|
To banish the onset of winter blues, the Globe
Guides team go in search of inspirational
sights, spiritual celebrations and animal antics
taking place across the world in November.
The
5th of November is Guy Fawkes Night, named
after one of the Catholic conspirators who tried
to blow up the King and Houses of Parliament in
the sixteenth century, is one of England's  biggest
festivals. Justine Shapiro finds herself
in mortal danger at the Burning Barrels
festival in the town of Ottery St. Mary where
the locals have their own unique take on the celebrations:
char barrel throwing. In this bizarre display
of heroic stupidity, men (and women too!) run
around the town with burning barrels on their
backs and thousands of onlookers dodge the flames.
Meanwhile, Ian Wright comes up against
another fierce sight at the Surin Elephant
Roundup in the northeast of Thailand
when he joins a tug of war between one elephant
and a hundred men. It's unlikely that you'll ever
see more elephants in one place than at this celebration
of their strength.
There's no better month to visit the sacred Rajasthani
town of Pushkar as in November it hosts
not one but two major events. Megan McCormick
joins the throngs as they gather for the annual
Pushka Puja at the town's captivating lake,
one of Hinduism's most sacred sites, where she
has her year's sins washed away. She then heads
into the desert for the Camel Fair where
people come from all over India to parade, race
and barter their animals and gets stuck into the
complicated buying process.
After sweltering in the dry desert heat, the
team head south in search of serene beach bumming.
Justine Shapiro bypasses the established
capital of hippydom, Goa, and sets down at Varkala
on the eastern coast of the state of Kerala for
seclusion and a great beachside massage. Megan
McCormick finds one of the world's best tropical
beaches, Unamatuna, nestled next to a fishing
village on the south coast of Sri Lanka,
while Aragum Bay is perfect for surfing.
Ian Wight sheads north to Nepal
for trek in the world famous Himalayas.
Not only is it a great way to see some magnificent
scenery but you get a dose of Nepalese culture
on your way up - Ian receives a blessing from
the spiritual leader of Tembokshe, a Buddhist
temple way up from civilisation and makes an offering
to the Hindu gods when he finally reaches 13000ft
and a place affording him a view of grande dame
of mountains, Everest. |
