SEEING THE WORLD.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1531, 29 August 1912, Page 5

SEEING THE WORLD.

A WELLINGTON DOCTOR'S TOUR,

OVER FOUR CONTINENTS,

m i ■ ," ck . ,n, n wMnown member 0 the medical profession, returned by tho Manuka yesterday from a most intereating trm to out-of-the-way parts of tho \«rld. iNot only has he trodden tho chie" highways or tho world, but has broken off here an, there to explore, paths quented by tho usual limo-restrictd traveller. H e te |, 0(!U llbsent f w ngtou tor a year exactly, nnd during (hut tune, has mado valuable use "f is f" ne ,- le p..Proceeded from New Zealand to Australia, and thenco northward to ,S- tho B "n ,0 " °? tlle East-whore lio ■>pent a month exploring the weird and wonderful volcanic-land famous for tho craters of Tosari ami Bromn (the latter still active). These craters, which at ono time, W, Mackin thmks.must have been "no ot tho great blow-holes of the SnJt nr ? n , sit,ln . t «l "t au elevation of bilOOit. There is a pass-the Pcnangin ,„! i h J? llGr - T IIOSO plncos "I'o-mucU used by the people of the country during 1 ie hot season as sanatoria, and at Tosari tliero is a good sanatorium where they make ono very comfortable. Several days were spent in Surabayo, Solo, Batavia, and at Djokjakarta, where tho Sultan rev,m,\ W ;"' eii on , b ' y ,)ohvceu 15 '"M "'"I U.UUO retainers, who live within tho wailed citadel of tho potentate. Wondrous Boro Boedor. "I also had the pleasure of seein" Iho most wonderful Buddhist temple in tii'o world-the renowned Boro Boedor, the history of which reads like a wild iniagininc, but is none the less true. About tile tenth century there was an invasion of Java from India, nnd the Buddhist religion was adopted by the natives of the country, lhen it is supposed the mi"htv monument was erected. It is five stones high, a square structure in the form of a number of platforms super-imposed on one smother, and terminatingin n flat roof, and' an immense central cupola. Words'fail to describe tho beauty of the architecture and elaborate manner in which it is decorated with dagobas. The edge of each platform is protected by a balustrade of Highly ornamental sculpture, ami every here and there is a statue of Buddha. J here are said to be 500 altogether, and about three miles of (he most delieatelv beautifully bas-rpliof sculpture. Vet tin's great temple, which covers an area of ground SOOft. by 500 ft., was utterly am entirely lost for six centuries. When discovered by Governor Uaffles, it was a treecovered hill, and that is what the natives, as far back as ho could go, had believed. Iho temple is certainly one of tho architectural wonders, of the world, and'must have teen built in a golden age. Probably it was submerged, and tho inhabitants of (he country killed in a volcanic disturbance-one can only surmise. "Java is cultivated from tho seashore to the mountain tops. The Japanese are a simple, hard-working, superstitious people, who go into the fields as the sun rises and return when it sets. The Dutch lave trained them well. At. Buitenjorg I think exist the finest gardens in the whole world,, and there lies the wife of (he man who rediscovered to tho world the wondrous Boro-Boedor." On the Road fo Mandalay. From Batavia, Dr. Mackin passed on to Singapore, and after traversing Johore aud the Free S!ates, passed on to Penang and Rangoon, and then Mundalny ("where Hie old ilotilla lay")- There ho spent a week browsing round the palaces of King Thebald, and teeing now Buddhas at every step. From Mandalay to Rangoon is a three days' trip down the Irrawaddy River—three days because they tio up (o tho bank every night, and resume tho voyage at daybreak. The steamers are fine beats, and carry from GOO to SOO passengers almost the whole way down the river. They were mostly engineered and captained by Scotsmen. ' • "Burma," raid Dr. Mackin, "is a fascinating country. The men are indolent, and in that respect aro much worse than the women, who aro rather attractive. Everyone iu Burma smoke.?. I saw one little girl, who could not have been morn than six years old, pulling away at a chceroot, and another held tightly in her little hnnd ready to lisht as f-non as the one in her mouth was finished." At the Durbar. From Rangoon the traveller went to Calcutta, and then he visited Darjceling, in the shadow of the Himalayas, mid Benares, the oldest and dirtiest of cities. About 2,000,0011 pilgrims visited Benares every year to bathe in tho sacred waters of the Ganges—hence the dirt. From where he was staying he could fee the nirning ghats consuming the bodies of./ the dead, the remains of which were subsequently thrown into tho much polluted Ganges. Luckuow, Cawnpore, Agra (famous for its wonderful Taj Mahal temple), and i Delhi were visited. He arrived in ho latter city a month'before the Durbar to King George, and after a good look round continued his tour of India. Uiuballn was visited, and Simla was reached by the aid of its 21 foot guago railway, lie then pushed on through Lahore to Pcshawur and the Kyber Pass—the key to India, and returning to ifawal.Pindi pet nut from there on an IS days' tour of Cashmere, per "tonga" (native reach). The travelling was pretty rough nnd uncomfortable, ■ but there were amends in the beautiful scenery—the finest in all India. The pcojile of Cashmere v;erc almost white-skinned, and were very intelligent. He returned to Delhi an hour before his Majesty the Kill? arrived. "The procession of native princes aud their retinues on December 7 was the most magnificent spectacle >I have ever witnessed in my lif'o," said Dr. Maekin. "It took two and a half hours to pass a given'point, and for a display of colour a n<l wealth was unsurpassable. Silence in the Fast is the greatest sign of respect. The natives are voluble enough ordinarily at their work, in the streets, or the bazaars, but there whs not a sound from them as tha King rode by. He made p. good impression on the native mind, and became extremely popular with the native. princes during his stay. I did not see the Gaekwar of Baroda incident, but its importance has been greatly overrated. Nothing would have been inade of it at all if the man had not been under a cloud at the time through a divorce suit. It was an incidpiit of no significance whatwr." After the'Durbar,'Dr. Mackin visited such centres as Ahmedabml, Bombay. Poona, and Hyderabad. While at. the, lastnamed place, plague broke out, 'with serious consequence!:. Then the trail led to Madras, Trinchinopoli. Madura, Tiitncorin, and Colombo (Ccyion), whence lie. took ship to Port Said. A trip down tho Eed Sea. to Port Sudan (one of England's latest possessions), and a tour.of tho Valley of the Mile as fnr as Khartum, preceded a visit to the Holy Lnnd, which was very comprehensively covered. Later, Dr. Mackin proceeded Home, arriving in time to spend the Easter in his birthplace, Kilkcel, near Rostrevor, County Down. Ireland, subsequent to which he employed himself in post graduate work in London.