Qype: Roger Waters in London

London

I’m sitting here with Money blasting out of my little speakers and I still can’t believe I heard it live.
I bought two tickets under cost on ebay and this formed the culmination of my engagement weekend.
Caught the boat from the eye and landed a little behind schedule at the dome.
London cops are so mature. Pot was being smoked everywhere and as long as everyone was orderly, mister and misses and miss and mss and master plodd did not mind at all.
The dome is a weird place – trying to be a city within a city – literally with roads and stuff built to look like they’re outside. Anyway we rushed in – slowly like, behind the crowds. Just got to the entrance of our doorway when – BAM!! On stage fireworks, huge stuff on screen and Roger and band launch into “In the flesh” First song off The Wall.
We shuffle down to our little seats and I didn’t move till it finished. Except for a little dancing.
He was good. It was an amazing show – except for anything new that he played. He had a couple of anti Bush things that were sooo sentimental and popularist..

Pink Floyd he aint, anymore at least, but he played the entire of Dark Side of the Moon, from start to finish. The female vocals and the visuals were the highlights on top of perfect renditions by the Rog and friends.

One of the great nights of my life.

Check out my review of Roger Waters - I am gotiges7 – on Qype

Qype: Torres del Paine in Santiago

Santiago

One of the great treks of the world. I think. Crazy peaks with untold climbing potential. Everything is beautiful and unique.
There are two trails. One is a 7 day circuit that circumnavigates the mountains – the other is a four of five day walk that wanders around the lakes and takes in walks up to the three main saddles.
Everything here is geared towards the walker having a safe and comfortable time whilst being out in the extremes. You can sleep inside accomodation every night. You can eat in restaurants. There are little shops that sell cold beer and wine and the trails are patrolled regularly by rangers.
Getting in and out of the park can be organised by any hotel in Puerto Arenas, a place that is well worth a visit itself.
(If you are following my recent posts then, yes, I have just discovered the youtube adaption and am going through my back catalogue of holiday vids)

Check out my review of Torres del Paine – I am gotiges7 – on Qype

Qype: Glacier Perito Moreno in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires – Arts & Entertainment – Landmarks

This is supposedly the worlds biggest glacier outside of Antarctica or something like that. It is very impressive. Very big. The problem is that if you are down here for a while then you see lot’s of these glaciers, and they kind of blend in to each other.
The other problem with this one is that you do a kind of day tour. The reason I hate tours is that you get stuck into someone elses itinery. In this case you arrive at the glacier at about 10 in the morning and the bus takes you home at about 4 in the arvo. 6 hrs is a long time to stand around watching ice falling.
These are silly quibbles really, I know. The Moreno glacier spectacular. Don’t miss it if you’re down here.

Check out my review of Glacier Perito Moreno – I am gotiges7 – on Qype

Qype: Carnival Tarija in La Paz

La Paz

Forget naked dancing girls and samba dancing – Bolivia is the place where Carnival really kicks off!
I experienced it mostly in the town of Tarija, close to the Argentine border, although it was still kicking along when we arrived in Potosi.
On the morning of the festival’s commencement trucks arrived with a cargo of crazily dressed villiagers, one after the other, all singing and laughing and chewing coca leaves.
Military and police started fencing off the streets and there was a sense of aprehension and excitment in the air, of impending action – like a Sam Peckinpah film – but happy.
We wandered out of our hotel with our camera and sensible shoes, looking forward to some cultural stuff – and then – whack! I was all wet. And then whack again – and I was both wet and covered in flour.
It seems to me that there are five elements to Bolivian Carnival. One is the parade. Two is to drink a lot. Three is to throw waterbombs at everyone you can find with Gringo’s gaining extra points. Four is to throw flour, with the same rule applying to the Gringo’s and five is to set off fireworks.
We fought back against the water bomb throwers. Groups of tourists teamed up and fought running battles against Bolivian kids and the elderly (They were leading by example). Supply problems were our biggest issue and so we enlisted Bolivian children, happy to turn traiter for a small fee, to source and fill our water bombs.
The parade was great and incredilby surreal. (check out the youtube clip – these mice are the local soldiers) And overall this first day was awsome. By end of the next week however as I’d endured drunken miners throwing up on endless bus trips and then, when dieing of altitude sickness in the world highest city, some old woman lent out of a taxi and covered me with flour – the amusement had worn off a little.
Got to say though – I love Bolivia. And I really love it when people with bugger all money really know how to have a good time.

Check out my review of Carnival Tarija – I am gotiges7 – on Qype

Qype: Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai

Shanghai – Arts & Entertainment – Museums

Shanghai is a very unusual place and this is it’s least usual building. It really looks like an alien from The Day of The Triffods arrived a little too early for the invasion so is trying to disguise itself as a sky scraper until it’s budies turn up.
I didn’t go up it as there were really big queues, I thought it was unreasonably expensive and it gererally just weirded me out a bit. Instead I took the elevators to the top restaurant floors of a few random sky scrapers and saw the same view, a better view infact, because I could see the Pearl Tower.
What was even stranger and more Bladerunnerish than the tower was the little train that takes you under the river to get to it. You stand in a glass carriage and pass through an amazing techno light and music display that depicts hell and heaven and underwater world and has blow up creatures that shoot up in front of you.

Check out my review of Oriental Pearl TV Tower – I am gotiges7 – on Qype