MRS. ANSELL'S TRIP

NZ Truth, Issue 1204, 27 December 1928, Page 15

MRS. ANSELL'S TRIP

Lampshades arid l jLaughter In Old Soiimbaya City

'. Not to many New Zedlanders have fallen the adventures of Mrs.; Amell,-\T»holeftnerhome y City, m the May of this year for <£ wonder-trip through Java, Siani, and little-known parts of Australia. i.y

QTIL-Li fewer are those who take with O them the gift of vivid pen-por-traiture. Mrs. Ansell has kept a clear .and detailed diary, of \her journeyings m foreign •'; parts and gives many a picture of ancient temples and volcanoes etched against the tropic, dawn. " • ' ' ■' • :•■ ' • Fpom the accompanying snapshot album comesthe quaint picture pf ; Mrs. Ansell sitting astride the huge iihage of a sacred cow, m a temple of Vishnu. We of the West have our wish-ing-trees and wishing-wejls, Mrs. • Ansell's, strange steed is believed . by the natives t9 be equally potent -. m grariting:, their' wishes 'to its j* rider-s;\ ■',;■; ■,;^ ; \;'. ■'■■ ■'■%>. ''. ■ ; ' ' Sydney ■ 'was tlie,- '.first 'port of call after Auckland, : and here the , , diary '>. gives amusing; little sketches of wrestling with Customs officials and cab- . drivers. Very soon, ■ the diary giv.es glimpses of wild northern coast and of curious sights m Queensland. "In 19 miles "we climbed 1071 feet;" runs one extracts '/gradually a wonderful panorama 'was. 'spread before us, thei plain appearing: like a huge green and broSvn madder /chessboard fringed i on the 1 far si de. with ;. the blue of the ocean. ' /■"_ :"."-h .'..]■ . - . • ' ..■ . : On reaching i Kiii;aLnda,.; < w.e went -.'. ■'■[ to*A r iew the famous [[butterfly'^ col- ; lection. One. of the largest butter- ' fliea m the world is : ,fpimd m . Queensland and there also" we' 'saw, h' the magnificent blue ones" out; of ; j which 'butterfly wing' jewellery is. j made." > I

"Thursday; Island: Many and dangerous and- strong are. .■the' currents. We' visited the memorial church, .where \ tablets to the memory of the shipwrecked are on either side of the door. . . . The pearl industry is I'apidly dying out I—there1 — there are now only 200 boats all told. They mostly dive forthe pearl shell m these days and I saw one black pearl worth £400." Then began the Java voyage — the white line of "rip" where the Indian Ocean meets with the Java Sea, shadowy outlines of the islands of Bali and Lombok, and at last, Sourabaya, the largest port of Java itself. "I think," says Mrs. Ansell, "the hottest place I was ever m, and, I hope the hottest I ever will be m, is Sourabaya, city of lampshades. Every residence has lampshades out m the garden, on the- balconies and -in each room ■j— lampshades from 2 to 7 Or 8 feet high and of every color imaginable. ".Every thing on wheels goes ' driving between the hours of 5 and 8 p.m., ■ from the funny, ricketty djokja carts (something like the jaunting 1 car, but smaller and lower) : to. the most luxurious limousines. "The Chinese here own the most expensive makes of oarß and their women," like the little Javanese ladies,

deck themselves out m all the, jew&fc-" lery their purses \ can afford. .. _ I"* "Bullock carts, like those of- India, are everywhere^ /The coolies wear wild colors and weird - hats; .some the-; size „of .umbrellas. These .are beautifully jnade, if outre, heacj-ebverihgs, ..verjrfinely plaited and sometimes of many colors.",: .--, .■••:- -■. v ■•>";' '■'■' '-<■'■ East meets. West with, a vengeance m Java. The ' people worship r 4n^ancient, temples of Hindoo workmanship —snake 1 temples,, and the tempTe of-Stne"--famous.. Emerald Buddha, Jan, imafge"unique;.in •' the world. <:.'■: ■i.;. ; "'■ yet' the , typical J hotei' .bedroom is large and airy, witfi "beautifully patterned tiled flops covered- with rugs, bed six feet ■ iri ; . ■ , r ;. ■*vidt i ti! and down its centre the • , £•/ -ever- present "Dutch housewif e'N-if / . "a long, sausage-shaped bolster. :■■ . A wonderful journey, past mile's 'jof the rice and paddy fields, and "through '. country where roses, carnations, drangea ,' and hibiscus' smottiei' "Uie. world m a profusion of bloom, led "at last to the crater of Bromo volcano, one of the earth's most impressive spectacles." - . r : ; As the journey began at 2 a.m., - a|nd necessitated, being carried m. a sed&n . chair by laughing, chattering coolies, . it required, however, all Mrs. Ansell's spirit. of. adventure to carry it through.