PEN-FRIENDS’ CORNER

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20740, 25 February 1939, Page 7 (Supplement)

PEN-FRIENDS’ CORNER

NEWS OF OTHER LANDS Peter knows that all of his little members are interested In the customs and people of otner lands and he hopes that all of you will help to make this “Penfriends’ Corner” a splendid success by sending in your contributions from your peufriend letters and so help to stiu.e your pleasures with other folk.

“A ROUWD VOYAGE” We have had a most interesting voyage so far and have been favoured with splendid weather except that the last three days have been rather cool and we have gone back, more or less, to our normal garments. We left home on December 23 in the midst of a snowfalL, which made the country look exactly like the little card I sent you. which, by the way, I thought you might think exaggerated the conditions but it didn’t a bit. We, however, soon left all this behind and had flue weather with a smooth passage aero** the Bay of Biscay. This was fortunate, as everyone could enjoy the excellent fare provided. We landed about 60 people at Tangier on the fifth day out and then proceeded across the Straits of Gibraltar, 30 miles away. Wf* landed here for a couple of hours but Gibraltar is not very interesting except for the view obtained from the sea of the famous Rock, which is ally very noble and one realises the vast Importance of the place from the sea-view. The town is small and not at all exciting. There was, however, in the harbour, a Spanish Government warship which was forced to leave by 12 midnight and we were all anxious to know what would happen to it as there were several of Franco’s ships awaiting it outside the harbour. We heard, later, that it was fired on as soon as it left the harbour and had to run aground. It was then interned by the British authorities.

Turning north to Marseilles, where we were to pick up 250 overland passengers from England, we ran Into some bad weather which was too much for a number of the passengers. I. fortunately, was quite all right and begin to think I am immune from sea sickness. A few hours at Marseilles enabled us to see some of the sights and we then went on to Port Said, where the really warm weather favoured us. I have been three times to Port Said and dislike it more each time, but it was the prelude to entering the Suez Canal. As we did this at 8 a.m. we were able to pass the whole length in daylight. I think many people regard the Canal as a very humdrum affair but to me it is very interesting. It is mostly quite narrow and the ship has to proceed very slowly (about seven miles per hour) because of the wash which a large vessel creates.

Prom a seat fn the stern of the ship one is able to aee both banks at odco* and although one gets quite uug stretches of barren sum!, one gets frequent compensations in the sight of a camel caravan, or a group of Arab huts. The railway from Port Said to Suez runs alongside the Canal and there Is also a good motor road so oue Is able to see camels and donkeys on one side, and trains and luotors on the others, as well as shipping In front and behind you. There was a great contrast in the appearance of the deoert this time as compared with my last experience. This time 21 Looked very arid, with a sort of metallic heat hovering over it, during tho heat ott the day but. on the previous occasion# we passed through moot of It at nlghU. I got up in the early morn to worn* the sunrise over the Asian side of Canal. It was really a lovely sight te> see the sun making Its appearance* through the mist arising from the pro—;, vious day’s heal, gradually disparages it and doing so to the accompaniment of the most gorgeous colouring that E have ever seen. The soft rays of tho early sun gradually lit up a low range* of hills on the African side, giving a range of beautiful pink and pearly grey tints to the hills, with a foreground of burnished mellow golden sand. -As the sun rises, of course, all this disappears and gives way to a hard, cruel glare. It was In such a glare that I saw It this tune but it was interesting all the same. We passed through the Canal in about 13 hours and entered the lied Sea. Mount Sinai is to be «een on the Sinai peninsula but no two people secin to arree as to which Is Mt. Sinai. Anyhow* we passed It at night this time. Two days in the Red Sea brought us to Port Sudan, on the Somali coast. AU trial 1 could see at first was a collection of small bungalows, palm trees, with flat monotone us-100 king- background of desert. It is quite a small place of about 19,000 Berbers, Somalis, Arabs, Fuzzy-Wuzzies with a few white people, hut the harbour is very Important, I believe, for naval purposes, but our rather large vessel (the Stratheden of 23,000 tons) was able to berth alongside the quay. 1 went ashore and took a few pictures during the two hours or so that we stayed there. Our next step was at Aden—two days' sail across to the other side of the lied Sea.

Aden is quite a small place tout, of. course, is very important as a coaling station, etc. it is also very jnteresttog to the tourist, especially if one is fortunate enough to see a large caravan recently arrived from the interior, as 1 did. Scores of camels laden with all sorts of things lying about the street*, and men squatting in cafes. 1 also saw some professional letterwritere taking down notes for a letter. One small group of Arabs were apparently discussing what should be said in the letter and getting rather excited about it, while the writer sat calmly listening, waiting for them to make up their minds. It was all very fascinating. 1 also did a little shopping. Silk and cotton articles are very cheap, at Aden is a free port. When a ship cal*s it must be a God-send to the shopkeepers as, although prices are low they don’t make quite a handsome profit. We stayed there about four hour*, and then started for Bombay, about flv« days’ steaming across the Arabian Sea. We took advantage of this to play off the heats in various tournaments deck quoits, deck tennis, etc, which had been in progress since we left Marseilles. In the meantime the usual ship life had been going on—the usual eating and drinking—too much of it—the usual reclining on chairs, or cinema or dancing in liim evening. We have quite a good ship’s library and I have found time to read several books. There is really something very fascinating about ship life to rne and I marvel when some people say they will be very glad when they arrive at their destination. We have very few English people aboard sinee we left Bombay. The passengers are nearly ail Australian and we have a number of German and Austrian refugees who are making their home in Australia. They seem to be a decent lot and should make good citizena. We only had a few hours in Bombay and then on to Colombo, skirting the West Coast of India all the time. It was in Colombo that 1 had the most enjoyable excursion l have v*er had, I think. Six of us took a car and drove to Kandy, the old capital of Ceylon It is about 75 miles from Colombo* and the route lay through plantations of pineapple, cocoanut, banana, teat, with rice fields here and there in the lowlying areas. It j.*, a very populous district, the road bejntr an almost continuous stream of picturesque villages, all locking prosperous ;«nd clean. 1 wanted to get out and explore them, but wo had to hasten along, only stopping at a small tea factory to see the process through which the tea passes. We Also stopped to take a photo of four elephants which were basking in a small stream. At Kandy w e had time to explore the town. I had quite an interesting time Hatching the different craftsmen at work in their little workshops. We also visited the “Temple of the Tooth,” a Buddhst monastery, which a tooth of Buddha i.XJu