Platinum!

One of the things I do when I'm not doing my actual PhD research (which probably occurs more often than it should), is form part of my research institute's 'Green Impact' team.

Green Impact is an environmental accreditation and awards scheme run by the UK's National Union of Students and involves over 100 unions across the UK.  Our team at the Grantham Research Institute was awarded gold for the 2011-12 year, but we were determined to work harder and come top and get the platinum level.  However, only one department per university can be awarded platinum and LSE's Estates team had won it every previous year, so we had a lot of work to do!

However, throwing our dignity away, we did all sorts of things like silly videos about recycling and not wasting water (too embarrassing to be published here I'm afraid), donning trackpants and gloves and spending time gardening and pulling weeds as part of a community engagement project, and a running and pedometer challenge to reduce our energy footprint.

And it worked!  We won platinum and beat Estates, and also won the award for best energy saving idea.  That was my idea for a challenge to inspire people to turn off their computer monitors overnight, and so we now have a £30 voucher for a local vegetarian restaurant to spend - yum!

So, a bit of a skite, but it's really rewarding to get recognition for all our hard work.

Grantham's Green Impact team with the LSE School Secretary

Melting Malaysia

Just a quick update to say hello from swelteringly hot Kuala Lumpur (you know it is legitimately hot when even locals tell you they're finding it tough to deal with)!

It was 35ºC yesterday and today with only the occasional breath of wind to help cool things down.  Fortunately the hostel is air conditioned which makes it a good respite when it all gets a bit much. 

I had this delicious beef ball soup (which comes with noodles with a soy, mince and vege combo on top) for dinner last night and have also had the best freshly squeezed watermelon juice, which I ordered not knowing what it was, just pointing to something that looked good on another table - the hunch paid off! 

I'm either off to Melaka tomorrow or up north to do some walking/rafting - we'll see how the budget's looking before I decide... Travelling alone makes you very efficient with your time - I've already seen Chinatown, Little India, Petronas Towers, the base of KL Tower, the National Museum, the Islamic Arts Museum, the Central Market, lots of temples and mosques, as well as the Batu Caves! And I'm only on day 2! 

So stay tuned for more adventures...

Rekindle

I've just come across this beautiful video introducing Rekindle, which is an amazing social enterprise based in Christchurch using salvaged wood from the earthquake to make the most gorgeous furniture.

rekindle - waste wood into furniture from Dollarmixbag / Ash Robinson on Vimeo.

It is well worth watching the full video as it tells a truly inspiring story about the types of people and ideas that I think should be encouraged throughout our community.

And, if you'd like to support Rekindle you can either (if you're Christchurch-based) let them know about any wood available for salvage, or buy a piece of their furniture.  If I wasn't a poor student I definitely would!  Their website is at www.rekindle.org.nz. 

Abu Simbel and cruisin' the Nile

One of the optional extras on our trip was a visit to Abu Simbel.  Having had it highly recommended to us by people who'd already been to Egypt (thanks Pam!) we decided to go have a look and it definitely did not disappoint.

A 3am start was followed by a long convoy bus ride down from Aswan to the site.  Abu Simbel, which is only about 50km or so from the border with Sudan in the south, is the name for two temples constructed by Ramesses II in in the 13th Century BC and then moved, in their entirety, in the 1960s to save them being flooded by the Nile as a result of the construction of the Aswan Dam.

As well as being absolutely amazing to look at inside and out, these temples (one for Ramesses II himself and the other for his wife, Nefertari) are amazing feats of engineering.  And I'm talking here about their original, and relocated, construction!  Just thinking about the size of each component part and how they were constructed, then moved, piece-by-piece (they moved this entire mountain!) was quite awe inspiring.

They're situated right on the banks of the Nile (much better than underneath it) and have an amazing atmosphere.  I took a video but unfortunately the strong wind makes it pretty impossible to make out what I'm saying, so you'll just have to make do with this one from the BBC:



After the long trip back to Aswan we boarded our felucca for a few days sailing up the Nile.  I have to say that while I wasn't really expecting much, this was a major highlight of the trip.  Although in hindsight, realising that it was all about lazing around and doing nothing in the sun, how could it not be a highlight!

It was just so relaxing and peaceful to be gracefully swooping down the Nile without a care in the world, apart from whether to read or have a bit of snooze!  It was also really cool to actually go swimming in the Nile and realise how clean it was - it was clear to beyond our toes even.  And lots of fun to jump in and be towed behind the felucca on a rope.

All our meals were cooked on board our felucca (called 'Butterfly') by our crew and we got to try all sorts of things like fresh dates and other goodies.  Unfortunately the food didn't agree with some of us (although I was fine - absolutely could not believe I didn't get sick in Egypt despite eating everything under the sun including dodgy street kebabs; it was an absolute miracle) so my extensive collection of diarrhoea tablets and rehydration sachets came in very handy.  Considering the toilet was the bushes at the side of the river I'm very pleased it wasn't me!

We also had a couple of fun nights up on the banks of the river playing a long game of charades which, while starting between a couple of us as a way to pass the time ended up involving nearly the entire tour group, as well as another night hanging out by a fire, dancing and toasting marshmallows.

I was pretty devastated to have to leave, but there were more temples to see and hieroglyphics to read!  Onwards to Luxor...

E-G-Y-P-T

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt" (Mark Twain)

Ah Egypt.  I'd be wanting to go there ever since Mum and Granny shipped off overseas, leaving Alexandra and I chanting our new 'E-G-Y-P-T' song so that we'd remember how to spell the far-away and frankly quite confusing place they'd gone to.

And now it was our turn!  Ignoring all reports of remaining difficulties after the uprising earlier in the year, we booked our trip, deciding to visit the entire country (as far as main tourist sites go I suppose) in one trip.  We packed in the whole of Egypt and Jordan into 17 days - not surprising then that I felt like I needed a holiday at the end of it!

So, let me start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).  We arrived in Cairo very late at night and were whisked off to our hotel for the first of many short sleeps (lots of early morning starts to avoid the heat and to pack in all the physical travelling required).  It was a pretty luxury trip actually in terms of the hotels and whatnot - we could have easily downgraded a bit, but I did enjoy swimming in the hotel pools that's for sure!

After gorging ourselves on the hotel buffet breakfast (again, a trend that would endure throughout the trip - thank goodness we did a lot of walking), it was off to Giza to see the Pyramids.  Catching a first glimpse of them out the window was incredible - I couldn't believe they were just there; looming up over the city like watchful guardians.  It was amazing to actually see them in person and think about how they were built.  I loved going inside one of them and standing on the humungous pieces of stone was just amazing (warning - overuse of this word to continue).  We were allowed to walk up a small part of the biggest pyramid in the middle (they've put smaller steps in - apparently some people died by falling off the corners or something a few years ago) and actually being on it really gave you a sense of how much of an engineering marvel they are.

We also went inside one of the smaller pyramids, walking down a wooden ramp straight down into the heart of the tomb space.  I was surprised how cool it was inside and hardly stuffy at all.  However, there weren't actually many people around at all so maybe not that surprising in hindsight.  After the obligatory 'walk like an Egyptian' photos we headed down and around the corner to see the Sphinx.  I couldn't get over how small it was compared to what I had imagined!  It's been slightly restored, so it's actually in quite good condition too.  It would be really neat to see it as it was when it was built, and I think the grand plans to make a new Egyptian Museum and pyramid space (see here for the details) might help you really imagine everything as it was when it was constructed.

Following the pyramids we went to the complex at Saqqara which is where the oldest pyramid in Egypt (the step pyramid of Djoser - built in the 27th century BC, quite unbelievable really) still exists.  It was so interesting to walk around and see everything, although we got caught out taking photos and broke the 'no more than five minutes late' rule, so spent the rest of the trip trying not to be 'those people' who are always late!

We then took a night train from Cairo down to Aswan (and were complete wusses, upgrading to 'first class' i.e. sleeper cabins - although totally worth it as I find I have a really good sleep on trains if I can lie down flat, and considering the hectic nature of our schedule, it was totally, totally worth it).  First thing the next morning we went to visit the Aswan High Dam where I was probably the most interested person in the whole thing (hydropower nerd alert) and then our first true temple, Philae Temple.  Seeing the hieroglyphics, the incredible size of everything, the beautiful surroundings - it really was quite amazing.

The next morning was Abu Simbel, but that deserves a whole other post (and this one is already quite long!) so stay tuned for the next installment!