He made it around the world

This is my last post for this book.

So, with all the efforts and all the means, Phileas Fogg made it around the world.  Together with Aouda and Passepartout, he ended up in London not via the China but through some other else's boat.

I leave it up to you if he made it in eighty days.

The adventure was worth the reading.

I know this is classified as a 'young adult' book, but I didn't really mind reading it.  I actually enjoyed reading the book and really couldn't wait to find out how it will turn out.

The meridian has always been pointed out in this book.  Passepartout was lectured on the meridian but like me, I didn't really pay too much attention about what Jules Verne was trying to say.  All I know is what Jules Verne calls the meridian is the time zone in my simple terms.  But I was really glad to know that time zones are actually meridians.  I didn't realize it until I read this book.

Talking about Passepartout, I guess I shouldn't have questioned his loyalty to his master.  I guess it served its purpose that he didn't tell his master about the thing he discovered while on the journey.  This might have turned everything on the wrong side of things.  This gave me the lesson of not always getting too emotional on things.

What happened to Aouda and Phileas is not something of a surprise really.  Although I haven't paid too much attention about them most of the time, I know that there is a coming out for this after Phileas Fogg accomplished his goal.  One thing that was a bit surprising for me though, was how the coming out was revealed.

I am sort of tongue-tied as to the developments on this book.  I want to avoid spoilers so my apologies for talking only about bits and pieces of the whole journey.

I suggest you read the book.  It's short, but full of adventure.

The last sentence:

Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?

On Trains as a Mighty instrument of progress and civilization

Thus, we celebrated the inauguration of this great railroad, a mighty instrument of progress and civilization, destined to link together cities and towns which do not yet exist.

This train ride of Phileas and the rest of the group made me think back when I was young.  I remember taking the trip from Manila to Possirubio, Pangasinan as a way to get us to Baguio for the first time.  I remember looking at the window and seeing rice fields as the train passed by.  At this point, I was a kid with no idea what is Baguio and how far was it from where we were.  I also remember enjoying the train ride more than the bus from Possirubio to Baguio.  The bus ride was boring.  But the train ride compensated.

Still with trains, I wonder why this form of transportation was never given importance by our government.  When I was in college, I remembered that there were almost no trains operational in the country.  I wonder if the government paid more attention to building railroads from Manila to the other points of Luzon.  Would our country have been more progressive today with all those trains?  I believe so because I believe in what Jules Verne said that it is a mighty instrument of progress and civilization.

Crossing the bridge

Passepartout's idea would have been the most prudent after all.

But the other passengers didn't think as him.  They all wanted to cross the bridge as soon as possible.  Well, Passepartout also wanted to.  At this time, his sentiment goes out to his master and sometimes, he is even more anxious than his master to get their goal done.

I am not sure though whether he thought about what would happen to the bridge after doing what the others wanted to do.  But his idea would have done less harm to the bridge.

The Medicine Bow collapsed after their train made it through at the move suggested by the majority of the passengers.  The train made the leap and Passepartout was not even heard of of his plan.

With this, I commend Passepartout's thinking.

Oh, you, Passepartout!

Passepartout got himself into trouble and I believe this is because of the fact that he has not been telling things to his master.  But sometimes I can't blame him for he doesn't really know what his master is really into.

He was separated from his master and found himself alone in Japan.  Alone... and hungry with not a shilling in his pocket.

But his master found him again:  His master exhausted all his efforts to find him.  And I was really quite surprised that the master did not even ask him what happened.  He told his story and his master believed him outright.  And I am not happy that he did not exactly tell his master what really happened.

But if there is one thing that I could not believe at this point, it is the fact that after all that happened to him because of Detective Fix, he could still say:  No, they are not friends, but they could do be ALLIES.

How dare you, Passepartout!

I fear of dreaming of wringing Passepartout's neck when I sleep tonight.

Passepartout

I never paid attention to him when they left London.

But when his actions became quite noticeable, I began to take note of him.

What happened at the temple annoyed me although it wasn't enough to make me hate him.  Maybe because of the fact that they or he got away with it.  But, did he really get away with it?  We may soon find out in the coming days.

But I grew more and more concerned about his relations with Detective Fix, more than I am concerned with his relationship with his master.  I don't know if his master never even bothered to tell him more about the trip.  But if it was me, I would have told him things from time to time.  Of course we didn't have enough time leaving London, but once we set out, things should have been said time and again.

Though I couldn't blame his master.  He was very concerned about his goal that he really couldn't care less about other things.  His indifference is probably one thing.  But it also pays to be a little in touch with things.

Right now, they are both on bail.  For something that his master never even cared to know the details of.  He probably thinks there will be enough time to think about it once they got back to London.  Because the thing right now is just to get back there in time.

Meanwhile, I don't know how far could Passepartout figure out what is really happening.  I just wish he figures out more so that he could be more careful.  He needs to gather his senses before I start dreaming of confronting him and telling him to just shut up.

The book and my coffee time with a friend

I should have seen it coming.

Yesterday, I met with a friend who had just been to a trip to the Holy Land.

And for all of you who knew about it, I guess you'll say that the Suez Canal is part of that trip.  Well, my friend has been there and told me about that connecting route that was just built recently.  That connecting route was supposed to take you from one continent to another - Asia and Africa in just a matter of short time.  At least that's how I understood it.  I admit that it's really funny that I somehow couldn't relate.  I understand her fascination about the whole trip so I didn't want to mess with her enthusiasm.  Because somehow, I know I would have felt the same thing had it been the other way around.

So, now, the more I need to google and learn more about not only the Suez Canal itself, but right now, I think I want to know more about the Holy Land.

I requested her get some pictures of the highlight of the trip and put it on her iPad so that next week, when we meet for coffee, she could show me the pictures of (at least) some of those places that they've been into.

It was really timely that I get to choose the book to read nowadays.  At least, her trip to the Holy Land is still fresh and I am still savoring Phileas Logg's supposed adventure of the world.

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

The first sentence:

Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house which Sheridan died in 1814.

And this is my second eBook random choice for this year.

Image copied here

I guess I am longing for an adventure that's why I randomly selected this book.  I turned to planetebook.com for a short list of eBook titles, and went to goodreads.com to download their version.  This is the most convenient way so far since keeping track of the pages won't be a problem if I downloaded the books from goodreads.  But of course, you can also get it from planetebooks if you're not really particular about the pages.

Anyway.

I guess I've been wanting to travel that's why I randomly selected this book.  It's like I imagine myself travelling around the world in just eighty days without leaving my home.  I guess this is also the product of watching too much TLC on tv.  Anthony Bourdaine was in Italy the last time I watched and I was really fascinated about the lifestyle of the folks there.  They still make their own cheese, grow their own cattles, extract their own pork lard, make their own pasta, and call themselves as the best makers of their own produces.  How I wish I could taste them for real.

So, that's tv.  But with books, I want it to take me back in time.  And this book took me back in those days when it took days to get from one country to another (when now it's only hours) and read about how it looked like at that time.

I am already on page 29 at the time of this writing and the boat Mongolia with Phileas aboard was just about to get to the Suez Canal.  This brought me to google about the canal since I wonder why there seems to be many Africans on board.  Yeah, yeah, I need to learn more about geography.  And maybe that's why I chose this book, too.

At page 68:

Phileas Fogg, self-composed as if the judgment did not in the least concern him, did not even lift his eyebrows while it was being pronounced.  Just as the clerk was calling the next case, he rose, and said, "I offer bail." 

"You have the right," returned the judge. 

Fix's blood ran cold, but he resumed his composure when he heard the judge announce that the bail required for each prisoner would be one thousand pounds. 

"I will pay it at once," said Mr. Fogg, taking a roll of bank-bills from the carpet-bag, which Passepartout had by him, and placing them on the clerk's desk.