Clouds, grays and muted colors. Those are the most striking things he remembered about the trip.
It started out as a typical Texas summer morning, but clouds started appearing on his way to the airport. He enjoyed a nice morning with her, she cooked something special for him to carry, but before he knew it, it was time to head to the airport. She dropped him off in front of the international terminal. He watched her driving off into the light airport traffic with a heavy heart, and everything started to become a collection of blurry images. Checking in was a breeze, there weren’t too many people flying off that Monday afternoon.
Waiting for the flight, clouds became thicker and flashes of lightning were visible in the distance. Then it was time to embark into one metal tube into another, from a rectangular tube to a circular one. By this time rain already fell on the airport. The interior of the plane was of muted grey and muted blue seats. Even the stewards and stewardesses wore muted blue uniforms. Unable to get much sleep, he watched a few movies, one of them was the latest Star Trek, where with the star-trek-ian sense of logic (beware, spoiler alert!) it made sense that someone who entered a black hole can be face to face with the same person from the past (or, was it from the future????)
Arriving in Paris, he was in almost a blank state, and during the long taxi from the runway to the terminal, he had to force himself to observe the view of Charles de Gaulle airport. He saw the Singapore Airlines A380 for the first time outside of photos and tv footages. Then there was the air france concorde that became a landmark of the airport, the new livery on Vietnam Airlines plane, an Air France airbus with the classic 50-s livery, and .. of course, .. the clouds. Gray clouds heavy with raindrops seem to hang over the airport and the countryside surrounding it. On the distance he could see something that looked like the Eiffel tower, but he was not sure if that was really Eiffel tower.
Fortunately he didn’t have too long to wait, but so did the rain. It came in droves while he sat inside the gate. The flight was another hazy event, the rain not of much help to his heavy heart. Approaching Nigeria, he remembered the massive turbulence between Port Harcourt and Lagos on his previous flight, but fortunately nothing happened this time, except .. the clouds.
He could see dark clouds outside the plane upon final approach. It was another gray and cloudy day, rain just stopped and there was only a little drizzle during the walk from the plane into the immigration area. He went through the motions of passing immigration, with a slight and futile hope that immigration would find a reason to have him sent back outside the country. No such luck for him and he found himself collecting his luggage and walking towards customs.
As expected, the customs people asked for money, but he already prepared Hershey bars that he gave to them as they kept asking for money or other ‘goodies’. They grudgingly took the Hershey bars and spotting the people awaiting to take him to the camp, he walked out into the cool afternoon air of Port Harcourt, and into the void.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 03, 2009
Being Free
Having had the pleasure of spending 4 weeks in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where we had to stay in a camp that is quite heavily guarded, and not being able to move around without the presence of armed policemen (or Mopol, as they call it there), I had some time to ponder on what it means (for me) to be free. Admittedly before this experience, I’ve neither had the chance nor the urge to ponder on this issue. After all, I’ve lived in places where we’re supposedly free, free to move around, free to voice (some) opinions, or simply, free to do whatever flights of fancy that we want – provided we have the means to do it.
OK, let’s get back to the issue at hand. During my time in PH, we (as in expats) were not allowed to go to town freely due to the security situations. After the militants started kidnapping foreign expatriates, the multinational companies operating there had to provide security for those people like us (also known as ‘the white men’ by the locals). As of late, apparently the motives have shifted from nationalistic / separatist motives to something that is purely financial. Apparently kidnapping and the ransom that comes along is quite an enticing occupation with hefty payback for the local criminals. So, we’ve come to the stage where as foreign expatriates working in PH, we are confined within the boundaries of the camp and the office.
During our stint, we’d leave the camp early in the morning, get on the bus (along with 2 cars with armed men in front and behind the bus) and go to the office. In my case, from our office, we’d leave for the client’s office, along with 2 other armed men. Those are the places we’d spend during the time that we’re in PH.
Let’s start with the camp. It’s quite a nice camp, run by a logistics company called Intels. I believe it is Italian owned, but I may be mistaken. It’s like a small subdivision in the US; it has a restaurant, a couple of swimming pools, tennis court, basketball court, a gym and a 4-hole golf course. We jokingly referred to it as the ‘luxurious detention center’. After all, even if we’re free to move around the camp, we’re confined to its boundaries. Weekends are actually the worst of times. There’s just so much one can do in the confines of a camp, even with sporadic internet and cable tv access and all those amenities. The office is quite similar to the camp where they are pretty much walled compounds with barbed wire and armed guards.
The bus – surely there will be questions why I mentioned the bus. We spend quite a lot of time in the bus. Actually the idea to this note popped up in my head when I was in the bus! The bus took the expats (the white men!) to and from the camp every day, and normally we’d spend about 30 minutes in the morning, and if we’re lucky, we’d spend 1 hour in the bus on the way back to camp. (I was told that the record was 9 hours to get back to camp. My record for the return journey to the camp was 2 hours and 40 minutes). The bus is another form of confinement to me. It’s even worse that we’re confined in a small space with a number of people who mostly are eager to get to the destination (be it office or camp) and eager to escape from that confined space. It’s not just the space that is quite suffocating at times; we’d see all the life, the hustle and bustle outside the bus and all we could do is to observe. No matter how close we are, we are totally detached from it, just another curious onlooker who’s not actually there.
Let’s start getting to the point of being free. I’d say that being free in a literal sense will mean being free of confinement. Even if we’re free to move about the camp, we are still confined by the walls around it. On the bus, we’re within the confines of the frame of the bus. Whenever we’re in PH, we were always confined within a finite area, but worse still are the fact that we have the sense of the infinite world around us, but never allowed to cross that boundary between the two worlds.
It was quite hard to believe that when I reached Houston, one of the first things I wanted to do – apart from getting reunited with my ‘sigaraning nyawa’, of course - was to drive. Not to reach any particular place, but it was one manifest of the sense of un-confinement. It was a small freedom to be able to reach any place I wanted without the need to be shadowed by shadowy armed men, and the fear of unknown danger lurking somewhere.
So, dear reader, it is the best of times, it is the worst of times (Sorry, can’t help myself from quoting Dickens here!), you will ask me at this point on what I wanted to say. I don’t want to sound pretentious in asking y’all to spare a minute to think about the unfairly jailed political prisoners like Mrs. Suu Kyi. What I’m trying to say here is whenever you’re out and about, doing errands, going to the office, or just being outside – do stop for a second and try to appreciate the fact that you’re not confined and free to move about wherever your heart desires.
As for myself, I am free for now – counting down with dread the days until the next trip to PH!
Notes:
- For non Indonesians, ‘sigaraning nyawa’ in Javanese is a literal translation of ‘half of your life’, a.k.a the significant other.
- To see what expat life is like in Nigeria, see : http://www.oyibosonline.com. Oyibo is the Igbo language term for ‘White person’. Hmm .. I can see the Indonesians smiling, it sure reminded me of another Indonesian word for expats!
OK, let’s get back to the issue at hand. During my time in PH, we (as in expats) were not allowed to go to town freely due to the security situations. After the militants started kidnapping foreign expatriates, the multinational companies operating there had to provide security for those people like us (also known as ‘the white men’ by the locals). As of late, apparently the motives have shifted from nationalistic / separatist motives to something that is purely financial. Apparently kidnapping and the ransom that comes along is quite an enticing occupation with hefty payback for the local criminals. So, we’ve come to the stage where as foreign expatriates working in PH, we are confined within the boundaries of the camp and the office.
During our stint, we’d leave the camp early in the morning, get on the bus (along with 2 cars with armed men in front and behind the bus) and go to the office. In my case, from our office, we’d leave for the client’s office, along with 2 other armed men. Those are the places we’d spend during the time that we’re in PH.
Let’s start with the camp. It’s quite a nice camp, run by a logistics company called Intels. I believe it is Italian owned, but I may be mistaken. It’s like a small subdivision in the US; it has a restaurant, a couple of swimming pools, tennis court, basketball court, a gym and a 4-hole golf course. We jokingly referred to it as the ‘luxurious detention center’. After all, even if we’re free to move around the camp, we’re confined to its boundaries. Weekends are actually the worst of times. There’s just so much one can do in the confines of a camp, even with sporadic internet and cable tv access and all those amenities. The office is quite similar to the camp where they are pretty much walled compounds with barbed wire and armed guards.
The bus – surely there will be questions why I mentioned the bus. We spend quite a lot of time in the bus. Actually the idea to this note popped up in my head when I was in the bus! The bus took the expats (the white men!) to and from the camp every day, and normally we’d spend about 30 minutes in the morning, and if we’re lucky, we’d spend 1 hour in the bus on the way back to camp. (I was told that the record was 9 hours to get back to camp. My record for the return journey to the camp was 2 hours and 40 minutes). The bus is another form of confinement to me. It’s even worse that we’re confined in a small space with a number of people who mostly are eager to get to the destination (be it office or camp) and eager to escape from that confined space. It’s not just the space that is quite suffocating at times; we’d see all the life, the hustle and bustle outside the bus and all we could do is to observe. No matter how close we are, we are totally detached from it, just another curious onlooker who’s not actually there.
Let’s start getting to the point of being free. I’d say that being free in a literal sense will mean being free of confinement. Even if we’re free to move about the camp, we are still confined by the walls around it. On the bus, we’re within the confines of the frame of the bus. Whenever we’re in PH, we were always confined within a finite area, but worse still are the fact that we have the sense of the infinite world around us, but never allowed to cross that boundary between the two worlds.
It was quite hard to believe that when I reached Houston, one of the first things I wanted to do – apart from getting reunited with my ‘sigaraning nyawa’, of course - was to drive. Not to reach any particular place, but it was one manifest of the sense of un-confinement. It was a small freedom to be able to reach any place I wanted without the need to be shadowed by shadowy armed men, and the fear of unknown danger lurking somewhere.
So, dear reader, it is the best of times, it is the worst of times (Sorry, can’t help myself from quoting Dickens here!), you will ask me at this point on what I wanted to say. I don’t want to sound pretentious in asking y’all to spare a minute to think about the unfairly jailed political prisoners like Mrs. Suu Kyi. What I’m trying to say here is whenever you’re out and about, doing errands, going to the office, or just being outside – do stop for a second and try to appreciate the fact that you’re not confined and free to move about wherever your heart desires.
As for myself, I am free for now – counting down with dread the days until the next trip to PH!
Notes:
- For non Indonesians, ‘sigaraning nyawa’ in Javanese is a literal translation of ‘half of your life’, a.k.a the significant other.
- To see what expat life is like in Nigeria, see : http://www.oyibosonline.com. Oyibo is the Igbo language term for ‘White person’. Hmm .. I can see the Indonesians smiling, it sure reminded me of another Indonesian word for expats!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Places to Go or Not to Go
Being in Nigeria, on the way back and forth from our camp to the office, there were some times that I could do some thinking. This morning, it came to my mind the subject of places I would want to go to, or even not want to go to.
First things first, the place where I currently am now, Nigeria. Unfortunately, due to the security situation, I'm not allowed to get out of the office or the camp. Whenever we travel between camp and office, there's armed escort with our car or bus. Well, that's for another story! So, even if the countryside looks quite interesting from the air, I'd consider this as one of the places not to go to for a while.
Lets start from Asia, on the positive side, I'd love to see (in no particular order, and these are the places I have not been to) Laos, Japan, Bhutan and Tibet. I've been to Cambodia and Viet Nam, so to complete the triangle of indo china, Laos will be the place to go. Besides, having to read about the highlands around Luang Prabang, it sounds like a relatively tranquil place to go. In Japan, I'd love to see the Honda museum and probably Suzuka circuit (preferably during F1 or Super GT races!).
Other places I'd love to visit again are Cambodia and north part of Viet Nam. Having visited Angkor temples a few years back, I'd love to explore the area again (Walking in one of the smaller Angkor temples one early morning, with only a few people and tourists around was an eye opening experience!). As for north Viet Nam, I've always wanted to see Ha Long bay and the highlands of the north like Sa Pa.
On the negative side, I don't think I'd like to go to Pakistan or Srilanka at this time for obvious security reason.
Moving on to Middle East & Africa, I'd love to go to Oman and Morocco. Marrakech and Casablanca are 2 places I'd love to visit in Morocco. Ever since watching 'Casablanca' years back, I'd always wanted to see the real city. Marrakech is the result of listening to Loreena McKennitt's songs, and by reading Lonely Planet travel books. (That's the power of persuasion there!)
A few years back, I'd scoff at the notion of going to middle east. But after 2 trips to the area, I found myself more open to the idea. While there, heard that Oman is quite nice in a way that it's not as modern as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but also quite modern.
I don't think I should mention other places I would not want to go in the Middle East. I think I have plenty of places to avoid there. But there are places I'd like to go to, like Libya or even Egypt.
Europe, hmm .. so many choices but one thing I'd love to do there is to go to Nurburgring and drive that famous track! Apart from that, Spain will be my first choice of visiting. Tapas and paellas .. here I come!
Back to the americas now, that's another hard choice. Definitely Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador (again!), Cuba and some exotic carribean places like Bonnaire, St. Lucia and the likes. I've been to Rio, but only seing that tiny part of Brazil is not enough in my books. Definitely the amazons will be a place I'd like to see at least once in a lifetime!
Buenos Aires is one of the cities I'd like to see. For the Wong Kar Wai fans out there, remember the movie 'Happy Together'? Well, that's not the reason I'd like to see the city, but that's just one of the many movies set in Buenos Aires.
Cuba is one of those places that seems to be frozen in time. Having great food and great music is definitely a big plus, if only it's easy to get to, which unfortunately it is not these days.
With that looney Chavez in power in Venezuela, I don't think I'd visit there this time. Maybe some other time, when it's peaceful enough to have arepas and rum in peace without listening to the Chavez monologues.
As of the good ol' US of A .. definitely there are places I'd like to see ... and not.
But .. I'd leave y'all to your imagination at this time. I think I've done enough rambling and rolling .. and if you did read all the way to this point, I'd like to thank you for entertaining my thoughts. And definitely your thoughts are more than welcome as well.
Ciao! Bye! See ya! Sampai jumpa! Daag!
First things first, the place where I currently am now, Nigeria. Unfortunately, due to the security situation, I'm not allowed to get out of the office or the camp. Whenever we travel between camp and office, there's armed escort with our car or bus. Well, that's for another story! So, even if the countryside looks quite interesting from the air, I'd consider this as one of the places not to go to for a while.
Lets start from Asia, on the positive side, I'd love to see (in no particular order, and these are the places I have not been to) Laos, Japan, Bhutan and Tibet. I've been to Cambodia and Viet Nam, so to complete the triangle of indo china, Laos will be the place to go. Besides, having to read about the highlands around Luang Prabang, it sounds like a relatively tranquil place to go. In Japan, I'd love to see the Honda museum and probably Suzuka circuit (preferably during F1 or Super GT races!).
Other places I'd love to visit again are Cambodia and north part of Viet Nam. Having visited Angkor temples a few years back, I'd love to explore the area again (Walking in one of the smaller Angkor temples one early morning, with only a few people and tourists around was an eye opening experience!). As for north Viet Nam, I've always wanted to see Ha Long bay and the highlands of the north like Sa Pa.
On the negative side, I don't think I'd like to go to Pakistan or Srilanka at this time for obvious security reason.
Moving on to Middle East & Africa, I'd love to go to Oman and Morocco. Marrakech and Casablanca are 2 places I'd love to visit in Morocco. Ever since watching 'Casablanca' years back, I'd always wanted to see the real city. Marrakech is the result of listening to Loreena McKennitt's songs, and by reading Lonely Planet travel books. (That's the power of persuasion there!)
A few years back, I'd scoff at the notion of going to middle east. But after 2 trips to the area, I found myself more open to the idea. While there, heard that Oman is quite nice in a way that it's not as modern as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but also quite modern.
I don't think I should mention other places I would not want to go in the Middle East. I think I have plenty of places to avoid there. But there are places I'd like to go to, like Libya or even Egypt.
Europe, hmm .. so many choices but one thing I'd love to do there is to go to Nurburgring and drive that famous track! Apart from that, Spain will be my first choice of visiting. Tapas and paellas .. here I come!
Back to the americas now, that's another hard choice. Definitely Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador (again!), Cuba and some exotic carribean places like Bonnaire, St. Lucia and the likes. I've been to Rio, but only seing that tiny part of Brazil is not enough in my books. Definitely the amazons will be a place I'd like to see at least once in a lifetime!
Buenos Aires is one of the cities I'd like to see. For the Wong Kar Wai fans out there, remember the movie 'Happy Together'? Well, that's not the reason I'd like to see the city, but that's just one of the many movies set in Buenos Aires.
Cuba is one of those places that seems to be frozen in time. Having great food and great music is definitely a big plus, if only it's easy to get to, which unfortunately it is not these days.
With that looney Chavez in power in Venezuela, I don't think I'd visit there this time. Maybe some other time, when it's peaceful enough to have arepas and rum in peace without listening to the Chavez monologues.
As of the good ol' US of A .. definitely there are places I'd like to see ... and not.
But .. I'd leave y'all to your imagination at this time. I think I've done enough rambling and rolling .. and if you did read all the way to this point, I'd like to thank you for entertaining my thoughts. And definitely your thoughts are more than welcome as well.
Ciao! Bye! See ya! Sampai jumpa! Daag!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Barb Jungr - Love Me Tender
Been reading about Barb Jungr from a few different sites lately, but have not actually listened to any of her albums. Managed to get this one yesterday, and ... it was impressive!
I've never been a fan of Elvis and his songs (I think 'Always on my mind' was probably the one I like the best - even if I prefer the Willie Nelson version), but this album is quite an eye-opener! First song, Love letters straight from your heart, was not a huge departure from the original. But the second one, Hotel Heartbreak ... such a different version!
Other songs I like from the album are 'In the Ghetto' (a toss-up with the live version from Natalie Merchant), 'Always on my mind' (Still like the Willie Nelson version better, but this one is pretty good!), 'Peace in the Valley' (Interesting gospel sound).
I think after listening to this album, I'm ready to listen to her other albums. Highly recommended!
I've never been a fan of Elvis and his songs (I think 'Always on my mind' was probably the one I like the best - even if I prefer the Willie Nelson version), but this album is quite an eye-opener! First song, Love letters straight from your heart, was not a huge departure from the original. But the second one, Hotel Heartbreak ... such a different version!
Other songs I like from the album are 'In the Ghetto' (a toss-up with the live version from Natalie Merchant), 'Always on my mind' (Still like the Willie Nelson version better, but this one is pretty good!), 'Peace in the Valley' (Interesting gospel sound).
I think after listening to this album, I'm ready to listen to her other albums. Highly recommended!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Reflections on some good albums
Once in a while I'd come across an album that I really like and would spend some time listening to the same album over and over again. Some of the recent albums that fit this descriptions are (in a rough chronological order, the most recent being first) :
- Krista Detor - Mudshow
A beautiful album! Just saw her at Mucky Duck's in Houston and bought the album there. Some may find it a bit depressing but great music and lyrics nevertheless. The ones that I like best are 'Ghosts of Peach Street'. 'Dancing in a minefield', 'A red bowl' and 'The Hampton sisters'
- Mark Knopfler - Shangri-La
The first album after he recovered from a motorcycle crash. Still has some of the same mellow qualities of the other albums, but without the celtic influences. Found the DVD-Audio version at B&N, and it sounded quite different from the stereo version. Apart from the obvious instrument placements, there're some things that I did not hear on the stereo version. For those with DVD-A players, it's really worth it to try this version.
- Carrie Newcomer - Regulars and Refugees
A follow-up to the 'Betty's Diner' album, it revolves around the characters in Betty's diner. There are some touching moments in the songs. Saw her performed solo at the Mucky Duck's last week. It was better live in such an intimate surrounding.
- Dar Williams - My Better Self
After a few years, finally a new album was out this year. One of the most interesting songs here is the re-made of Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb'. Very interesting duet there. It sounds completely different from the original but a very interesting remake! Some others that I like are 'Tones', 'Miss you till I meet you' and 'Hudson'.
- Capercaillie - Live in Concert
An older album that I got lately. Very interesting showcase of their music. If you like Karen Matheson's vocals, there are some very good vocal showcase like in 'Iain ghlinn cuaich'. Others that I like are 'Crimes of Passion', 'Bonaparte', 'Coisich a ruin', 'Nil si i ngra'.
- Krista Detor - Mudshow
A beautiful album! Just saw her at Mucky Duck's in Houston and bought the album there. Some may find it a bit depressing but great music and lyrics nevertheless. The ones that I like best are 'Ghosts of Peach Street'. 'Dancing in a minefield', 'A red bowl' and 'The Hampton sisters'
- Mark Knopfler - Shangri-La
The first album after he recovered from a motorcycle crash. Still has some of the same mellow qualities of the other albums, but without the celtic influences. Found the DVD-Audio version at B&N, and it sounded quite different from the stereo version. Apart from the obvious instrument placements, there're some things that I did not hear on the stereo version. For those with DVD-A players, it's really worth it to try this version.
- Carrie Newcomer - Regulars and Refugees
A follow-up to the 'Betty's Diner' album, it revolves around the characters in Betty's diner. There are some touching moments in the songs. Saw her performed solo at the Mucky Duck's last week. It was better live in such an intimate surrounding.
- Dar Williams - My Better Self
After a few years, finally a new album was out this year. One of the most interesting songs here is the re-made of Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb'. Very interesting duet there. It sounds completely different from the original but a very interesting remake! Some others that I like are 'Tones', 'Miss you till I meet you' and 'Hudson'.
- Capercaillie - Live in Concert
An older album that I got lately. Very interesting showcase of their music. If you like Karen Matheson's vocals, there are some very good vocal showcase like in 'Iain ghlinn cuaich'. Others that I like are 'Crimes of Passion', 'Bonaparte', 'Coisich a ruin', 'Nil si i ngra'.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Carrie Newcomer & Krista Detor concert
Went to see Carrie Newcomer at the Mucky Duck last night. The opening act was by Krista Detor. One of the few times I saw a folk singer with piano as their main instrument. We came in a little late and she already started her songs when we came in. The first song turned out to be called 'Dancing in a mindfield' and I found it very interesting. (If you ask me how I knew the song, .. well, .. I ended up buying her CD!) Another interesting lyrics is from a song called 'Steal me a car'. She didn't sing too many songs, having only her on piano and David Weber on guitar. The last 2 songs were 'A red bowl' and 'Glory', where she had a duet with Carrie Newcomer. As for her voice, she doesn't have the range that Carrie Newcomer has, but definitely quite a nice voice, but her strength lies more in her lyrics, I think. Listening to her songs, there's this sense of listening to some form of poetry.
Carrie Newcomer played solo on guitar last night. Most of the songs were from her last 2 albums, 'Betty's diner' and 'Regulars & refugees'. Her voice is very impressive with a big range from lower notes to the higher notes. I was also quite impressed with her guitar sound. She switches between the slower ballads and the faster songs with ease, and the solo guitar effect in the faster songs was quite good. One of the songs from 'R&R', 'Alice and Roy' was played with Krista on piano and resulted in a very interesting version. Some of the songs that turned quite different from the album version were 'I'll go too' (a faster version, with a more upbeat and funky feel), 'The gathering of spirits' (duet with Krista Detor) and the encore, 'The Yes of Yes'.
A very satisfying concert. She played for almost 2 hours without any break, ending around 10:30. I did buy Krista's second album, 'Mudshow', and it turned out to be quite a gem of an album! Can't say that it's an upbeat album, but the poetic nature of the lyrics along with the piano makes it quite a different style of folk music that I've listened to for a while.
Carrie Newcomer played solo on guitar last night. Most of the songs were from her last 2 albums, 'Betty's diner' and 'Regulars & refugees'. Her voice is very impressive with a big range from lower notes to the higher notes. I was also quite impressed with her guitar sound. She switches between the slower ballads and the faster songs with ease, and the solo guitar effect in the faster songs was quite good. One of the songs from 'R&R', 'Alice and Roy' was played with Krista on piano and resulted in a very interesting version. Some of the songs that turned quite different from the album version were 'I'll go too' (a faster version, with a more upbeat and funky feel), 'The gathering of spirits' (duet with Krista Detor) and the encore, 'The Yes of Yes'.
A very satisfying concert. She played for almost 2 hours without any break, ending around 10:30. I did buy Krista's second album, 'Mudshow', and it turned out to be quite a gem of an album! Can't say that it's an upbeat album, but the poetic nature of the lyrics along with the piano makes it quite a different style of folk music that I've listened to for a while.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Marble Falls & Limecreek Rd drive
Went to Austin for a drive through the hill country yesterday. Started a bit early around 9 from Houston. Expected to have about 5 cars but turned out to be just 3! A few ppl either canceled or just never showed up. Drove through I-10 and took 71 up to Austin. Weather was quite weird along the way, it stayed foggy around I-10 all the way until around Bastrop on 71. Quite a few drizzle along the way as well. Stopped at Bastrop around 11:15 and since we were making good time (meet time was supposedly 12 in Austin), it was decided to make a detour from Bastrop using FM 969 going through the country roads to Austin. Even with the small detour, still made it to Dave & Busters by 11:30.
There were 4 other cars from Austin by lunchtime. Had lunch at D&B, waited for a couple of guys that never made it, but .. they never did show up. By around 2, it was decided to start the drive. Ended up with only 5 cars going on the drive.
First, (Hope I can remember the route!) we started along FM 2244 then got into FM 962 towards Marble falls. The road was fun but no real hard turns. Had to staop at a small 'ghost town' to avoid being stuck behind a minivan for a while. Looked like a real ghost town with only a post office and an episcopal church there, no other houses in sight. Luckily, no real ghosts around at the time!! :-) ..
From the small town, went through a real country road, .. there was a time when we hit a stretch of dust and there was dust flying everywhere. Almost thought that someone went off the road!! Luckily, nothing bad there! I have to say I hate those cattle guard thingies on the road there. It just created this loud unsettling noises whenever we pass it, and the car felt a bit unsettled there!!
After that, got on 281 towards Marble falls, and after refueling, went north towards Park Road 4 .. that was a fun road! Quite a few times going up and down with quite a lot of elevation changes. Saw this 'castle' in the middle of nowhere, still wondering who owned it! Unfortunately, Ojas lost his side-scoop during the drive there. Tried to look for it but didn't find it.
Back to Austin, I believe through FM 1431. Fun road through the hills, unfortunately we were stuck between a few trucks, so couldn't really enjoy the twisties there. Close to Austin, we had to go through the famous Limecreek Rd. That was a lot of fun!! This was my second time through this road. This time. I was more 'prepared' and not as scared as the last time .. :-) .. Had to admit that I did make a mistake at one of the really sharp hairpins there. Tires were squealing as I tried to recover from the 'overshoot', but .. fortunately .. apart from a little shock, nothing bad happened. I just hate to think of what could have happened if there was another car on the other side at the time!
Driving home to Houston was quite boring and uneventful. Got home around 9:30 .. end of another fun day in the car .. and .. a sigh of relief that we all got home unscathed ..
Just hate the thought that now I'll have to clean the car!!! :-) ...
There were 4 other cars from Austin by lunchtime. Had lunch at D&B, waited for a couple of guys that never made it, but .. they never did show up. By around 2, it was decided to start the drive. Ended up with only 5 cars going on the drive.
First, (Hope I can remember the route!) we started along FM 2244 then got into FM 962 towards Marble falls. The road was fun but no real hard turns. Had to staop at a small 'ghost town' to avoid being stuck behind a minivan for a while. Looked like a real ghost town with only a post office and an episcopal church there, no other houses in sight. Luckily, no real ghosts around at the time!! :-) ..
From the small town, went through a real country road, .. there was a time when we hit a stretch of dust and there was dust flying everywhere. Almost thought that someone went off the road!! Luckily, nothing bad there! I have to say I hate those cattle guard thingies on the road there. It just created this loud unsettling noises whenever we pass it, and the car felt a bit unsettled there!!
After that, got on 281 towards Marble falls, and after refueling, went north towards Park Road 4 .. that was a fun road! Quite a few times going up and down with quite a lot of elevation changes. Saw this 'castle' in the middle of nowhere, still wondering who owned it! Unfortunately, Ojas lost his side-scoop during the drive there. Tried to look for it but didn't find it.
Back to Austin, I believe through FM 1431. Fun road through the hills, unfortunately we were stuck between a few trucks, so couldn't really enjoy the twisties there. Close to Austin, we had to go through the famous Limecreek Rd. That was a lot of fun!! This was my second time through this road. This time. I was more 'prepared' and not as scared as the last time .. :-) .. Had to admit that I did make a mistake at one of the really sharp hairpins there. Tires were squealing as I tried to recover from the 'overshoot', but .. fortunately .. apart from a little shock, nothing bad happened. I just hate to think of what could have happened if there was another car on the other side at the time!
Driving home to Houston was quite boring and uneventful. Got home around 9:30 .. end of another fun day in the car .. and .. a sigh of relief that we all got home unscathed ..
Just hate the thought that now I'll have to clean the car!!! :-) ...
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