blog (so sites that have 2+ authors only get one entry).
• Post processing is permitted, but photo altering (ie. photoshopping) is not.
• Abstract submissions welcomed as long as it fits within the interpretation of the chosen phrase. Remember, the hosting blogger chooses the winner, so if they cannot understand the submission, you might not win!
• Please try and keep your images medium-sized and web-optimized (around 600px).
• If you win, keep these in mind when choosing a new theme:

* Keep phrases general so that all bloggers can participate. Specific items like “Eiffel Tower” should be avoided but rather made open-ended like “monuments.” For variety, it is okay to say focused things such as “monuments at night” which most of us have pictures of. Phrases can be generic ‘signs’, or abstract  ‘religion’.

* Abstract thoughts are appreciated, but keep it within the realm that all readers will understand. No “Kafka-esque”, or “Overlooking Creation”. Use something that is able to be interpreted by all.

• After 1 year, phrases can be reused, however new photos must be submitted.
• No obscene pictures or phrases allowed. Suggestive phrases and photography can be accepted, but please keep it within reason.
• Keep the ideas and photos fresh!
• Pictures from your entire portfolio are fair to submit. You do not have to take the photo within the week of the contest period to submit it.
• Most importantly, ALL PHOTOS MUST BE YOUR OWN.
• One last rule, since this is a competition for bloggers, we need you to be a blogger to be declared a winner. Sorry!

How to submit your entries

To enter in the Photo Roulette competition simply leave a comment below with a link to the image (whether Flickr, Picasa or your own site) and I will upload it to this post. Don’t forget to provide a brief description or caption for the photo so the viewers can get a little background as to what’s happening. Check back here throughout the week to see all the entries as they come in and feel free to comment on them. The contest runs for 7 days from today, with the submission date being March 24th , 2012  – 11:59 PM March 31st, 2012 GMT (Saturday to Saturday). The winner will be announced in the days after the deadline, and they will host round 40.

**Note** Please enter medium-size web-friendly photos (around 600px). Large pictures slow down servers and increase page load times for everybody.

Past Photo Roulette Winners and Hosts

The following is a list of the previously played rounds of the game and the hosting blogger for each. This list also doubles as a winner’s table as each topic host won the preceding round! Click the host’s link to go directly to that entry to see some stunning photographs from the chosen term/phrase!

1. Nov 4–10, 2010  – Living the Dream – “Animals”
2. Nov 17–24, 2010 – Skinny Backpacker - “Road Signs”
3. Nov 29–Dec 6, 2010 – Dream a Little Dream - “Street Art”
4. Dec 8–15, 2010 – Flashpacker HQ – “Festival”
5. Dec 17–24, 2010 – Over Yonderlust – “Landmarks”
6. Dec 26–Jan 2, 2011 – Don’t Ever Look Back – “Beaches”
7. Jan 5–12, 2011 – ThePlanetD – “Portraits”
8. Jan 15–22, 2011 – Travel with a Mate – “Motion”
9. Jan 26–Feb 3, 2011 – Johnny Vagabond – “Water”
10. Feb 8–15, 2011 – Ken Kaminesky – “Urban”
11. Feb 21–27, 2011 – Travels of Adam - “Friday Night”
12. Mar 7–13, 2011 – Itchy Feet Chronicles – “The Journey”
13. Mar 19– 25, 2011 – Brendan’s Adventures – “Changing Seasons”
14. Apr 4–10, 2011 - Shutterfeet – “Storytelling”
15. Apr 13–21, 2011 - 10 Times One - “Piousness”
16. Apr 26–May 4, 2011 – Beached Eskimo – “Learning”
17. May 21–27, 2011 – Travel Junkies – “Architecture”
18. Jun 1–7, 2011 – Destination World – “Transportation”
19. Jun 8–15, 2011 – Living the Dream – “Paradise”
20. Jun 21-28, 2011 - Vagabond Quest - “Clothes”
21. Jul 4-11, 2011 – The Unframed World – “Symmetry”
22. Jul 16-25, 2011 – Beached Eskimo – “Home”
23. Jul 31 – Aug 7, 2011 – BackPackerBanter – “Inspiration”
24. Aug 14 – 21, 2011 – WanderingTrader - “Darkness”
25. Aug 28 – Sep 4, 2011 – Finding the Universe – “Tranquillity”
26. Sep 12 – 19, 2011 – Fearful Adventurer – “Food”
27. Sep 23 – 30, 2011 – Adventures of a GoodMan – “City”
28. Oct 06 – 13, 2011 – Globe-Trekking.com - “Reflections”
29. Oct 17 – 24, 2011 – Scene With A Hart - ”Framing”
30. Nov 9 – 16, 2011 – Vagabond Quest - “Silhouettes”
31. Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2011 – Hecktic Travels – “Music”
32. Dec 11 – Dec 18, 2011 – Globetrotter Girls – “Love”
33. Dec 25 – Jan 1st, 2012– Man on the lam – “Humor”
34. January 8 – Jan 15 – My Walkabout – “Winter”
35. Jan 15 – Jan 22 – The Art of Slow Travel – “Blue”
36. Feb 6 – Feb 13 – Ten Times One – “Depth of Field”
37. Feb 22 – Feb 29 – Runaway Juno – “My Glorious Digital Nomad Moment”
38. March 7 – March 14 – Nomadbiba – “Sunshine”

The more the merrier: Please share this article on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and G+ and elsewhere to get more people involved. We love your entries!

Submit your entry by 11:59pm Saturday March 31, 2012 – let me know which of the entries below are your favorites in the comments.

I’m really looking forward to seeing your photos and will post them here as they come in (sorry if there is sometimes a bit of

GOOD LUCK!

1. The first submission comes from Denise, The Art of Slow Travel

“This is a local Balinese farmer who, in his spare time, climbs coconut trees with the agility of a monkey to amuse travellers and provide them with refreshments. Donations go towards his love of tobacco chewing, which he says strenghtens teeth. He also found it totally amusing that I’d want to take his picture. “

2. Veronica, GypsyNester.com

“I had jumped out of our car to snap some shots of this house and was terrified when I looked up from my camera and this man was standing right next to me! Turns out he was quite nice to us, despite the UNBELIEVABLE amount of spray painted messages (some of them quite vile) on his house – well, actually every inch of his property.”

3. Jeremy, Living the Dream

“I caught this old man smoking Sheesha while we were on our felluca ride outside of Aswan, Egypt. A great glimpse into Egyptian life.”

4. Heather, Travellers Playground

“A gentleman from Madrid  relaxing in the morning sun with his cigar and paper on a park bench.”

5. Travis, FlashPackerHQ

“Here’s a woman I met on the streets of Ginza, the Beverly Hills of Tokyo, Japan. She was walking down the street with this dog in a stroller and I just had to go talk to her. Quite the character.”

6. Bob, Piran Cafe

“Here’s one of a gentleman entertaining people hanging out on the Sacre Couer steps on Montmartre. It was mid-July, it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the throngs sitting around were in an exceptionally good mood. He was terrific, performing atop a 3ft X 3ft (1meter square) stone pedestal at the base of the steps.”

7. Matt, Passport+Toothbrush (@Matt_and_Caro)

“Taken in Rome, in front of the coliseum, this pictures is of Angelo, one of the many men dressed up as a gladiator, posing with tourists. Even while working, he still kept smoking and though he had a great badass, Italian vibe about him. Clearly, this was just a job!”

8. Tash, Jouljet

“A family riding on a motorbike in the middle of crazy traffic in Galle, Sri Lanka. I love the daughter’s cheeky smile as they zip past us in our tuk tuk! This photo, to me, shows that friendliness of people, amid all that bustle!”

9. acrossthesouth

“A local woman strolling down the street in Riobamba, Ecuador holding a cell phone in one hand and a living rooster in the other. She was coming from the local market and was passing by really quickly, being very concentrated on texting. That’s what I call multitasking!”

10. Suzanne,  The Travel Bunny

“Here’s my contribution. This old woman was having a smoke as she sold souvenirs by the Japanese Bridge in Hoi An, Vietnam. She was only too happy to have her photo taken and actually posed up a bit for the camera!”

11. FourJandals

“Here is a shot from the Egypt Bazaar where we were resting out weary legs. This women was selling paper tissue boxes and the shop keeper came out and offered her a mint tea and a seat to rest as well. Caught her picking her nose!”

12. Matt, My World Discovered

“One morning I was walking in Beijing when I came across these two. The cobbler has obviously been around for a while, filling his role in the local economy. I especially love the Winnie the Pooh slipper he provides for his customers.”

13. nomadbiba (@nomadbiba)

“I took it a few days ago at Montreal’s Saint Patrick’s Parade, one of the oldest running in North America. On that day all the city comes together to celebrate their Irishness and it’s a great chance to people watch!”

14. Ross, Been Bogged Before

“It was taken at the Longshan Temple in Taipei. Every time I see this photo I can hear the chants that were being played at the temple. I was waiting to get a photo or two with no one in the background when this girl and her mother placed incense in the urn. The girl lingered a while to watch the incense burn.”

This week’s travel snap is an old photograph (taken on print film) at Dastkar, a women’s collective just outside the Ranthambore National Park in India. These wonderful ladies were busy making the most delightful clothes, tablecloths, napkins and wall hangings. I was keen to support them and couldn’t resist buying a beautiful green skirt and matching blouse, which was much admired by my fellow travellers.

We were visiting Ranthambore park looking for tigers but sadly all I saw of this illusive creature was a footprint. However, a Katherina Viridulus or ‘dappled green tourist’,  as it is more commonly known, could be spotted over the next few days frequenting a nearby hotel’s swimming pool.

I wore my new outfit just the once and it turned me green from head to toe for nearly a week!

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Many years ago I spent a wonderful couple of days floating along the backwaters of Kerala on a rice boat. For hours I sat and  just watched the world go by. As you can imagine I took many photos. Here’s one of my favourites.

In 2005 I visited India for the second time, not long after the horrendous Boxing Day Tsunami. I was travelling with a small group led by an amazing friend of mine, Annie. She is addicted to India and has a knack of finding the loveliest, sometimes quirkiest hotels and most interesting places to visit, some on the main stream tourist routes and others very much off the beaten track. By the end, I felt I had been on the adventure of a life time and I’ve many stories and photographs to share with you. India is a photographers dream and has featured twice already in ‘my travel snaps’. This week’s photograph is a reminder of a very special evening in a small village deep in jungle-covered hills of the Western Ghats.

Valentine’s day 2005, Thekkady, Kerala

After a lazy morning which involved a swim and some shopping (I’m not much into shopping in the UK but I turn into a shopaholic in India!) I meet up with the others from the small group I was travelling with for lunch. Some of them had gone for a walk in the jungle. They had been shown round a small village and we’d all been invited back  for dinner (I bet it was Annie’s idea – she could wrap anyone round her finger!).

That evening we clambered into the van and after a short drive we walked into the jungle. It was completely dark now and we had just a couple of small torches to light the way. I didn’t have a clue where we were going or what to expect when we got there but I had complete faith in our guide. Carol was getting a little nervous but I was excited!

I could see some lights in the distance ahead of us. A few paces further and I could make out some flickering flames. A small group greeted us as we entered the village and in the light of the flames of numerous torches they sang and danced for us wearing make-shift costumes and headdresses of leafs and anything else they could find. We were given a variety of cooked root vegetables on a banana leaf (some which were quite tasty and others a little hard to eat!) and the dancing continued.  The villagers said we would bring them great luck and seemed genuinely as excited as we were. They had never entertained westerns before like this. The only woman we saw was the chief’s wife peeping through a crack in the fence.

It was a really memorable evening and a wonderful contrast to a few nights before when I’d been dinning with the Raj of Thanjavur. I still can’t believe I spilt a bowl of soup over him… but that’s another story!

See previous travel snaps of the week Kat’s Travel Snaps

Over 1444 marble pillars, carved in exquisite detail, support this beautiful 15th century Jain temple at Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India (50 miles north of Udaipur). It is said that it is impossible to count the pillars and that no two pillars are the same. I hope this image goes some way to capturing the serenity of this stunning temple.

I’ve visited India a couple of times. It is the most exciting country I have ever been to and a photographers dream. On one occasion, while driving through Rajasthan, we saw a couple of herders with their camels by the side of the road. We asked our driver to pull over. A few photos later and exchanges of smiles and “thank you”s and we were on our way again. I was particularly pleased with this image of a young camel and one of the herders in his red turban, the traditional colour for shepherds.

Every year Calvi’s citadel, which was built over 500 years ago, is the stunning setting for Rencontres de Chants Polyphoniques de Calvi.

Although I’ve visited Corsica a number of times, this was the first time I’ve been lucky enough to be there for this festival and I really hope it won’t be the last. The sky was as blue as ever, the sea as crystal clear, the people as friendly and the beer as refreshing but the music…. the music was simply breathtaking!

The festival was hosted by the polyphonic group, A Filleta. Their album Intantu transports me back to Corsica and a wonderful week of live music, from the buskers with their guitars playing gypsy swing at the foot of the citadel to the diverse collection of artists performing throughout the festival.

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Most evenings there were two ticketed events but these were quite pricey and we only went to a couple. On the Saturday afternoon there was also a free concert which sounded interesting although I wasn’t familiar with the acts. I never imagined what a truly unforgettable day this would turn out to be!

On a hot sunny afternoon, on the last day of an already memorable holiday, we climbed the steps of the citadel to Place d’Armes and found a number of craft stalls but no sign of any music!

Following the flow of people from the square down a side alley we came to the 14th century Oratoire and settled into our seats awaiting over 3 hours of live music by artists from Italy,  Mali and Corsica. After a wonderful performance by the Italian singer, Francesca Breschi with her harmonium, accompanied by percussionist Ettore Bonafe, everyone got up and left!

While wondering where the next performance might be, we heard the not so distant sound of a violin and accordion. The duo were playing in the street outside and after a delightful but short performance, a flute led us through the ancient alleyways to a small square, where the Sidikiba Coulibaly Trio from Mali were waiting to entertain us. The crowds soon filled up all the rows of chairs and overflowed onto walls and steps overlooking the little stage. A magical concert followed which delighted the enthusiastic audience.

As the final notes dissipated into the ancient walls, nearby singing reached our ears. Down another alley and up some steps we found another violinist, Maria Zaharia, accompanying Manu Theron (vocals/tammorra) with a lively collection of Occitan songs. After about 20 minutes the duo led us up another street, down passed the cathedral, through the Place d’Armes and back to the Oratoire where they continued their performance. Maria’s fiddling and her infectious smile were a delight and Manu’s vocals were amazing. As they finished they welcomed on to the stage Daniele di Bonaventura with his bandoneon.

We were enjoying the music but didn’t want to miss another concert back at the square, Zi’ Riccardino with Riccardo Abate Esposito (accordion) and Maurillio Tallani et Imma Arguento (vocals and tammorra). Zi’ Riccardino is a delightful character that looks as if he just walked out of a story book from the Brothers Grimm. I only caught the end of his performance as they were singing, playing and dancing down the steps outside the cathedral. His energy and enthusiasm were contagious and it was a joy to watch.

What a wonderful concept! A magical afternoon as one musical delight led into another and took us on a musical tour around the citadel and the festival wasn’t over yet… another free concert that evening – PVC Napoli Quartet’s Neapolitan folk music inspired by magic and mythology. With a stunning backdrop of the mountains across the marina they played tarantellas as the sun went down. We danced and clapped along.

And still the day wasn’t over as we had tickets for the grand finale of the festival and as we waited to go in, a spontaneous and beautiful interlude of polyphonic singing started in the bar opposite the cathedral.

The first half of the concert was a real treat as many of the groups that had performed throughout the festival each did two or three numbers. The polyphonic Ensemble Imeri from Georgia were particularly outstanding.

And to finish… Le Trio Jourban, Palestinian oud trio. The three brothers, who are fourth generation luthiers, and their outstanding percussionist Yousef Hbeisch, interacted skillfully to produce an outstanding and exciting performance of subtle and rich improvisations from their new album AsFãr (journeys). They took my breath away especially when guest vocalist Dhafer Youssef joined them on stage, his haunting vocals perfectly complimenting their beautiful melodies.

The concert ended well after midnight but outside wine and food were being served and the singing continued into the early hours – a wonderful end to the most amazing day!

To see more photos visit Travel with Kat on Flickr

More Myspace links:

A Filetta
Le Trio Joubran
Francesca Breschi
Maria Zaharia
Manu Theron – Lo Còr de la Plana
Daniele di Bonaventura
Carlo Faiello from PVC Napoli Quartet