'bo,
(coolest African greeting. Fact)
Hope everything is going well in England? I hear it was actually sunny the other day. Also West Ham to sign Adriano? Madness.
Anyway, back to where I left off, the train from Dar to Mbeya was fun if a little slow. It was an ancient Chinese relic where nothing seemed to work, but the Tanzanians understood exactly what was necessary and I was of course upgraded from 2nd class sleeper to 1st class a/c at no extra cost. Lovely. I am however the only person ever to get sun burnt sitting on a train due to my fondness of sitting in open doors observing the local population. It doesn't help that I was wearing a sleeveless vest style top and now have some quality tan lines. My carriage companions were very friendly Zambians and after chatting for a while, I pretty much slept from nightfall 'til midday the next day, though lariam and and trains aren't a good mix as I had numerous vivid nightmares. The best one involving me lying on a car roof while another car flipped onto me and bounced off, can anyone interpret this?
Arriving in Mbeya I quickly jumped on the first bus to the border and found myself in Malawi in no time at all and headed down the lake shore to Karonga. Malawi is absolutely stunning. It is one of the poorest 5 countries in the world, yet the people are the most friendly I have come across in Africa. This was evident from the start as my fellow passengers happily chattered away to me in English and tried to teach me Chichewa. One of them, Eric, helped me find a Hotel and then we headed out into Karonga to watch the Madrid derby and munch freshly caught and fried lake fish.
Waking up early the next day I headed further down the gigantic lake to the stunning Nakhata Bay. It is incredibly beautiful and the hostel I stayed in, Mayoka Village, was probably the most idyllic location I have ever seen. The people looking after the hostel, Matt and Clare were of course from the equally idyllic Bishopston area of Bristol and much time was spent discussing home. The first day I spent snorkeling around (a German guy gave me a snorkel for free!) chasing the colourful lake fish and generally messing about on the beach with some of the large American volunteer contingent found everywhere in Malawi. I traded all my books in (except dark star safari, which is probably more useful than my lonely planet) and kicked off a new reading marathon! The evening was spent at the hotel bar drinking Carlsberg Special Brew, which sadly isn't the same as the English version, and watching movies on one of the volunteer's black MacBook. I want one. A lot.
The next day was more pure wasting, the key components being snorkeling, drinking(though not at the same time obviously) and playing Frisbee, and the weather seemed to get even better! In the late evening after drinking too much Special Brew I fell asleep in a hammock by Lake Malawi, a fitting end to my time in Nakhata Bay.
I felt very relaxed ahead of the supposed 3/5/7 hour drive to Monkey Bay. The time difference is because no one in Malawi knows how long any journey takes. I have to go to Blantyre today and that apparently will either take 3, 4 or 5 hours. It was a horrible journey for so many reasons. It took 9 hours to get within 6 hours of Monkey Bay at which point I sacked it off and came to Lilongwe instead. Sitting in the back of truck itself was nice and sunny and the views over the lake were phenomenal, but the presence of Christian missionaries, seemingly on a rotating cycle who wouldn't leave me alone or stop telling me that all Africans are sinners and need to be saved, kind of ruined the ambiance. I would now like to apologise to the poor girl, who upon being the 6th new person that day to ask me if I had heard the word of Christ, received a response along the lines of "unless that word has four letters and is followed by off, then, no I don't think I've heard it." It was very hot and a not so small child had just thrown up some pink mush all over me (I mean all over), but that doesn't excuse my flippantry. I think the kid was scared I was going to give him a beating when I dragged him off the bus, but he seemed to enjoy the full blown water fight I initiated in order to get him and me clean. He has however ruined my favourite new T-shirt, which has "white boy" in Swahili emblazoned across it.
Arriving in Lilongwe after dark I checked into a nice backpackers in the suburbs and hit the bar. This morning I had a bit of an explore, checked out the large market, ate a locust, and established that my snapped in half Visa card did work twice but then half of it got swallowed and I had to cancel it. I blame the banks for only letting you get out $40 worth of Kwacha at a time.
It is nice being back in the city, but I think I'm going to head to Mozambique tomorrow as I have a brutal schedule to keep to in order to meet Nick and Jordi in Durban a week tomorrow! The highlight of Mozambique for me should be Base Backpacker's Maputo as hopefully our notorious gap year antics at Base Auckland will have travelled the continents leading to a massive security clampdown around all walls and computer parts not bolted to the floor.
LOL
Jx
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Pictures -Ethiopia to Rwanda
This is a horrible picture of me sitting on a cattle truck in Kenya. Just before I was threatened by a wack job Kenyan for taking pictures of scenery.
He asked me to take it.
The view from my window in Kampala.
Gorillas. Although I actually prefered the baby gorilla walking towards the camera. Swap it please dad!
It's amazing what you can do with photoshop these days.
Ethiopian countryside.
I forgot to mention the guide didn't like me to much after I asked what would happen if a person went in wearing a gorilla suit.
Thursday, 23 August 2007
Dar-Es-Salaam, August 24th
Hello,
I feel the need to write another blog as a method of preventing certain members from my family from having me flown home. I'm not dying, I don't have malaria or aids, so everyone just relax!
Anyway, I was well set for my diving last weekend and woke up far to early being worried about missing the boat. The weather was atrocious. Full blown British style light drizzle with no sign of sun. Having been introduced to my Spanish dive crew, who conveyed the impression of all the gear, no idea, we set off for big wall. Thanks to a frankly miniscule swell (In comparison to Plymouth) the dive was moved and so I found myself off the Mnemba coral atoll.
It was awesome! Sea turtles and reef sharks were everywhere and I had a great time chasing the turtles and pretending to fly on them. However sharks and turtles are very nice, but only one fish really caught the imagination. I saw 5 napoleon wrasse! Highlight of the trip! They weren't huge, but still pretty formidable. However I went mad and chased them around the atoll and to my disgust my air was soon gone and I had to go and sit in the boat while the Spaniards, who I'm pretty sure didn't breathe, carried on diving for a further 20 minutes.
The dive was sufficiently spectacular that we decided to go down again after a short break to swim with a passing pod of dolphins. Once more we swam around with more giant sea creatures, this time including barracuda and once more I found myself sitting on the boat waiting for the Spaniards. They can't have been breathing.
After a typical african carbohydrate-fest for lunch, we headed down for one more dive in some shallow coral with a few rays and some smaller types fish. It was nice, but nothing on the two previous dives.
On arriving back at the hotel, I met up with some English guys, Drew and James, and we decided that, even though it was a wet Sunday and the power had gone out, we should probably check out the local nightlife scene. We chilled at the hotel having deep discussions with our rasta hotel owner, Shadrick, while he smoked so much dope I was suprised he didn't pass out and then hit up the Zanzibar cult establishment Cholos beachbar. A good time was had by all.
The next day everyone missed breakfast, I discovered exactly what bedbug bites look like and the weather was still crap. We headed to the beach. There were short periods of sunshine. We drank conyagi and went to Cholos. Thats about it for the day.
The next night was my last in Nungwi, not out of choice, but because I had run out of cash. So another day on the beach was followed by another night at Cholos, this time in the company of some girls from Leeds Uni and once more a good evening was had.
At some point over these three days I managed to get Amebaisis and/or chronic dysentry, which has given me a hilarious pot belly and some rather less hilarious stomach cramps. I also probably have worms. Medical advice has been obtained and assorted medication taken. I should be fine in 5 days. I think I'm still gonna eat streetfood because it tastes so good and is the only decent value food around here.
Getting back to Stonetown was a bit sad as I could have easily chilled on the beach for some time. Still the girls are all heading back to England today so we all went to Forodani Gardens for more outrageously good sea food.
Today I got the early ferry to Dar, a fast cat that thankfully did not take 6 hours and my train to Mbeya in the South is at 3 arriving 12.30pm tommorow. With a bit of luck I should be in Malawi by about 3pm tommorow probably for more chilled out backpacker antics by Lake Malawi.
Looking back its been a pretty boring week, but it has been nice to chill out and stop travelling overland for once!
LOL
Jx
I feel the need to write another blog as a method of preventing certain members from my family from having me flown home. I'm not dying, I don't have malaria or aids, so everyone just relax!
Anyway, I was well set for my diving last weekend and woke up far to early being worried about missing the boat. The weather was atrocious. Full blown British style light drizzle with no sign of sun. Having been introduced to my Spanish dive crew, who conveyed the impression of all the gear, no idea, we set off for big wall. Thanks to a frankly miniscule swell (In comparison to Plymouth) the dive was moved and so I found myself off the Mnemba coral atoll.
It was awesome! Sea turtles and reef sharks were everywhere and I had a great time chasing the turtles and pretending to fly on them. However sharks and turtles are very nice, but only one fish really caught the imagination. I saw 5 napoleon wrasse! Highlight of the trip! They weren't huge, but still pretty formidable. However I went mad and chased them around the atoll and to my disgust my air was soon gone and I had to go and sit in the boat while the Spaniards, who I'm pretty sure didn't breathe, carried on diving for a further 20 minutes.
The dive was sufficiently spectacular that we decided to go down again after a short break to swim with a passing pod of dolphins. Once more we swam around with more giant sea creatures, this time including barracuda and once more I found myself sitting on the boat waiting for the Spaniards. They can't have been breathing.
After a typical african carbohydrate-fest for lunch, we headed down for one more dive in some shallow coral with a few rays and some smaller types fish. It was nice, but nothing on the two previous dives.
On arriving back at the hotel, I met up with some English guys, Drew and James, and we decided that, even though it was a wet Sunday and the power had gone out, we should probably check out the local nightlife scene. We chilled at the hotel having deep discussions with our rasta hotel owner, Shadrick, while he smoked so much dope I was suprised he didn't pass out and then hit up the Zanzibar cult establishment Cholos beachbar. A good time was had by all.
The next day everyone missed breakfast, I discovered exactly what bedbug bites look like and the weather was still crap. We headed to the beach. There were short periods of sunshine. We drank conyagi and went to Cholos. Thats about it for the day.
The next night was my last in Nungwi, not out of choice, but because I had run out of cash. So another day on the beach was followed by another night at Cholos, this time in the company of some girls from Leeds Uni and once more a good evening was had.
At some point over these three days I managed to get Amebaisis and/or chronic dysentry, which has given me a hilarious pot belly and some rather less hilarious stomach cramps. I also probably have worms. Medical advice has been obtained and assorted medication taken. I should be fine in 5 days. I think I'm still gonna eat streetfood because it tastes so good and is the only decent value food around here.
Getting back to Stonetown was a bit sad as I could have easily chilled on the beach for some time. Still the girls are all heading back to England today so we all went to Forodani Gardens for more outrageously good sea food.
Today I got the early ferry to Dar, a fast cat that thankfully did not take 6 hours and my train to Mbeya in the South is at 3 arriving 12.30pm tommorow. With a bit of luck I should be in Malawi by about 3pm tommorow probably for more chilled out backpacker antics by Lake Malawi.
Looking back its been a pretty boring week, but it has been nice to chill out and stop travelling overland for once!
LOL
Jx
Saturday, 18 August 2007
Zanzibar, August 18th
Mambo,
Hope all is well back home, everything is peachy her as I am currently chilling on the tropical island paridise of Zanzibar!
Continuing from where I left off, I spent Friday night larging it with a couple of Austrian aid workers at the fashionable New Cadillac in Kigali. A good time was had by all, but I don't feel I was in the best shape for the bus to the Parc National des Volcans 2 hours away. On arriving in Rhuengeri I spent a pretty standard weekend watching wall to wall premier league football(why the name change someone?) at "Soccer City". My verdict on the weekends games; Bolton were aweful, Newcastle were pretty good, Liverpool were very lucky as it was never a free kick, Man Utd should have won but midtable obscurity becons, Chelsea played well (sadly) and the mighty Arsenal should have won about 5-1.
Monday morning came all too fast and before I knew it I was at the park centre waiting for my Gorilla trek to commence. As I was roughly 15 years younger than the next youngest American/Candian/German tourist I was selected to visit the Susa family comprising 36 members which is 5 percent of the Mountain Gorilla population worldwide. The reason for my selection became rapidly apparent for 2 hours we hiked uphill through dense jungle. Through my Ethiopian escapades I had become very used to altitude and given the horrically slow pace happily plodded along with the porters as the guide became increasingly frustrated with everyone lagging behind and demanding breaks. None of this mattered once we found the trackers and after 10 seconds found ourselves surrounded by the beasts!
We had been told to keep a distance of 7 metres but none of this mattered to the gorillas who wandered about us at will, seemingly unaware of our presence except when the guide made stange throaty noises to keep them pleasant. It was an amazing hour with the group of gorillas ranging in age and size from just a few weeks to Poppy, a celebrity gorilla on account of her friendship with Diane Fossey. They just went about there daily business, chiefly eating 300 kilos of plant matter, but occasionally wrestling, chest beating or just wandering through our group of 8 tourists. The hour was quickly up, but I got some amazing pictures and it was fun just standing there while a baby attempted to eat my shoes. Totally worth the monstrous $500 price tag!
The next day saw me head back to Kigali in preparation for my early flight to Kilamanjaro International Airport Tanzania, a stupid name for the airport on account of it being nowhere near the damn mountain which appeared as a tiny far away speck out of the window just before landing. Anyhow the airport was in the middle of nowhere and since I wasn't going to pay $50 just to get into town I hitched to the end of the airport road and then caught a bus to Moshi. I stayed at the lovely Kilamanjaro backpackers, where I think I was the first person they had met who wasn't going to climb the mountain. They did do a lovely line in chocolate milkshakes and I felt quite sick before crashing out.
Another day on a bus got me to Dar-Es-Salam. It was nice to be in a big city again, but to be honest the traffic was horrendous, it was too hot and my hotel didn't have a mosquito net, bathroom or fan. From Dar it was relatively simple getting out to Zanzibar, but being excessively frugal I caught the painfully slow MV Azziza which took 5 hours to cover 70km and lost me any chance of diving today. That said I managed to find the only budget hotel in Stonetown, featuring my own balcony, fan, mosquito net and bathroom. This thanks to a legendary rasta (highlight of the trip - he used Hakuna Matata in the right context and in a constructive manner), who once I was settled in took me to Fordani gardens for the most unbelivable seafood. You walk along the market stalls and select your choices for the barbeque and then they cook it and give it to you with chips, salad, chapati, chilli sauce and sugar cane juice. I had Calamari, marlin, tuna, white lobster and octopus. It was out of this world and I will definately be back there on Wednesday night for more! The open tables were packed with travellers and I met someone doing med at Cardiff who knows Carter!("He's the one who goes to the gym a lot"). I was also told the didving is better in the north and the beaches are unreal so decided to head to Nungwi first thing. After some kids stole everyone's bottles losing people about $10 in deposit fees I headed back to the hotel and became impossibly lost in the maze that is the narrow alleyways and beautiful white buildings. I caught a cab.
This mornings journey was entertaining as the local transport is all open buses and we even had a massive blow out at exactly the halfway point. Still we arrived safely.
Nungwi is a tropical paridise. The sand is amazing, the sun has been shining all day, the tide never goes out and the water is that fake turqoise colour you see in films. My main reason for comming here is the world class diving and so for the next 2 days I'm gonna be out with "Spanish Dancer". Tommorow were going to "the big wall" a place famous for sharks and turtles. I have only one fish to find however as I have been promised a definate sighting of the elusive Napoleon Wrasse! My diving early tommorow probably means I wont get to enjoy the full moon party tonight down the coast in Kendwa, but I'm sure it will be a blast anyway!
LOL
Jx
Hope all is well back home, everything is peachy her as I am currently chilling on the tropical island paridise of Zanzibar!
Continuing from where I left off, I spent Friday night larging it with a couple of Austrian aid workers at the fashionable New Cadillac in Kigali. A good time was had by all, but I don't feel I was in the best shape for the bus to the Parc National des Volcans 2 hours away. On arriving in Rhuengeri I spent a pretty standard weekend watching wall to wall premier league football(why the name change someone?) at "Soccer City". My verdict on the weekends games; Bolton were aweful, Newcastle were pretty good, Liverpool were very lucky as it was never a free kick, Man Utd should have won but midtable obscurity becons, Chelsea played well (sadly) and the mighty Arsenal should have won about 5-1.
Monday morning came all too fast and before I knew it I was at the park centre waiting for my Gorilla trek to commence. As I was roughly 15 years younger than the next youngest American/Candian/German tourist I was selected to visit the Susa family comprising 36 members which is 5 percent of the Mountain Gorilla population worldwide. The reason for my selection became rapidly apparent for 2 hours we hiked uphill through dense jungle. Through my Ethiopian escapades I had become very used to altitude and given the horrically slow pace happily plodded along with the porters as the guide became increasingly frustrated with everyone lagging behind and demanding breaks. None of this mattered once we found the trackers and after 10 seconds found ourselves surrounded by the beasts!
We had been told to keep a distance of 7 metres but none of this mattered to the gorillas who wandered about us at will, seemingly unaware of our presence except when the guide made stange throaty noises to keep them pleasant. It was an amazing hour with the group of gorillas ranging in age and size from just a few weeks to Poppy, a celebrity gorilla on account of her friendship with Diane Fossey. They just went about there daily business, chiefly eating 300 kilos of plant matter, but occasionally wrestling, chest beating or just wandering through our group of 8 tourists. The hour was quickly up, but I got some amazing pictures and it was fun just standing there while a baby attempted to eat my shoes. Totally worth the monstrous $500 price tag!
The next day saw me head back to Kigali in preparation for my early flight to Kilamanjaro International Airport Tanzania, a stupid name for the airport on account of it being nowhere near the damn mountain which appeared as a tiny far away speck out of the window just before landing. Anyhow the airport was in the middle of nowhere and since I wasn't going to pay $50 just to get into town I hitched to the end of the airport road and then caught a bus to Moshi. I stayed at the lovely Kilamanjaro backpackers, where I think I was the first person they had met who wasn't going to climb the mountain. They did do a lovely line in chocolate milkshakes and I felt quite sick before crashing out.
Another day on a bus got me to Dar-Es-Salam. It was nice to be in a big city again, but to be honest the traffic was horrendous, it was too hot and my hotel didn't have a mosquito net, bathroom or fan. From Dar it was relatively simple getting out to Zanzibar, but being excessively frugal I caught the painfully slow MV Azziza which took 5 hours to cover 70km and lost me any chance of diving today. That said I managed to find the only budget hotel in Stonetown, featuring my own balcony, fan, mosquito net and bathroom. This thanks to a legendary rasta (highlight of the trip - he used Hakuna Matata in the right context and in a constructive manner), who once I was settled in took me to Fordani gardens for the most unbelivable seafood. You walk along the market stalls and select your choices for the barbeque and then they cook it and give it to you with chips, salad, chapati, chilli sauce and sugar cane juice. I had Calamari, marlin, tuna, white lobster and octopus. It was out of this world and I will definately be back there on Wednesday night for more! The open tables were packed with travellers and I met someone doing med at Cardiff who knows Carter!("He's the one who goes to the gym a lot"). I was also told the didving is better in the north and the beaches are unreal so decided to head to Nungwi first thing. After some kids stole everyone's bottles losing people about $10 in deposit fees I headed back to the hotel and became impossibly lost in the maze that is the narrow alleyways and beautiful white buildings. I caught a cab.
This mornings journey was entertaining as the local transport is all open buses and we even had a massive blow out at exactly the halfway point. Still we arrived safely.
Nungwi is a tropical paridise. The sand is amazing, the sun has been shining all day, the tide never goes out and the water is that fake turqoise colour you see in films. My main reason for comming here is the world class diving and so for the next 2 days I'm gonna be out with "Spanish Dancer". Tommorow were going to "the big wall" a place famous for sharks and turtles. I have only one fish to find however as I have been promised a definate sighting of the elusive Napoleon Wrasse! My diving early tommorow probably means I wont get to enjoy the full moon party tonight down the coast in Kendwa, but I'm sure it will be a blast anyway!
LOL
Jx
Friday, 10 August 2007
Kigali, 10th August
Hi people,
Somehow in the madness of buses, trucks and 4x4 transportation I seem to have covered a ridiculous distance (I make it 4660 kilometers from Bahar Dar to Kigali), not really sure what happened as the last 10 days seems like a bit of a blur, but I will try and make some sense of it as I write.
Leaving Bahar Dar was a bit of a shame as once more I could have happily stayed longer but I knew the road to Nairobi was going to be long and arduous. It is in fact the longest road in Africa, stretching from Addis Ababa all the way to Johannesburg, it is also probably the worst. After a lazy night in Addis spent doing as little as possible on the veranda while wasting the last of my Ethiopian currency I once more hit the bus station at 5.30 in the morning for another day of brutal travel in a crowded bus on trash roads. It turned out to be the most comfortable journey over the next four days. Not much can be said about this journey. I slept a lot and there wasn't much to see! We stopped for a night in Dilla, where due to the mighty British pound I enjoyed an apartment complete with hot shower, European style toilet, king size bed and kitchen/living area for the princely sum of one pound seventy five! I could have cooked but some of the Ethiopian passengers also heading to Kenya took me for qat, a sheesha pipe and more injera pancakes with goat, which, as nice as they are, do not make for a balanced 3 meals a day and to be honest I never want to eat them again.
Morning came too soon once more and a 7 hour bus journey later saw me standing in line at the Ethiopian border in Moyale to get an exit stamp. For no apparent reason it took me an hour and a half to get out of Ethiopia, and 53 seconds plus $50 to get into Kenya. It is probably the World's most budget border, consisting of two concrete huts, a barrier supposedly to stop cars and a dusty road. Over on the Kenyan side I was swarmed by money changers but luckily had already obtained some Kenyan shillings in the UK so pretty much told them where to go. Thanks to Mr. Wadey's epic PSHE classes in year 10 I already knew one phrase in Kiswalli, "pombe baridi sana", or "can I have a cold beer please". Feeling a new found connection with the Kenyan shop keeper (he answered in English, disappointingly) I enquired as to the availability of a truck to Nairobi(Ideally), Isiolo(2nd choice) or Marsabit(back end of the universe). Obviously I had to go to Marsabit. Rubbish. Having agreed an extortionately high price to sit on the back of the truck, I head to my room for a chill out ahead of my big day. Suddenly in burst a drunk Kenyan, claiming to be the driver and saying he needed me to pay him. I found it hilarious and in between laughing informed him of this and told him he would get paid when I got on the truck.
The late start at 9am saw no sign of the "driver" and while a hustling of Kenyans tried to fill the truck with as much Kerosene as humanly possible I went for breakfast with a pair of Ugandan brothers heading home after a business deal. Thankfully there was no injera on the menu just milky tea, sweet chapatis and some delicious meat samosas. Eventually at around midday we left the town itself, but were soon stopped again to collect our armed escort of Kenyan soldiers to protect us from bandits. They sat on the Kerosene chain-smoking and as we passed a flipped over truck complete with dead bodies I decided I was probably going to die either shot by bandits, in a gigantic kerosene and cigarette fueled fireball or crashing off the road. I started to make a list of things I would miss. To be honest death would have been preferable to what I had to endure. It was twelve hours sitting on the metal framework of a cattle truck getting launched around by a driver who can't have been much older than me and who seemed to hit every pothole on the road. We crawled into Marsabit absolutely covered in dust and I instantly crashed out in the first hotel I saw.
I woke up the next day at around 6.45 and was disgusted to find that I had missed the first, and seemingly only truck to Isiolo. The Ugandans also missed the truck so with my new found companions I spent the day happily complaining that there was nothing to do, pleased to have people fluent in English to complain to. Eventually at around four we found another truck and set of over the Kenyan section of the Sahara Desert (don't quote me on that, I don't know if it is part of the Sahara). It was too hot and too bumpy so I eventually decided I couldn't handle the absolute battering on the roof and decided to get in the truck itself. This was possibly the worst decision I have ever made, there was dust everywhere, the vibrations seemed to go through me, I could feel my teeth chattering and I thought I was going to throw up from my insides shaking around. When we had slowed down sufficiently I scrambled back onto the roof. However I was in a far less advantageous position to where I had been before and as a result of being a lot lighter than your standard Kenyan I started flying about 2 foot off the roof every time we hit as bump. At this point the roof started to collapse, it started to get dark and the driver decided to go faster. I pretty much gave up on survival and began to hope that it would be quick, wouldn't hurt and that just in case I did survive I wouldn't be too much of a wuss before we crashed so as not to lose face with the Kenyans. I will never complain about a bus again. Also at some point on this journey someone stole; my travel speakers(Bastards), My contact lenses (Why?) and didn't touch my money.
Somehow I survived and after arriving in Isiolo at 2, I caught the first bus, on paved roads to Nairobi. Having survived everything Northern Kenya had to throw at me I was sure Nairobi would be equally as tame and to be honest I didn't really feel in danger during my two day stint in the capital. I ate fast food, stocked up on provisions and generally enjoyed the atmosphere of a big city. I can see why it has a bad reputation but to be honest if you go out at night in the wrong area in England you might get robbed and it's pretty similar in Nairobi. Having decided going on Safari would be cheaper and more enjoyable in South Africa, there was nothing really I wanted to see in Kenya so I headed onwards to Kampala, Uganda. This entailed another 10 hour bus journey, but it was over night and short of waking up to pay for my visa I slept all the way through to the Ugandan capital. I finally stayed in a hostel rather than my own lonely hotel room, and after a day spent flying around on the back of a motorbike taxi to see Kampala and checking out the market me and a German guy, Jan, headed to "Sophie's Sauna" a "health club" in the suburbs. For $5 I got unlimited entry to the sauna, steam room, hot tub, swimming pool and a massage (no extras but thanks for the offer). They also had hot showers. I used them four times.
Feeling sufficiently relaxed I got up early the next day and headed to the bus station with the idea of going to Murchison Falls national park to go chimp tracking, first though I checked on the possibility of a bus to Kigali, Rwanda. The attendant at Jaguar coaches was not exactly helpful.
"Were fully booked for a month, but if someone doesn't turn up you can have their seat. You will still have to pay of course."
Anyway suffice to say I ended up in Kigali last night and have been relearning my A-level French since. I can actually remember a surprisingly large amount! It is a lovely city, much smaller than any other African capital I have been to so far and obviously benefiting hugely from the vast international aid Rwanda has received. This morning was spent sorting myself a flight to Tanzania as although I would like to bus it, after hotels, visas, food and general money it would take about 3 days and cost about $20 less. I also visited the genocide memorial, it was an incredible experience in a sick, really sad way and the contrast between the outside of the museum set in lovely gardens and the horrific images inside was weird. It was a very moving experience and the museum itself was very well done. (Not sure if thats the right way to put it but I can't really think of another way)
On a lighter note I am off to the Parc National des Volcans this evening, for some rest and relaxation and then on Monday I am going to visit a family of some of the last remaining Mountain Gorillas! I don't think I have ever been as excited as this and feel incredibly lucky to have got the 72nd out of 72 permits for Monday. It should be epic.
LOL
Jx
Somehow in the madness of buses, trucks and 4x4 transportation I seem to have covered a ridiculous distance (I make it 4660 kilometers from Bahar Dar to Kigali), not really sure what happened as the last 10 days seems like a bit of a blur, but I will try and make some sense of it as I write.
Leaving Bahar Dar was a bit of a shame as once more I could have happily stayed longer but I knew the road to Nairobi was going to be long and arduous. It is in fact the longest road in Africa, stretching from Addis Ababa all the way to Johannesburg, it is also probably the worst. After a lazy night in Addis spent doing as little as possible on the veranda while wasting the last of my Ethiopian currency I once more hit the bus station at 5.30 in the morning for another day of brutal travel in a crowded bus on trash roads. It turned out to be the most comfortable journey over the next four days. Not much can be said about this journey. I slept a lot and there wasn't much to see! We stopped for a night in Dilla, where due to the mighty British pound I enjoyed an apartment complete with hot shower, European style toilet, king size bed and kitchen/living area for the princely sum of one pound seventy five! I could have cooked but some of the Ethiopian passengers also heading to Kenya took me for qat, a sheesha pipe and more injera pancakes with goat, which, as nice as they are, do not make for a balanced 3 meals a day and to be honest I never want to eat them again.
Morning came too soon once more and a 7 hour bus journey later saw me standing in line at the Ethiopian border in Moyale to get an exit stamp. For no apparent reason it took me an hour and a half to get out of Ethiopia, and 53 seconds plus $50 to get into Kenya. It is probably the World's most budget border, consisting of two concrete huts, a barrier supposedly to stop cars and a dusty road. Over on the Kenyan side I was swarmed by money changers but luckily had already obtained some Kenyan shillings in the UK so pretty much told them where to go. Thanks to Mr. Wadey's epic PSHE classes in year 10 I already knew one phrase in Kiswalli, "pombe baridi sana", or "can I have a cold beer please". Feeling a new found connection with the Kenyan shop keeper (he answered in English, disappointingly) I enquired as to the availability of a truck to Nairobi(Ideally), Isiolo(2nd choice) or Marsabit(back end of the universe). Obviously I had to go to Marsabit. Rubbish. Having agreed an extortionately high price to sit on the back of the truck, I head to my room for a chill out ahead of my big day. Suddenly in burst a drunk Kenyan, claiming to be the driver and saying he needed me to pay him. I found it hilarious and in between laughing informed him of this and told him he would get paid when I got on the truck.
The late start at 9am saw no sign of the "driver" and while a hustling of Kenyans tried to fill the truck with as much Kerosene as humanly possible I went for breakfast with a pair of Ugandan brothers heading home after a business deal. Thankfully there was no injera on the menu just milky tea, sweet chapatis and some delicious meat samosas. Eventually at around midday we left the town itself, but were soon stopped again to collect our armed escort of Kenyan soldiers to protect us from bandits. They sat on the Kerosene chain-smoking and as we passed a flipped over truck complete with dead bodies I decided I was probably going to die either shot by bandits, in a gigantic kerosene and cigarette fueled fireball or crashing off the road. I started to make a list of things I would miss. To be honest death would have been preferable to what I had to endure. It was twelve hours sitting on the metal framework of a cattle truck getting launched around by a driver who can't have been much older than me and who seemed to hit every pothole on the road. We crawled into Marsabit absolutely covered in dust and I instantly crashed out in the first hotel I saw.
I woke up the next day at around 6.45 and was disgusted to find that I had missed the first, and seemingly only truck to Isiolo. The Ugandans also missed the truck so with my new found companions I spent the day happily complaining that there was nothing to do, pleased to have people fluent in English to complain to. Eventually at around four we found another truck and set of over the Kenyan section of the Sahara Desert (don't quote me on that, I don't know if it is part of the Sahara). It was too hot and too bumpy so I eventually decided I couldn't handle the absolute battering on the roof and decided to get in the truck itself. This was possibly the worst decision I have ever made, there was dust everywhere, the vibrations seemed to go through me, I could feel my teeth chattering and I thought I was going to throw up from my insides shaking around. When we had slowed down sufficiently I scrambled back onto the roof. However I was in a far less advantageous position to where I had been before and as a result of being a lot lighter than your standard Kenyan I started flying about 2 foot off the roof every time we hit as bump. At this point the roof started to collapse, it started to get dark and the driver decided to go faster. I pretty much gave up on survival and began to hope that it would be quick, wouldn't hurt and that just in case I did survive I wouldn't be too much of a wuss before we crashed so as not to lose face with the Kenyans. I will never complain about a bus again. Also at some point on this journey someone stole; my travel speakers(Bastards), My contact lenses (Why?) and didn't touch my money.
Somehow I survived and after arriving in Isiolo at 2, I caught the first bus, on paved roads to Nairobi. Having survived everything Northern Kenya had to throw at me I was sure Nairobi would be equally as tame and to be honest I didn't really feel in danger during my two day stint in the capital. I ate fast food, stocked up on provisions and generally enjoyed the atmosphere of a big city. I can see why it has a bad reputation but to be honest if you go out at night in the wrong area in England you might get robbed and it's pretty similar in Nairobi. Having decided going on Safari would be cheaper and more enjoyable in South Africa, there was nothing really I wanted to see in Kenya so I headed onwards to Kampala, Uganda. This entailed another 10 hour bus journey, but it was over night and short of waking up to pay for my visa I slept all the way through to the Ugandan capital. I finally stayed in a hostel rather than my own lonely hotel room, and after a day spent flying around on the back of a motorbike taxi to see Kampala and checking out the market me and a German guy, Jan, headed to "Sophie's Sauna" a "health club" in the suburbs. For $5 I got unlimited entry to the sauna, steam room, hot tub, swimming pool and a massage (no extras but thanks for the offer). They also had hot showers. I used them four times.
Feeling sufficiently relaxed I got up early the next day and headed to the bus station with the idea of going to Murchison Falls national park to go chimp tracking, first though I checked on the possibility of a bus to Kigali, Rwanda. The attendant at Jaguar coaches was not exactly helpful.
"Were fully booked for a month, but if someone doesn't turn up you can have their seat. You will still have to pay of course."
Anyway suffice to say I ended up in Kigali last night and have been relearning my A-level French since. I can actually remember a surprisingly large amount! It is a lovely city, much smaller than any other African capital I have been to so far and obviously benefiting hugely from the vast international aid Rwanda has received. This morning was spent sorting myself a flight to Tanzania as although I would like to bus it, after hotels, visas, food and general money it would take about 3 days and cost about $20 less. I also visited the genocide memorial, it was an incredible experience in a sick, really sad way and the contrast between the outside of the museum set in lovely gardens and the horrific images inside was weird. It was a very moving experience and the museum itself was very well done. (Not sure if thats the right way to put it but I can't really think of another way)
On a lighter note I am off to the Parc National des Volcans this evening, for some rest and relaxation and then on Monday I am going to visit a family of some of the last remaining Mountain Gorillas! I don't think I have ever been as excited as this and feel incredibly lucky to have got the 72nd out of 72 permits for Monday. It should be epic.
LOL
Jx
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
Bahar Dar, August 1st
Hello,
I figured that having been here for a week some kind of blog was in order although the internet here is dodgy as hell!
I arrived in Addis Ababa feeling very refreshed following my, now standard, business class upgrade courtesy of Emirates. It was lovely. The capital of Ethiopia is not. My first impression was of a busy, polluted and muddy sprawl of a city high up in the mountains. A disgracefully expensive taxi journey later and I was dropped at Hotel Baro, which I had chosen purely on the basis of it being the top choice in the Lonely Planet. The hotel was actually pretty nice for $8 dollars a night, even if it is situated in one of the worst areas of the city with street children begging at every turn. I spent the first night chilling on the balcony drinking tea and chatting with some Germans who where halfway on a trip driving from Munich to Cape town, nutters!
The next day I took a stroll around Addis to get some money from the 5 star Shearaton Hotel, probably shouldn't have walked as a) it was miles away and the altitude was brutal and b) for some reason they stuck a 5 star hotel in the middle of a slum. The walk did give me a chance to check out the people of Ethiopia and whilst they are generally friendly, it does get frustrating that everyone wants something from you and there seems to be little drive to find a job. Still with money in my pockets I headed to the Merkato one of the continents biggest markets looking for a watch. As I entered the Merkato the call to prayer was echoing from the large mosque next to the entrance and it was a strange experience walking down the street with everyone facing towards me using grain bags as makeshift prayer mats. The market itself was huge and confusing little structure seemed to exist and I found myself lost on more then one occasion in amongst a maze of stalls selling everything from spices to replica football shirts. Eventually I found a cheap watch and some other touristy crap that is simply going to clog my bags over the course of the next three months.
Returning to the hotel in a huge thunderstorm, I sorted my bus ticket for the next day and then crashed out knackered from walking for most of the day. This was not before a quick un-pack and re-pack, which uncovered some disturbing truths about my priorities when packing with a hangover. 5 pairs of shorts probably will come in useful over the trip however I think that 4 T-shirts may have been an oversight on my part.
4.45am is not my idea of an appropriate time to wake up, but with every bus leaving the Merkato bus station at 6 I had little choice. Incindentally all leaving at the same time is ridiculous as it just causes a massive jam, but who am I to criticise. I made the bus on time and settled into my seat ready for a two day epic journey to the rock churches of Lalibella in the North of Ethiopia. The first day was hell, Ethiopian roads generally consist of clay with rocks on top, not small stones but big rocks that cause the bus to launch around every five seconds and the child in front to throw up, but no you can't open the window because evil spirits may come in. This said the scenery was spectacular as we rolled up and down mountains above the clouds and then down into the rift valley, passing through villages featuring mud or straw huts. There where also a lot of goats. I know this because the somewhat over-stimulated man next to me took it as a personal crusade to point every single one out to me!
He spoke a little English and when we stopped after 6 hours for a lunch break took me for my first taste of Ethiopian food. The main meal people seem to eat here is a huge flat yeasty pancake with goat stew and vegetables all eaten by hand. It was really tasty and extremely social as in general 3 or 4 people will share one pancake. Back on the bus the road just seemed to get worse, sleep became an impossible mission and worst of all my ipod ran out of battery. Eventually we arrived in the town of Dessie our stopover point for the night and my new companion found us a $2 hotel. At 5.30 the next day and I was back on the bus still in pain from the day before but hopeful that we might make the city by nightfall. Eventually we did but not before I had experienced the African view of personal space, apparently it is acceptable for the guy next to you to put both arms around your one free arm and use it as a pillow.
Lalibella was beautiful, perched on the mountainside and totally rural, hence the shocking state of the roads. I rapidly picked up a following of English speaking teenagers who offered to find me a hotel. Accepting the offer because I was tired and had no interest hiking around a mountain looking for a bed I found an average hotel and one of the boys, Abi, took me to a tej bet for some honey wine that Lalibellans produce, it was delicious. The next morning he banged on my door at 5.30 and we hit the 11 rock churches that Lalibella is famous for in time to see mass. The churches were really amazing having been carved out of the bedrock itself and since it had finally stopped raining the view over the mountains was awesome. The box ticking exercise complete, I went to a cafe with the boys and taught them how to play Pro Evo for a couple of hours. They have a lot to learn, but are very enthusiastic and I am certain learnt a lot from me. I probably would have been happy staying and messing around the mountains for a while but with Cape Town looming large I decided to move on and the boys found a truck that would take me to Gashena, a town two hours away on the road to Bahar Dar, Ethiopia's second city. There was nothing there! Roughly 20 houses either side of the road and that was it. The hotel was only $2 so I was happy enough to stay and read on the veranda as yet another thunderstorm launched around me. A group of locals came up and invited me to join them for food and qat a mildly narcotic leaf that if you can get over how stupid you feel eating a bush does seem to make you more focused and everything a little more intense. The evening was enjoyable with beer, pancakes and qat flying around and a useful opportunity for me to work on my Ahmaric vocabulary which now consists of about 20 words or phrases.
The next day meant more buses and when we eventually crawled into Bahar Dar after nightfall, 14 hours after leaving Gashena, I felt tired, bruised and smelly, having not had a shower since Addis. A hotel was found for me and I crashed out. So far Bahar Dar has been a success as all I have done is go to the lake and sit around eating, reading or watching the Pelicans. The sun is at last shining for about the first time since I have entered Ethiopia and the journey to Addis Ababa tommorrow should only take about 7 hours and will be in a 4 wheel drive not a bus! However my half day in Addis is tempered by the knowledge that from there it is a 3 day odyssey to Nairobi, Kenya.
LOL
James
I figured that having been here for a week some kind of blog was in order although the internet here is dodgy as hell!
I arrived in Addis Ababa feeling very refreshed following my, now standard, business class upgrade courtesy of Emirates. It was lovely. The capital of Ethiopia is not. My first impression was of a busy, polluted and muddy sprawl of a city high up in the mountains. A disgracefully expensive taxi journey later and I was dropped at Hotel Baro, which I had chosen purely on the basis of it being the top choice in the Lonely Planet. The hotel was actually pretty nice for $8 dollars a night, even if it is situated in one of the worst areas of the city with street children begging at every turn. I spent the first night chilling on the balcony drinking tea and chatting with some Germans who where halfway on a trip driving from Munich to Cape town, nutters!
The next day I took a stroll around Addis to get some money from the 5 star Shearaton Hotel, probably shouldn't have walked as a) it was miles away and the altitude was brutal and b) for some reason they stuck a 5 star hotel in the middle of a slum. The walk did give me a chance to check out the people of Ethiopia and whilst they are generally friendly, it does get frustrating that everyone wants something from you and there seems to be little drive to find a job. Still with money in my pockets I headed to the Merkato one of the continents biggest markets looking for a watch. As I entered the Merkato the call to prayer was echoing from the large mosque next to the entrance and it was a strange experience walking down the street with everyone facing towards me using grain bags as makeshift prayer mats. The market itself was huge and confusing little structure seemed to exist and I found myself lost on more then one occasion in amongst a maze of stalls selling everything from spices to replica football shirts. Eventually I found a cheap watch and some other touristy crap that is simply going to clog my bags over the course of the next three months.
Returning to the hotel in a huge thunderstorm, I sorted my bus ticket for the next day and then crashed out knackered from walking for most of the day. This was not before a quick un-pack and re-pack, which uncovered some disturbing truths about my priorities when packing with a hangover. 5 pairs of shorts probably will come in useful over the trip however I think that 4 T-shirts may have been an oversight on my part.
4.45am is not my idea of an appropriate time to wake up, but with every bus leaving the Merkato bus station at 6 I had little choice. Incindentally all leaving at the same time is ridiculous as it just causes a massive jam, but who am I to criticise. I made the bus on time and settled into my seat ready for a two day epic journey to the rock churches of Lalibella in the North of Ethiopia. The first day was hell, Ethiopian roads generally consist of clay with rocks on top, not small stones but big rocks that cause the bus to launch around every five seconds and the child in front to throw up, but no you can't open the window because evil spirits may come in. This said the scenery was spectacular as we rolled up and down mountains above the clouds and then down into the rift valley, passing through villages featuring mud or straw huts. There where also a lot of goats. I know this because the somewhat over-stimulated man next to me took it as a personal crusade to point every single one out to me!
He spoke a little English and when we stopped after 6 hours for a lunch break took me for my first taste of Ethiopian food. The main meal people seem to eat here is a huge flat yeasty pancake with goat stew and vegetables all eaten by hand. It was really tasty and extremely social as in general 3 or 4 people will share one pancake. Back on the bus the road just seemed to get worse, sleep became an impossible mission and worst of all my ipod ran out of battery. Eventually we arrived in the town of Dessie our stopover point for the night and my new companion found us a $2 hotel. At 5.30 the next day and I was back on the bus still in pain from the day before but hopeful that we might make the city by nightfall. Eventually we did but not before I had experienced the African view of personal space, apparently it is acceptable for the guy next to you to put both arms around your one free arm and use it as a pillow.
Lalibella was beautiful, perched on the mountainside and totally rural, hence the shocking state of the roads. I rapidly picked up a following of English speaking teenagers who offered to find me a hotel. Accepting the offer because I was tired and had no interest hiking around a mountain looking for a bed I found an average hotel and one of the boys, Abi, took me to a tej bet for some honey wine that Lalibellans produce, it was delicious. The next morning he banged on my door at 5.30 and we hit the 11 rock churches that Lalibella is famous for in time to see mass. The churches were really amazing having been carved out of the bedrock itself and since it had finally stopped raining the view over the mountains was awesome. The box ticking exercise complete, I went to a cafe with the boys and taught them how to play Pro Evo for a couple of hours. They have a lot to learn, but are very enthusiastic and I am certain learnt a lot from me. I probably would have been happy staying and messing around the mountains for a while but with Cape Town looming large I decided to move on and the boys found a truck that would take me to Gashena, a town two hours away on the road to Bahar Dar, Ethiopia's second city. There was nothing there! Roughly 20 houses either side of the road and that was it. The hotel was only $2 so I was happy enough to stay and read on the veranda as yet another thunderstorm launched around me. A group of locals came up and invited me to join them for food and qat a mildly narcotic leaf that if you can get over how stupid you feel eating a bush does seem to make you more focused and everything a little more intense. The evening was enjoyable with beer, pancakes and qat flying around and a useful opportunity for me to work on my Ahmaric vocabulary which now consists of about 20 words or phrases.
The next day meant more buses and when we eventually crawled into Bahar Dar after nightfall, 14 hours after leaving Gashena, I felt tired, bruised and smelly, having not had a shower since Addis. A hotel was found for me and I crashed out. So far Bahar Dar has been a success as all I have done is go to the lake and sit around eating, reading or watching the Pelicans. The sun is at last shining for about the first time since I have entered Ethiopia and the journey to Addis Ababa tommorrow should only take about 7 hours and will be in a 4 wheel drive not a bus! However my half day in Addis is tempered by the knowledge that from there it is a 3 day odyssey to Nairobi, Kenya.
LOL
James
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