Archive for May, 2010
Burning Down The House: The Firebombing Welsh Dragons
Burning Down The House: The Firebombing Welsh Dragons
The lush green valleys and long sandy beaches of Wales are one of the most popular UK holiday destinations for English tourists. However their beauty harbours dark secrets from a time when Wales was rife with fierce fire breathing dragons who didn’t welcome the English invasion with such zeal.
In 1979 the Meibion Glyndwr The Sons of Glyndwr began their campaign of cottage burning setting alight 8 English owned holiday homes within one month in protest at the growing trend of property in rural Wales being sold to English people as second homes. The campaign was to last for 12 years during which over 200 English owned holiday cottages went up in smoke.
The name ‘Son of Glyndwr’ was derived from a 15th century Welsh rebel leader called Owain Glyndwr. He was a potent figurehead of Welsh nationalism having risen up against the occupying English and led a divided people with an army just onetwelfth the size of England’s against two kings and a dozen armies forcing the English to withdraw from Welsh borders. He is a Welsh hero and legend and it’s no surprise that his actions are still an inspiration for Welshman centuries later.
But what exactly was it that these fierce Welsh dragons were objecting to? There are many positive arguments for tourism not least the fact that it was bringing in much needed money to areas which were economically depressed.
Well Meibion Glyndwr and several other nationalist groups didn’t see it like that. They were violently opposed to what they saw as a growing trend of wealthy English “incomers” buying up rural properties as second homes in their beloved Welsh Heartland and saw this as a threat to Wales’ language identity and culture. The English as a cultural threat may have been a little farfetched but there was little doubting the economic consequences of the English spending spree; house prices were forced beyond the means of many locals causing great resentment that they could no longer afford to live in the communities of their birth; in some of the most popular coastal towns and villages almost 50 of the houses were English owned.
In addition to the firebombing of English owned holiday cottages English owned businesses were also attacked in Wales and England and incendiary devices were placed in Conservative party offices in London and estate agents premises in Liverpool Sutton Coldfield and Haverfordwest. However in 12 years of the campaign there were no deaths; the only injury was a woman who suffered minor burns to her hands after opening a letter bomb.
Thankfully Meibion Glyndwr are no longer active having subsided at the start of the 1990s and for the last 17 years tourism in Wales has prospered boosting the economy in many regions where few other sources of income exists.
About the writer: Andrew Regan is an online freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
Bokor Hill Station – A Reminder Of Cambodias Past
Bokor Hill Station – A Reminder Of Cambodias Past
A collection of crumbling buildings thickly covered in red lichen and green moss sat on top the abandoned hill station of Bokor. In its heyday Bokor hill station was a secluded French colonial retreat with a casino hotel police station library post office and church. It was wrestled away in late 1940s by Vietnamese and Khmer Issarak Free Khmer forces who was fighting for independence against the French. In early 1970s Khmer Rouge forces took over the area and use the hill station as a base for operations. Vietnamese forces again took over the hill station in late 1970s when they invaded or if you prefer liberated Cambodia.
Sitting on top the 1000m Phnom Bokor Bokor hill station is constantly enveloped by passing drifts of mist. One moment you were admiring the colonial architectural design of Bokor hotel but in the next moment all that remained was a ghostly silhouette of the building. There is such an eerie feel to the place that many visitors have likened the Bokor hotel to be a scene out of The Shining. It is not surprising that horror and violent films such as Koreanmade RPoint have found their way to Bokor hill station. For reasons you may imagine a sign on the casino’s lobby warns “Do not sleep here”.
Battlescarred Bokor hill station may remain in ruins today but still see regular visits from both foreign travelers and local Cambodians. Visitors pay US5 for admission to Preah Monivong National park or commonly known as Bokor National Park. With most of the animals being nocturnal in nature and living in the more remote parks of the park the main attractions in Bokor National Park are the abandoned Bokor hill station and Popokvil waterfalls.
The road up Bokor National Park winds through thick jungle and unpaved roads. A motorcycle or a 4WD is recommended for the trip. Travelers hoping to make the journey can rent such a vehicle in Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia. From Phnom Penh it is a 158km ride via Highway 3 to the entrance of Bokor National Park bottom of Bokor hill. A further 31km ride up Bokor hill brings you Bokor hill station.
If you intend to stay the night on Bokor Hill which I recommend look for the ranger station also called the training center located near the casino. There are three dormitories each with six beds and one room with a double and single bed. It cost US5 for a bed in the dormitories. The ranger station also sells basic food like instant noodles and CocaCola.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Atticus Fits is an avid traveler and the owner of Adventure Vacation Trip a website which chronicles his adventure travels in Vietnam Cambodia Laos China and other exotic locations.
Be sure to check out his Bokor Hill Station South Cambodia trip report for photos maps and road directions!
Barbados Sure As Hell Needs More Pavements
Barbados Sure As Hell Needs More Pavements
One thing that I really hate about Barbados is the island wide lack of pavements. It is a crazy situation; even on extremely busy fast moving roads there are no pavements.
I find the lack of pavements in Barbados an extremely dangerous situation and have felt like my life was in danger on many occasions when I have been forced to walk on certain roads. If you have to walk on busy roads after 6pm after it starts to get dark things get real scary.
I personally came close to being hit by a speeding crazy bus driver when I was forced to walk along a stretch of road past Oistins a few weeks ago and that was during the day. The picture above shows a woman with 2 kids trying to negotiate a stretch of road where there are no pavements and believe me there were lots of cars flying past her.
Something drastic needs to be done in Barbados to deal with this dangerous situation. The public in Barbados deserve much better and hopefully David Thomson who has the makings of one of becoming one of the best Prime Ministers of Barbados will start taking positive action in the near future.
Being forced to walk on the roads in Barbados because of the lack of pavements is almost like a death wish. I would love the Barbados Government to make it public knowledge as to how many innocent lifes have been lost because of this crazy situation.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Im Garry Wynters The Wandering Scotsman now living in Barbados and documenting my adventures via my blogs http://thebarbadosblog.com and http://barbadosphotoblog.com
Im also a director of two businesses in Barbados called http://awakenparadisepropertyconsultants.com and http://celebrationscaribee.com
