Month: March 2000

Delhi, Bhutan, Nepal & Dubai Journey Day Two: From Delhi To Thimpu Via Kathmandu, 20 March 2000

We arrived in Bhutan on half the air fleet

Crack of dawn start – brought toast and bacon to our room – off at 5:30 for airport. After excess baggage debacle, said goodbye temporarily to Delhi and flew off to Paro via Kathmandu.

An erotic American woman got off at Kathmandu and then returned flustered and apologetic. She turned out to be the tour guide from American group!

Bhutan’s sole airport

Drove from Paro to Thimpu – not an especially spectacular drive. We were driven by our guide Pema, as our driver is ill.

Pema Gyalpo was a wonderful guide for our week in Bhutan. I have a feeling he ended up being our driver and guide throughout the week. We’re still in touch, 25 years later (as I write) and I’ll write more on him as the story of our journey unfolds.

Had lunch at Plums (pork, noodles, potato cheese, rice) then checked into hotel before heading off to shops.

Farce at handicraft emporium where our chosen goods got lost between the ticketing and the payment booth!

Found a small shop with a wacky lady, Tsering Dolkar, who will hopefully make Janie a Toego.

Back to hotel for rest, supper and early night.

The re are other pictures from this day, within the Flickr album below – Nos 21 to 32:

01 9 March 2000 Delhi Imperial Hotel - Ian with the doorman and our guide Harmahindra Singh and driver G Singh DBD_J1_Photo01_0

Delhi, Bhutan, Nepal & Dubai Journey Day One: A Day In Delhi, 19 March 2000

Delhi Imperial Hotel – with doormen, our guide Harmahindra Singh and driver Gurcharin Singh

We didn’t hang around in those days – our itineraries were not for the faint-hearted. We landed at midday, dropped our bags and did a quick change at the Delhi Imperial, then went out touring for the afternoon. That was our Delhi slot and by gosh we filled it.

Arrived on time (early). Picked up by Harmahindra Singh and Gurcharin Singh. Did a quick change and then went off touring with them.

Went to see sites – New Delhi including presidents house, India Gate and Parliament House. Old Delhi (through Lahore Gate) to see Jamamasjid Mosque, Red Fort & bazaars in Old Delhi. Tried but found nothing to buy.

Back to hotel for wash/rest and then mild Indian meal of Tikka and kebabs and daal and rice. Early night.

If you want to see all the pictures from this day, they are on the following Flickr album – Nos 1 to 20 – just click the pic.

01 9 March 2000 Delhi Imperial Hotel - Ian with the doorman and our guide Harmahindra Singh and driver G Singh DBD_J1_Photo01_0

Delhi, Bhutan, Nepal & Dubai Journey Day Zero: Leaving Home, 18 March 2000

Janie says goodbye to Nobby at Ruislip Honda

We had a fascinating set of adventures in Asia that spring. The good news is that we have a plethora of photographs and a pretty detailed travel journal from which to construct these Ogblog pieces.

The not such good news is that I seem to have mislaid my Steppes East Itinerary for this trip. Mind you, the itinerary would be uninformative for much of the Bhutan leg of the trip, as we ended up staying in different places than those originally listed in all locations, other than in Thimphu, where we stayed at the Druk Hotel as planned. The journal and stories that follow will explain.

I recorded very little about the outbound travel day:

Rose early to pack and prepare to leave. Put car in for service and bought a feast of raw fish for our lunch. Event free journey.

It seems most strange that I took Nobby in for service on the day we were leaving. I can only surmise that Mac Small, the lovely manager at Ruislip Honda who used to look after us so nicely, agreed to give Nobby forecourt space for the duration of our holiday. Perhaps they thought he was so beautiful that he would attract interest and therefore act as an advertising model of their showroom.

Also a slightly unusual choice of food ahead of a long journey, but perhaps we had a crazy craving for some sashimi and surmised, quite rightly, that such dining would be denied us on our trip to (mostly landlocked) Asian countries.

We would have bought the fish from Atari-Ya in West Acton – then not too far from Janie’s place and now (25 years later) just a three minute walk from our Noddyland residence.

Image borrowed from Google – click here for the relevant Google link/review.

In those days, the owner, Mr Sakai, would no doubt have served us our sashimi himself.

Pictures from the whole journey are on Flickr in four albums. If you just want to ogle pictures and read picture captions, they might be all you need, rather than the several Ogblog articles that will follow. Each of the images below is a Flickr album link.

01 9 March 2000 Delhi Imperial Hotel - Ian with the doorman and our guide Harmahindra Singh and driver G Singh DBD_J1_Photo01_0
001 Vistas on the road to Punakha DBD_J4_Photo33_32
001 27 March 2000 - Dining at Naachghar in the Yak and Yeti... DBD_J8_Photo23_22
01 30 March 2000 - we fly to Pokhara on this! DBD_J14_Photo05_4

Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, New Ambassadors Theatre, 11 March 2000

This was the first of two Krapps that Janie and I had in the early part of the century, as it were. The second was Harold Pinter’s Krapp at The Royal Court, which I shall Ogblog in the fullness of time.

I really liked this one, John Hurt’s, while marginally preferring the Pinter. Janie only got on with Harold’s Krapp.

This one included the mime show intro, whereas Harold’s didn’t. I expect it was the mime show and banana business that put Janie off a bit.

I had long rated John Hurt as an actor and felt he did justice to this difficult part…and that it did justice to him.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

The critics got very excited at the idea of John Hurt bringing his acclaimed Gate Theatre Dublin performance of Krapp to London. Here’s Maureen Paton in The Telegraph a couple of weeks before the show landed in London:

Paton Krapp TelegraphPaton Krapp Telegraph 13 Jan 2000, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Actually, we got wind of this production late and ended up booking seats for the very last night of the run, in order to score decent ones. Janie’s diary note reads “Row C – four rows back”.

Here is Patrick Marmion’s review from The Standard:

Krapp Marmion StandardKrapp Marmion Standard 28 Jan 2000, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer waxed lyrical about both play and production in the Telegraph:

Krapp Spencer TelegraphKrapp Spencer Telegraph 31 Jan 2000, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Dublin Carol by Conor McPherson, Royal Court Theatre, 10 March 2000

Janie and I had been blown away by The Weir, the previous year…

The Weir by Conor McPherson, Duke of York’s Theatre, 2 January 1999

…and were very keen to see Conor McPherson’s next one.

Further, as members who had been loyal through the years of “exile” while The Royal Court was being redone, we were invited that Friday afternoon to a “guided tour” of the revamped building. Janie and I were both motivated to take a Friday afternoon off work and “go see” before the show.

It was on that tour that Janie and I spotted the little nook seat in a recess of the stairway just before you get to the upstairs bar…latterly the library. We took a shine to that nook and for many years took great pleasure in having a pre-show or interval drink in there.

As for Dublin Carol, we really liked it and it cemented our view that Conor McPherson was a writer to watch. It didn’t quite pack the punch of The Weir, but that play was always going to be a tough act to follow.

Brian Cox played the lead in Dublin Carol, with great charisma. Andrew Scott, & Bronagh Gallagher were also excellent in support. Ian Rickson directed.

I’m not sure what the critics made of it at the time…let’s find out.

I’d forgotten this bit, but because of delays to the finishing of The Royal Court, Dublin Carol previewed at The Old Vic for a while. Susannah Clapp reviewed it, with great enthusiasm, there…

Dublin Carol Clapp ObserverDublin Carol Clapp Observer 23 Jan 2000, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

…as did Michael Billington in The Guardian…

Dublin Carol, Billington GuardianDublin Carol, Billington Guardian 22 Jan 2000, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

But most of the subsequent reviews seemed to want to talk about the grand opening of the newly refurbished Royal Court than the play/production that graced it, doing McPherson, Cox et. al. no favours. Please note, the grand opening was two or three weeks before the hoi polloi tour that we enjoyed in March.

Royal Court IndependentRoyal Court Independent 18 Feb 2000, Fri The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Royal Court StandardRoyal Court Standard 23 Feb 2000, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

At least Charles Spencer had the good grace to laud both the Champagne-swilling opening and the production:

Dublin Carol Spencer TelegraphDublin Carol Spencer Telegraph 24 Feb 2000, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com