HOME AGAIN

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIX, Issue 301, 5 December 1929, Page 5

HOME AGAIN

MR. H. W. C. BAIRD’S TOUR MANY COUNTRIES VISITED. IMPRESSIONS OF TRIP. In conversation with a “Hawked Bay Tribune” representative to-daJA Mr H. W. O. Baird, who has just r<£ turned from a tour which included Java, India, Italy, the European Continent, and the British Isles, gave some of his impressions gathered in the various countries he visited. Mr Baird proceeded from Sydney to Java in the Dutch boat Nieuw Holland, which was most luxuriously fitted to provide for the tourist traffic. Landing at Sourabaya, he went inland by train, motor-car, and aeroplane, to find the country was extremely fertile, intensively cultivated, aud had a native population of 35 millions and a Dutch population of 135,000. The general government was excellent and the natives were happy. Penang and Singapore were particularly thriving centres. The Cain* ese, some of whom were very wealthy •merchants, were present in great numbers, and they had magnificent homes and gardens. Calcutta presented a most impressive sight, the most interesting speo» taeles being the temples. His party saw the famous Kalighat Temple, where the sacrifice of goats took place. They also saw the burning gahat, where the dead human bodies were burnt. At Benares they saw thousands of natives and pilgrims bathing, washing and drinking in the sacred Ganges ri er. in which were also placed the dead bodies of the sacred bulls, which were left there until decomposition set in, when they were burnt. Their presence in a river where so many bathed and drank was most objectionable and insanitary. At Delhi, the new city constructed by the British, will be the eighth city built in that district, costing 400 millions of rupees. The vice-regal residence at Delhi, together with Parliament House were being constructed on a magnificent scale. At Agra, the famous Taj Mahal memorial to the wife of Shahjahan was of outstanding interest, as was also, at Bombay, the Tower of Silence, and Parsi burial ground on the highest point of Bombay, where the dead bodies of human beings were placed on a high wall, leaving the vultures to pick the flesh off the bones, the bones being then burnt, bearing out the words of their Holy Book, “Ashes to Ashes.” IN ITALY, After visiting Cairo and other places, the party went to Italy, where they visited Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice and Milan. In Italy one was struck by the number of soldiers one saw on the streets in the cities. The now regime, though welcomed by the populace, seemed to have made the Italians very arrogant in character, with the result that tourists were not very happy in their contact with the people of the country.

IN ENGLAND. In England they were all struck with the kindness and the courtesy extended to them by the average resident, a courtesy that was given to all strangers and particularly to New Zealanders. It was most impressive and one experienced the feeling that, since the war, the British people had developed a politeness and a kindliness that one felt placed them amongst the most cultivated nations. The attention to tourists and the help and direction given to visitors was simply wonderful. The consideration of motorists on the roads was striking, and the service rendered by the Automobile Association made the visit of one touring the Old Country most enjoyable. Business in London seemed to be picking up tremendously, said Mr. Baird, and the catering for luxury, by the retailers struck one as being extraordinary. Theatres and picture palaces were packed every night, and in order to secure good seats at the principal theatres one had to book two or three weeks ahead. Poverty, of course, was in evidence, particularly in the cities, but in the manufacturing districts, although the trade was not good in the woollen and cotton sections, the towns were well kept and the people well clothed. INSPIRING SPECTACLE. In Edinburgh the great war memorial was a most inspiring spectacle, and streams of people visited it, all being struck with the wonderful sentiment and reverence embodied in the symbols, which represented all the phases and activities of the wur. (To be Continued.)