tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21957387981841636982024-02-06T21:11:52.011-08:00Cath's Grand Year OutUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-46171791401916771952012-05-21T01:32:00.003-07:002012-05-21T01:32:43.418-07:00This is my lifeWhen you travel for an extended period of time, you do a surprising amount of mundane things. When spending hours and hours on uncomfortable journeys or wondering when there will be a clean room with hot water again, you can forget why this travelling lark was such a great idea. But then suddenly you realise that you are having one of those "Wow, this is my life and I'm living it!" moments. Some are high-adrenalin but others are more contemplative. As a conclusion to my trip, here are some of the selected highlights of when I sat back, grinned and thought... "Yes, this is why I'm here".<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Arriving into Istanbul by train, the Bosphorus glistening in the early morning sunshine.</li>
<li>Exploring <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/around-and-about-aleppo.html">Syrrhus archeological site</a> in northern Syria - just me, John, our driver and a French archaeologist</li>
<li>The locals' <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/hammaming-with-locals.html">hamam</a> in Damascus - the building was 800 years old and no English was spoken</li>
<li>Enjoying the silence and solitude of the hiking trails of the <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/dana-nature-reserve.html">Dana National Reserve</a> in Jordan</li>
<li>Spending an hour with the <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/mzungu-in-mist.html">Sabyinyo gorilla family</a> in Rwanda</li>
<li><a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/endless-plains.html">Serengeti Balloon ride</a>, lying waiting for the balloon to tip upright and take off</li>
<li>Driving through the early evening sunshine in the Serengeti, head out of the top of the jeep scanning the "<a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/endless-plains.html">endless plains</a>"</li>
<li>Helicopter ride (front seat) over Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe</li>
<li>Okavango Delta, Botswana - being poled through the reeds on a hot day</li>
<li>Listening to the lions roaring at night at the campsite waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia</li>
<li>Standing at the Cape of Good Hope - the south-western most point of Africa and a long way from London</li>
<li>Eating fresh fish and drinking cold beer all afternoon at the fish market in Maputo, Mozambique</li>
<li>Attempting, and failing, to cross the Lowari pass (northern Pakistan) by jeep in the dark, due to landslides.</li>
<li>Stepping off the side of the hill at Sarangkot to (tandem!)<a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/hindu-kush-adventure.html"> paraglide</a> above Pokhara, Nepal</li>
<li>Enjoying the majesty of the Himalayas, in particular the <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/annapurna-panorama.html">Annapurna</a> mountain range from the viewpoint just below Poon Hill</li>
<li>Lying in the meditation room at <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/you-are-what-you-eat-you-are-what-you.html">Sadhana Yoga</a>, watching the paragliders against the deep blue sky</li>
<li>Gazing at Mount Everest on the overland journey (Friendship Highway) from <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/seven-days-in-tibet.html">Kathmandu to Lhasa</a></li>
<li>Idling away my time on <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/art-of-idleness.html">Koh Rong</a> island off the Cambodian coast. Swim, eat, read, snooze, swim, read, eat, take a stroll, swim, beer, eat, play cards, sleep...</li>
<li>The wind in my hair on the back of an Easy Rider motorbike for five days from Dalat to Danang, Vietnam</li>
<li>Crossing the <a href="http://cathsgrandyearout.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/131-up-mandalay-to-hsipaw.html">Gokteik Viaduct</a> in northern Burma; standing at the open door at the end of the carriage</li>
<li>Watching the sunset from the top of the ferry while travelling down the Irrawaddy River from Katha to Mandalay</li>
<li>Pathein to Chaung Tha in Burma - sitting in the front seat of the bus watching chickens being thrown up to an empty wicker basket</li>
<li>Watching the leopardess teach her cubs to hunt a wild boar in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka</li>
<li>Enjoying the view from Ella's Rock over the tea plantations in Ella, Sri Lanka after the long tough climb.</li>
<li>Watching the fishermen haul in their catch on Uppuveli Beach (near Trincomalee, Sri Lanka), with a cold beer in hand</li>
</ul>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-48700039363962802932012-02-15T06:12:00.000-08:002012-02-15T06:12:14.274-08:00Idling Irrawaddy Days“Arrive
Wednesday 5pm” was as much English as the man at the ferry ticket office was
willing to offer. For $7 this seemed
like a bargain. Laden with our new
blankets and plastic floor mats (local bamboo appears to have gone out of
fashion and has been replaced by Thai imports), we boarded our ferry for the
three day/two night “cruise” from Katha to Mandalay. The first task at hand was to secure our spot
on deck. At first, the crew wanted to
ignore our deck tickets and install us in a cabin but we insisted and were led
up to the main deck. The whole purpose
of the trip was to live amongst the locals and watch the world go by on the
banks of the Irrawaddy. We hadn’t
realised though, that as far as the locals were concerned, we were the
entertainment…<br />
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These
government ferries run several times a week.
An “express” had left that morning which would only take two days and
one night but we were on the slow boat. They
carry passengers and a lot of produce along the Irrawaddy, on a route which is
ill-served by buses or other forms of transport. The ferry had spent all afternoon in port
loading goods onto the lower deck. One
of the crew led us to the corner of the main deck and offered us a raised
wooden frame. With its excellent vantage
point, we snapped it up and settled into our new home. A lady soon came to see us and, with her
small amount of English, informed us that she ran the kitchen selling rice and
noodle dishes. Perfect!</div>
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We had hoped
to be the only foreigners on board but in the end were joined by two Germans,
an Austrian and an Australian. They were
instructed to take up position on the floor near us. It makes the staring game a lot easier if all
the foreigners sit together… As they
were far less prepared than us, the captain’s wife went off and found some old
mats for them to use.</div>
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We departed
from Katha just after 5pm, in time to enjoy our first sunset on board. We didn’t go far before we stopped to collect
more people and goods and this carried on until the early hours, finally
anchoring around 1am. After a hearty
meal of vegetable fried rice, we curled up in our sleep sheets and
blankets. We enjoyed some interaction
with the locals, discussing where we were all going to and coming from, taking
their photos and the local face paint “tanakha” was brought out for Lynn to
try. Our neighbours were two lovely
giggling ladies and two very fashionable boys in their early twenties. The boys would have fitted right in in Soho
or the East Village: white jeans, blue jeans, skinny shorts with tartan rim, a
selection of belts, ripped t-shirts, winklepicker boots... and the occasional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyi" target="_blank">longyi</a>.
For the rest of the trip, they changed outfits at least five times a
day. </div>
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The thick
blankets performed admirably in the cold of the night, so much so that we
missed the loading of three large wooden benches and the arrival of a lot more
people onto the main deck. It didn’t
take long in the morning for the locals to realise that these lovely wooden
benches were a perfect viewing position in the “stare and laugh at the
foreigners” game. As everything we did
caused great amusement, it seemed only right to provide as much entertainment
as possible. Rather than going and
sitting in the kitchen area, I brought our breakfast of rice with nuts and tea
leaf salad back to the bed along with a flask of tea. Stepping up onto our bed and over the flask
caused the audience to collapse in hysterics.</div>
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Although
very misty, we set sail around 8.30am but by 10am we had stopped again. We were beginning to fully understand why
this was referred to as the slow boat.
To enjoy this journey, you really must be able to switch off from any
sense of time and sit back and absorb the sights around you. A few good books help too… </div>
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In the end
the loading at this stop took four hours and the porters’ work was
back-breaking. A group of very lean men
set about loading ~50 oil drums onto the bottom deck. Each one required the guidance of two men
down a wooden plank. The oil drum was
definitely in charge, the men there to do their best to guide the drum onto the
ferry. A huge thud was heard each time a
drum landed on board. A bamboo pole was
then inserted into the two handles on top of the drum, placed onto the
shoulders of two men and lifted into its storage position. Hundreds of big bags of rice followed along
with other sundries – bananas, wooden planks.
The sand on the bank deteriorated with each load and remedial work had
to be continually carried out to prevent a landslide. Fascinating viewing.</div>
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Late
afternoon we stopped at a busy small town<b> </b>where some of our new friends left us<b>.</b> As we pulled in alongside
a very similar ferry, we spotted two fellow travellers, Kristiaan and Klaus,
who we had met in Katha. They had been
due to remain in Katha for another couple of days but it turned out that an
“express” had left that morning and they had both decided to jump on board. We were a little amused that they had left
only that morning and had still reached this town ahead of us. We only unloaded a small amount of produce at
this stop and were soon on our way again.
After a beautiful sunset and another vegetable fried rice for dinner (we
had mimed for plain rice and vegetables…oh well), we were ready for bed at
6.05pm. The boat continued to stop and
load more produce and people until midnight.
Sometimes we would simply anchor in the middle of the river and a small
boat would pull up alongside and pass over their produce.</div>
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The 2<sup>nd</sup>
night was much warmer than the first and we woke to a beautiful sunny
morning. The boat set off by 8am and we
seemed to be making excellent progress.
This progress was suddenly halted mid morning when we had to stop and
provide assistance to the “express” boat which had become stuck on a sandbank
in the middle of the river. The captains
spoke for a couple of hours by radio and in the end we moved slowly around
them, seemingly creating sufficient agitation in the water and sand to free
them. I will admit that it was a little
upsetting to see them steam past us about an hour later<span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>. Kristiaan and Klaus waved.</div>
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We had been
due to arrive into port in Mandalay that afternoon at around 5pm but it became
clear as the afternoon progressed, and we continued to stop at every small
village, that another night on board was likely. Our friends (the fashion victims) told us
that we would likely arrive into Mandalay at around 9am the next morning. A brief “but I really need a shower*,
preferably hot” moment was solved by watching sunset from the top of the boat. Those foreigners without cosy blankets looked
like they might cry whilst we smugly considered the extra cost benefit from
another night of usage.</div>
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We were much
reduced in passenger numbers by now as we had been unloading people all
afternoon, often just onto a random section of isolated beach. Come nightfall, the wooden benches reached their
destination and our audience had to find new positions for monitoring our funny
foreign habits. There was quite a party
atmosphere as everyone on our side of the boat had been together for
several days. A much quieter night
ensued though as we were no longer loading people or goods.</div>
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Of course we
didn’t arrive into Mandalay at 9am but at 1pm!
We donated our blankets and mats to those who looked like they needed
them more than us and enjoyed one last meal from the kitchen. With so much more room on deck, we played
with the cook’s young children and some of the shyer teenagers suddenly
discovered a love of posing for the camera.
After four days, it felt sad to disembark. If you would like time to stand still for a
short time, there is little better to recommend than the slow boat from Katha
to Mandalay. It is helpful in Burma to
remember that for much of the country (unlike the developed cities of Rangoon
and Mandalay), small scale agriculture is the way of life. All you see along the banks of the river are
farms and pagodas. Boats of all shapes
and sizes chug up and down the river, creating connections.</div>
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We decided
to walk the hour into town to re-introduce a sense of exercise into our lives,
slightly annoying the trishaw drivers at the port. About halfway into town, a trishaw driver
approached me to see if we needed a ride.
“No thank you,” I said, “we’re walking”.
“Have you just come off the Katha boat?” he asked, before cycling off
laughing. When we later bumped into
Kristiaan for a beer, we were happy to discover that the “express” ferry had in
fact only reach Mandalay one hour before we did! Not so fast after all; exactly as it should
be.</div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151266077810437.807247.705585436&type=1&l=084a64538e" target="_blank">Irrawaddy photos</a></div>
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* I would
like to note that whilst the foreigners may not have showered for four days,
all the locals took a wash each day in the river using their longyi for
discretion.</div>
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Irrawaddy / Ayeyarwaddy = same same</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-58011552041734318482012-02-15T06:11:00.000-08:002012-02-15T06:11:20.364-08:00An accidental day trip to Kachin State<br />
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“It’ll be here in an hour
– this is Myanmar!” the nice man had exclaimed when I wondered when our train
might arrive. I laughed, “It’s really
not so different in England!” We boarded
the 4.30pm train from Mandalay to Katha just over an hour late. Upper Class was not quite so “upper” on this
train, which was a shame as the journey to Naba (for Katha) was overnight. Nevertheless, in preparation for our ferry
journey back to Mandalay, we had new blankets so warmth would not be an
issue. Despite the lack of reclining
seats, we consoled ourselves by ordering from the menu: our dinner would be
delivered directly to us in our seats (playing safe with vegetable fried rice). We could even buy beer.</div>
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The experience was quite
different to the ‘Mandalay – Hsipaw’ line.
The carriage was full of vendors moving up and down filling the air with
the call for their wares, nuns were collecting alms and we no longer had an
attentive conductor keen to ensure our comfort.
The train progressed very bumpily through the pitch black night – only an
occasional farmer’s roaring fire was visible.
The uncomfortable nature of the seating meant that the night passed very
slowly. Finally sitting up at 6.50am
(just before our scheduled arrival time), I figured we had at least another
hour to go (due to the late departure) but maybe longer as the train had
stopped for long periods in the night.
When I enquired of some of our fellow passengers, they said “Naba? About another three hours”.</div>
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This train journey was
supposed to be uneventful and simply the easiest way to travel to Katha. Unlike the Hsipaw train, we would be
travelling mainly in the dark. However,
an unheard of event (Myanmar Railways making up time) changed the course of our
day. It turned out that we had arrived
at and left Naba earlier than planned.
The conductor had not thought to point this out (perhaps because, the
night before, we had seen no reason why he should move us to inferior seats so
that a man in black velvet flipflops could have ours). I perhaps should have guessed some time later
when one of the vendors on the train insisted on giving me a “Kachin State”
breakfast – coconut rice steamed in a bamboo pole (yummie!). After 60 years of conflict, the Kachin State
army had signed a ceasefire with the Burmese government earlier in the week –
we were not supposed to be in Kachin State*…</div>
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Weary with so little
sleep, we ordered breakfast and went back to our books, very keen for the train
journey to be over. Finally, 3 ½ hours
later, we were told that we had arrived at Naba and we should disembark. Climbing down onto the platform, something
seemed not quite right. For a start, the
station sign read “Namma”. A keen
motorbike driver wanted to take us somewhere for 1000 kyat but there were blank
faces when we mentioned ‘bus’ & ‘Katha’.
No-one spoke much English but everyone wanted to help! A lot of life takes place at railway stations
and there were plenty of people milling around, not seemingly intending to travel
anywhere. We had just livened up their
Sunday.</div>
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Our train now long
departed, it was eventually understood that we wanted Naba, not Namma, and everyone
pointed back in the direction from where we had come. We were escorted to station master’s office,
sat down in the VIP waiting area, and the situation explained. The station master (who had a good smattering
of English) scratched his head and went into his office to start making
calls. The local military guard (in a
hoodie) looked at us in a bemused way. It
was beginning to dawn on us that we were over 3 hours into Kachin State, possibly
four hours beyond our original destination.</div>
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Our original platform
helpers hung around to stare and smile at the funny white people. Suddenly, plates were brought in and a
variety of nuts and sunflower seeds laid out for us! The high school English teacher was summoned
to the station to act as translator. He
said not to worry; the station master would sort everything out for us. To be honest, we weren’t worried at all, we
thought the whole thing really rather amusing.
I could see the anecdote unfolding before my eyes. In the meantime, some cakes arrived for our
pleasure.</div>
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Fortunately, one daytime
stopping train goes back down from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myitkyina" target="_blank">Myitkyina</a> to Mandalay each day and it was due
in 1 ½ hours. There was an earlier
express train that came through but they didn’t stop that for us <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> I did wonder at one point! The school teacher was very kind but did keep
telling us that it was not safe for us to be there. We were to remain in the VIP waiting area
until the train arrived. Word of our
presence went round the village and one by one, the villages came to stare and
giggle at us from the door. As the
school teacher told us, “You are very strange looking to them. We never see foreigners here.”</div>
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Not unpredictably in
Burma, our passports** were requested, but amusingly all they wrote down was:
Rooney/Liverpool, Shaffer/Texas. This
led to the obligatory football conversation.
The military man then gave the school teacher questions to ask us to
ascertain why we were here and did our “got off the train at the wrong stop”
story add up. Journalists and NGO
workers are not well loved by the Burmese authorities. I saw the school teacher write two questions down
in the exercise book he was given. He
looked uncomfortable so I steered the conversation to answer the questions –
“What was our purpose in Burma?”, “Where are their cases?” Efficiently, we had left our main rucksacks
in Mandalay as they would be superfluous on the ferry. As such, we were only carrying a small day
pack each and two very large blanket bags!</div>
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We pulled out our itinerary
(scribbled on a sheet of paper) and Burma guide book. The station master took the guide book away and
took a long look through – we were never sure if this was simple curiosity or if
he was looking for something more sinister?!
Our military friend watched over his shoulder. We discussed our route around Burma and in
the end this all seemed enough to convince them that we were simply travellers
trying to get to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katha,_Burma" target="_blank">Katha</a>.</div>
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Afterwards, the military
guard gave the school teacher permission to take us outside the train station
into the village’s main square. Hearing
of our plight, one of the food vendors had decided that she would like to meet
us and present us with some complimentary special Kachin State food: she cooked
us up some banana fritters and fried dough rings with a molasses sauce on the
side. We took them back to the waiting
room to enjoy on the train (due any minute now).</div>
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The lovely school teacher
remained with us, occasionally shaking his head and telling us that it was not
safe for us to travel in this region. I
asked if he was able to travel around the area (his home town was 10 miles
away) but in the presence of the military guard, I had obviously asked the
wrong question. He lowered his eyes and
we quickly changed the subject. An hour
late, the “down” train arrived. Shortly
before it arrived, our military man disappeared, changed out of his hoodie and
reappeared on the platform in his full uniform carrying a large gun. Along with four more junior soldiers, they
stood on each side of the track awaiting the train. We wondered if this happened for all trains
but realised that we hadn’t seen this when our original train had arrived.</div>
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As the train pulled in, we
were requested to remain in the VIP seating area whilst the station master went
off to view our seats and speak to the conductor (we were not charged a new
fare). We were happy to travel back in
standard class (hard upright wooden seats) but the station master deemed this
unsuitable for foreigners and secured the last two Upper Class seats for us (nice
reclining airline seats again). As we
were escorted onto the train, a prisoner was escorted off the train by the five armed military guards.</div>
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There was no way we would
be allowed to miss our station again and so four hours later when we arrived
back into Naba, the friendly conductor came to make sure that we did indeed
disembark. He enjoyed telling the story
to a few of the local passengers and they all laughed heartily at our
expense. We smiled and shrugged our
shoulders as we waved goodbye. Once off
the train at the right stop, travelling to Katha is really easy peasy. A bus awaits each train and for a few pence,
it transports you the 16 miles to Katha in a just under an hour! We
arrived in the dark and once we had picked from the two guesthouses in Katha which
accept foreigners, there was nothing to do but enjoy beer and noodles from the
night market. All the locals were very
excited about the big game on TV that evening (Arsenal vs Man Utd) but we
simply needed a very good night’s sleep.</div>
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Katha itself is a very
sleepy place. It has no internet
connection and sees maybe 20-30 tourists each week in the high season. Life revolves around the markets and the
arrivals and departures of the government ferries which come and go various
times each week. To foreigners, it is most
famous as being the place where George Orwell was stationed with the British
army and on which he based his book ‘<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_Days" target="_blank">Burmese Days</a>’. The following morning, we wandered around and
checked out old the British Officer’s Club, the Tennis Club next door and what
we think was Joss’ house.</div>
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After this quick tour, we
purchased floor mats for the ferry as we had heard that it gets very cold
sleeping on the deck. Added to the
lovely big blankets we had bought in Mandalay, we predicted that we would be
toasty! Shopping completed, we retired
to a riverside beer station to while away the time until the ferry’s departure
at 5pm. We had an excellent vantage
point for watching the locals come to bathe in their longyis in the river and
the water taxis load and unload continual streams of passengers and motorbikes.</div>
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Finally the loading of
our ferry was complete, we were nicely relaxed and it was time to drift off
down river.</div>
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* Tourists are allowed to
travel by train into the Kachin State, but only to disembark at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myitkyina" target="_blank">Myitkyina</a> (approx another six hours from Namma). Once you arrive in Myitkina, you are
forbidden to travel on anywhere else and buses will not let you board. The only way back out is the long train journey back
to Katha/Mandalay!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
** In Burma, each
foreigner has to be registered each evening at the local immigration
service. Only licensed hotels can accept
foreigners and they must send over an updated guest list each night.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-58783417837658561342012-02-15T06:10:00.000-08:002012-02-15T06:10:50.698-08:00The “131 Up”: Mandalay to Hsipaw<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The 3am wake-up was brutal. It felt even worse when we realised that the
hotel had not booked us a taxi to the train station as requested. The night porter suggested we walk a couple
of blocks and we would find one.
Really? At 3.15am? Inevitably we ended up walking the 30 minutes
to the station through the empty streets of Mandalay.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As we got closer to the station, we started to see signs
of life. What is less visible during
waking hours is just how many people live on the streets on the ramp leading up
to the station and on the station platforms themselves. During the day, this is camouflaged by market
vendors outside the station and travellers on the platforms.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We boarded our train and in no time were buying onion and
potato bhajis through the window of our “Upper Class” carriage. The carriage was fairly comfortable and
kitted out with business class seats from a long-ago refitted aircraft. The reclining seats still had the foot rests
attached to the back and the trays in the arms.
Despite the bad press for Myanmar Railways departure times, the "131 Up" left Mandalay just
after 4am, heading out into the darkness.
Our carriage was very quiet as all the locals curled up on the seats
under the blankets they had thoughtfully brought with them. As the windows were all open, it was chilly. Just before departure a 40 year old monk jumped
on board and couldn’t resist the idea of sitting next to me for a chat.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
While the rest of the carriage slept, he talked to us
about his 15 years in a monastery in Thailand and then read our palms (I’m
guaranteed a long life apparently). As
Lynn drifted off to sleep in the seat opposite, the monk informed me of his
preference for foreign women over Burmese women. I might have felt more disposed towards him
if he hadn’t stood up every ten minutes to lean over me and spit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areca_nut">red betel</a> juice out of the window. I was keen now to enjoy a little snooze
myself but first I had to make clear to my new friend that he couldn’t curl up
on my shoulder to go to sleep.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
At 8am we pulled into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyin_U_Lwin">Pyin Oo Lwin</a> (an old
British hill station), our monk said his farewells and there was an influx of
eight foreigners of varying nationalities (8am being a far more civilised time
to join a train!). We munched on the
delicious red rice and chick pea stew that a silent monk had presented to us
whilst contemplating the day ahead and the crossing of the Gokteik Viaduct. The train line we were on was built by the
British a long time ago. When faced with
an impossible valley to cross, they simply commissioned the Pennsylvanian Steel
Company to build the world’s second highest railway viaduct. Built in 1901, this viaduct has remained in
service ever since despite having only received some “remedial work” in the
1990s. I think that the good people of Pennsylvania
can be very proud at this feat of engineering.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We made our way slowly up through the glorious
countryside, enjoying the life along the tracks: the endless neat vegetable
patches, the golden wheat fields, the pagodas and the children waving as the
train went by… This is the slow life:
the 131 miles from Mandalay to Hsipaw takes a leisurely 12 hours. With all the windows open and the sun beating
down, you can still work on your tan whilst enjoying the gentle breeze. The train does rock a lot and you do wonder
if you are going to get thrown off the track but in the end, you just get
thrown out of your seat from time to time!
The answer is to just relax and enjoy the slightly fairground nature of
the journey.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The train conductor was very proud of the Upper Class
carriage and kept it spotless as passengers came and went. This is a man in tune with his foreign
passengers – they are on this train to cross the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goteik_viaduct">Gokteik Viaduct</a>. For the ten to fifteen minutes before
arriving at the Gokteik Viaduct, you start to get glimpses of this magnificent
structure and I will admit that it does look ever so fragile! The train pulls into Gokteik station before
the crossing in order to change gear. During
the stop, you are encouraged to jump down from the train to take a good look
and a few photos. Our conductor
positively insisted that we go through this rite of passage. Shortly afterwards, we started to crawl
across. We, the foreigners, were
captivated whilst the locals mainly read their books or slept. The conductor gestured to me to follow him
and he lead me to the end of the carriage where I could stand at the open door
and look straight down – I held on very tight!
This is a truly awesome experience – in the original, not the over-used
- sense of the word. I sat back smiling
for the rest of our journey to Hsipaw.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Hsipaw is a small dusty town from where you can trek up
to various <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaung_people">Palaung</a>
villages. With rented bikes for a day, we
roamed around town and then in the mid afternoon headed up to the Sunset Hill to
read our books and enjoy the view and the silence. A monastery lies at the top and shortly after
we arrived, a monk came out to see us with a visitor’s book. We filled in our details but as he walked
away, he suddenly spun around: “Rooney?! Manchester United?” “No, Liverpool!” He walked away tickled but appeared again ten
minutes later with a flask of tea and some glasses.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The next day we trekked up the Palaung village of Pankam
with our guide “Mr Bean”. Here, we
stayed with a family in a long house, were invited in for tea by another family,
read our books at sunset under the Banyan tree (my Aung Sang Suu Kyi book
caused Mr Bean much bafflement) and enjoyed the scandal of a night wedding
between a young girl and a previously married man.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Before we knew it, we were back in Hsipaw. It was early morning again and we were
setting off by train to complete the return journey over the Gokteik Viaduct…</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151264453775437.807062.705585436&type=1&l=2a4715baa0">Facebook photos - Gokteik Viaduct</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151265516240437.807186.705585436&type=1&l=4f21a8d4ee">Facebook photos - Pankam Village</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-65720723732708588902012-01-13T06:15:00.000-08:002012-01-13T06:15:06.368-08:00Forty Eight Hours in Burma<div class="MsoNormal">
A handful of observations about Burma, acquired in my first
48 hours:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Despite the Western media portrayal, Burma feel s fairly
developed. I was expecting Kathmandu, not
six lane highways and clean streets.</li>
<li>There are no motorbikes in Rangoon (Yangon)… begging the
question, is this really Asia? Normal moto service is resumed in Mandalay.</li>
<li>Cars drive on the right but so many of the steering wheels
are also on the right… car manufacturing has never caught up with the 1970s
overnight road lane switch.</li>
<li>In the middle of roads and roundabouts, there is manicured
foliage.</li>
<li>75% of all cars are white*</li>
<li>Your man on the street does not have a mobile phone… unheard
of in even the poorest African country.
SIMs are available for $500-1000. If you get caught out and about and
need to make a call, ladies sit with landline phones by the side of the road.</li>
<li>Dagon Extra Strong contains 8% alcohol. I may stick to the Myanmar draft else risk
becoming far too animated.</li>
<li>Street food rocks; particularly those little butter nutty
pancakes, hot out of the pan…</li>
<li>I’m legally allowed to go to Hsipaw on the train via the Gokteik
Viaduct. My train hero, Paul Theroux,
managed it in 1975 but only with a soldier escort and on the sly.</li>
<li>When you turn on the sink tap, water comes out of a hole in
the wall onto the floor… ok maybe that’s just our hotel <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></li>
<li>Burma is proving to be a very friendly place. Parents encourage their young children to
stop what they are doing to say hello to us.
Teenagers think we are hilarious and post-hello, disappear off giggling.</li>
<li>When away from the tourist streets, everyone has a smile and
a hello for us. One man walking past
simply said “Thank you”.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
* Source: Cath Statistics Ltd</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-64160888259239594332012-01-05T01:30:00.000-08:002012-01-05T01:30:54.009-08:00The Dangers of Hoi An<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This entry was to be called “Vietnamese Efficiency” but I
am writing this from a delayed train <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> In defence of the Vietnamese Railways, this
is the first of five long distance trains which has left late, and it may yet
make up the lost 40 minutes. The other
journeys (9-16 hours) arrived spot on time, or even early. For all the pick-ups and drop offs we have
required throughout Vietnam, everything has gone to plan.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Vietnamese trains have carried me all the way up to 3km
short of the Chinese border (Lao Cai for Sapa) and are now whizzing me past
empty rice fields back to Saigon. So
many of the countries I have visited this year have been having unseasonal
weather (rain during dry season, monsoons carrying on a month beyond normal etc…)
and Vietnam has been no exception.
Whilst luck has most definitely not been on our side, we have “enjoyed”
thoroughly awful weather! The phrases “I
think it might be brightening up…”, “I see some blue over there in the
distance…” have been heard one too many times.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Our schedule has been go-go-go. From Kep in Cambodia to Phu Quoc island, then
up through the Mekong Delta via a home stay in Can Tho and then the craziness
of Saigon. From here to Dalat followed
by a five day motorbike journey from Dalat to Danang. Train up to Hanoi, continuing up to Sapa for
Christmas, back to Hanoi and out to Halong Bay before another overnight train
bringing us to the Imperial City of Hue and then our New Year four day “low
cost chill out” near the beach in the sleepy old-world village of Hoi An.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With the beach only 6km away by £1-a-day bike hire, we
dreamed of happy days reading on the pristine sand with the occasional dip into
the clear blue ocean… but then the rain started. This is when life became dangerous for the
budget. There are not too many things to
in Hoi An in the rain, apart from… shopping (and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151114936545437.786290.705585436&type=1&l=3a1e2ff73e">cookery courses</a>). Between personal tailoring, art, and silk
lanterns, there are sufficient opportunities to put a severe dent in a girl’s
budget. As this is high season in
Vietnam, our train sleepers to Saigon were already booked and couldn’t be
changed. We caved into the dangers of
Hoi An.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Three days and six fittings later, I had three new
dresses, a pair of trousers and a shirt (at a very reasonable price, thank you <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> ). In addition to this rucksack-refresh, I had
acquired two leaf paintings and an un-confess-able number of silk lanterns of
all shapes, sizes and colours. As the
rucksack needing packing again shortly, a trip to the Post Office was
looming. A recce trip suggested that three month seamail option was surprisingly affordable.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With time to kill on our last morning, we donned our rain
coats and boots and headed downstairs to brave the torrential downpour and head
up to the Post Office. For the first
time, the hotel manager proved useful and not intent on over-charging us for a
service. If we would like to sit down
and wait five minutes, she would call and ask the Post Office staff to come to
the hotel and arrange our packages… at no extra cost! We didn’t quite believe it but sat down and
waited.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Quite literally five minutes later, two ladies arrived on
a moped, carrying a selection of free boxes and a blue bag with all the
requirements for a mini-Post Office. The
blue <a href="http://www.vnpt.com.vn/Default.aspx?alias=www.vnpt.com.vn/en">VNPT</a>
rain coat helped to give them away!
Taking a quick look at our purchases they set to work creating boxes in
the right shape and size whilst we busied ourselves with the paperwork. They had a dizzying array of tape guns with
them – brown tape to cover the box, blue VNPT-branded tape for the edges and
clear tape to cover the address labels.
The magic blue bag also contained a set of metal weighing scales… all
very Mary Poppins.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Before long we had paid (they had even brought change in
both dollars and dong…) and the two ladies were reloading everything onto their
moped (never underestimate what the Vietnamese will load onto their bikes)
and our flying Post Office had left. We
sat, slightly bemused, wondering how we would spend the morning now that our
main errand had been dealt with so efficiently.
We idled with our books, wallets locked away, not trusting ourselves to
venture onto the streets of Hoi An again.
Our boxes had sailed.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bBeMlJsyGmAavMFmq_A7oJBOYo5N4gE8fpqKP7nzvbToF_soez_87V8JzyVRT4sbrOQXiBxedSXu79zLTsSDuZFNOIUqx7Y3P_pn6XVtinIosPyS9-GhyjyrXA0EiUvpdjalURMXREc/s1600/IMG_3893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bBeMlJsyGmAavMFmq_A7oJBOYo5N4gE8fpqKP7nzvbToF_soez_87V8JzyVRT4sbrOQXiBxedSXu79zLTsSDuZFNOIUqx7Y3P_pn6XVtinIosPyS9-GhyjyrXA0EiUvpdjalURMXREc/s320/IMG_3893.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
"Service with a smile": that'll be my box on the lady's knees at the back... Lynn's at the front, with the magic blue bag on top of it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-78447108852613354612011-12-06T01:16:00.001-08:002012-07-16T14:01:24.490-07:00The Art of Idleness<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’m not very good at being idle but it seems like a skill
that should be relatively easy to acquire during a year-long sabbatical. However, nine months in, I realized that I
really hadn't spent much time doing “nothing”.
If not engaged in travelling (due to the amount of “bumping” involved in
journeying in developing countries, this cannot be considered idle time!) or
fitting in lots of sightseeing and activities then one is usually planning
ahead and working out where to go next, how to get there, where to stay, how
long to stay, what to do and how to do it.
Even when seemingly doing ‘nothing’, my brain is working on a mental
to-do list and generally trying to find the answers to the meaning of life (all
of them, all at once).</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The Oxford English Dictionary gives a couple of good
descriptions of ‘<i>idleness</i>’:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>“Idleness – a state
of inaction; inactivity”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>“Idleness –
characterized by inaction or absence of significant activity”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I quite like the second one – “significant” being the operative
word. It also offers <i>“laziness; indolence”</i> but I find these
to be far too judgemental and derogatory.
In our busier and busier lives, “idleness” seems like a luxury, but one
which could allow us to regain control for short periods of time and give the
poor old brain a welcome rest. If
meditation isn’t my thing then maybe selective <i>‘idleness’</i> can be.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In the beautiful, laid-back and friendly environment of
Cambodia, it seemed time to give this a go.
The project started in Sihanoukville but really came into its own on a
paradise-style island called Koh Rong.
In my beach bungalow in Sihanoukville, I set myself the task of not
doing anything all day (apart from eat and read) and, more significantly, not
to feel any guilt. The experiment went
pretty well (the laptop remained largely turned off) but as I didn’t actually
like Sihanoukville (some great views but utterly lacking in charm), it wasn’t
the place to continue putting the theory into practice.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Koh Rong is an island 30 miles off the coast of Cambodia
and takes 2-3 hours by boat, depending on the weather. It is a small island with a handful of
villages, and in the main village there are about 75 local families. Koh Rong has only had tourist development on
it for a couple of years and the four “resorts” are small low- keys affairs
aimed at the lower end of the market (bungalows from $15-$45 dollars). One boat runs back and forwards to the
mainland each day, weather depending. If
you arrive without a room reservation and everything is full, there is no way
back that day but a couple of enterprising locals have basic guesthouses or one
of the expats might find you an unfinished building to sleep in.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Idling seemed to come very naturally for me at <a href="http://monkeyisland-kohrong.com/">Monkey Island</a> resort and my
experiment made great strides forward. I
sacrificed an “en-suite” bathroom for a sea front bungalow so that I could lie
in my hammock and watch the sea and sky unimpeded by man-made structures. Life is simple on the island. There is no mains electricity and the
resort’s generator only comes on for lights from dusk until midnight (they use
a car battery during the day for the bar/restaurant, recharged in the evening). With no fan or aircon, you don’t linger long
in bed after sunrise and so I quickly settled into a routine beginning with an
early morning swim followed by some quality time in my hammock before heading
off the 20m to the restaurant for breakfast.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The gentle rhythm of the rest of the day involved mainly
swimming, reading, gazing, snoozing, eating (repeatedly, in a variety of
orders) as well as watching the local entertainment. In the mornings, the local
children would scamper around in the water laughing and splashing and then in
the afternoon, a little black dog would practice his favourite game of winding
up the water buffalo, resulting in the odd chase up the beach.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I had attempted to idle elsewhere but in the end I concluded
that it was easy to idle on the island as the conditions were just right:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Everyone
around you is also living in a relaxed manner</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
limited decisions required were only based on a couple of options: “Stripy
t-shirt or blue sundress over my bikini?”, “Daily squid special or vegetable
curry?”, “Breakfast now or swim first?”, “Fresh lime juice or a beer?”, “Stroll
to the other lovely beach or just stay here?”, “Read book or gaze out at the
view?”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Everything
is padlock-able (every traveller worth their salt has an assortment of
combination padlocks) and so there is no need to carry a key.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>No
electricity means no wifi and so any random thoughts worth capturing were
jotted down with old-fashioned pen and paper and put aside to be used at a
later date (i.e. now)</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I enjoyed watching the new backpackers arrive off the
boat each afternoon, from the comfort of my hammock. They would stop along the beach and shake their
heads in wonder, gazing at the paradise they had chosen. Often, the water
buffalo would be taking his afternoon bathe.
The only thing to do when you arrive is to throw your cossie
on and sprint into the clear blue, shallow warm water. Once they had finished their swims, I would
head into the water for my sunset hour bathe.
I don’t think I’ve spent so long in the water since France in early 90s.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In my four days on the Koh Rong, I did manage a challenging
jungle hike/climb to the other side of the island to the reward of a magnificent
empty beach and a water taxi home. And,
whilst my brain may have been idle of any daily concerns, I have been working
my way through this year’s <a href="http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/thisyear/shortlist">Man Booker
short list</a>. This intellectual
pursuit feels like utter luxury and fitted perfectly into the idleness agenda. With only “The Sisters Brothers” left on the
list, I concur with the judges; Julian Barnes' “The Sense of an Ending” is
still my favourite.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Returning to the mainland, I worked my way down the coast
via Kampot to an eco-retreat/organic farm up among the pepper farms near Kep. There is plenty to do and see in this area and
so it was time for a new type of idling: integrating it into days that also
contained significant activity. Many of
the people who come out to the <a href="http://www.thevineretreat.com/">Vine
Retreat</a> are expats looking to escape the craziness of Phnom Penh (they quickly
become repeat customers). Whilst I’ve
been here, there has been a fascinating mix of people: short & long term
travellers, Phnom Penh expats and local NGO workers. Whilst lying by the pool, I often hear day
visitors exclaiming from the balcony, “ooh, <span lang="FR">c’est magnifique</span>…”.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I instantly felt at home
here. I think that there is something
very comforting about leaving your shoes outside on the rack with everyone else’s
(guests & staff) and wandering around barefoot. There are eight simple guest rooms (excellent
mattresses and sheets) and two floors full of places to sit and relax – you can
choose from the long communal table, hammocks, floor cushions and, my personal
favourite, the raised cushioned benches along the outside of the balcony. These overlook the garden and swimming pool,
as well as the local pepper farms and hills, and on a clear day, Vietnam. While having an aperitif with your book, the
resident cat might come and curl up on your lap.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I seem to need time and space
for idling and lots of natural light and fresh air. These are in plentiful supply at the Vine
Retreat and again, there is a pleasing lack of choice! In the evening, you can have their daily set
menu (sourced from their organic vegetable garden and fruit trees) and so the
only question is, what time would you like it? It obviously helps that the incredibly
friendly staff make your bed every day, serve you lovely healthy food and often
pop by with a glass of water and an encouraging word.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here I have managed to fit in a
day trip to Kampot, a visit to the local village & NGO, a tour of the farm
and pepper plantation, a good early morning hike up a local hill in addition to
hours of interesting conversation with other guests, dips in the pool and yet
more reading. If I make tentative plans
then they inevitably change as I go with the flow and take the opportunities
that present themselves. I haven’t felt
guilty in days.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, what is the point of all this idling and have I
mastered it? I’ve definitely improved! It’s good for the spirit. If achievable in spurts in a busy city lifestyle,
then it has the potential to hand back control. I think I might need a hammock in London…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Idling photos:</div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151012715630437.771836.705585436&type=1&l=61d03a0188" target="_blank">Koh Rong</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151012580855437.771826.705585436&type=1&l=98fede1186" target="_blank">The Vine Retreat</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Want to know more about idling? I recently enjoyed Tom Hodgkinson’s book “How
to be Idle” which is described as:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #222222;">“an antidote to the work-obsessed culture which puts so many
obstacles between ourselves and our dreams. Hodgkinson presents us with a laid-back
argument for a new contract between routine and chaos, an argument for
experiencing life to the full and living in the moment”. </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-16821943936434615022011-11-13T22:14:00.001-08:002011-11-13T22:16:14.367-08:00Dodging torrential downpours<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
From Kathmandu, I was due to fly to Bangkok, visit Maria
(fellow African trucker) and then the vague plan was to head north by train and
work my way to Luang Prabang (Laos) via the slow boat. These plans were however rendered useless by
the floods in Bangkok. This became
apparent on the Wednesday I arrived in Lhasa but as I had booked my flight with
Nepal Airlines and it was Diwali and then Saturday (non-working day in Nepal),
changing the ticket with the Nepali travel agent took a lot longer than
expected. Finally on Sunday afternoon my
Monday flight was changed and my new destination was Kuala Lumpur on an
overnight flight.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It felt time to leave Nepal. After the freezing temperatures in Tibet and
the subsequent chilly weather in Nagarkot (lovely place 1 ½ hours outside
Kathmandu), it was time to find some warmth, guaranteed hot showers and clean
toilets. After a chaotic check-in (everyone
tells you to avoid Nepal Airlines – more for the disorganisation rather than
any safety problems – but they are half the price of Thai Air!), Nepal Airlines
came up trumps and upgraded me to business class.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Landing into Kuala Lumpur was like entering a forgotten
universe – air conditioning, clean toilets, road lane markings… I am a city girl at heart and enjoyed my two
days in KL wandering around, indulging in a little clothing and nice toiletry
shopping and varying my diet to include properly cooked pasta and eggs
Benedict. I rode the monorail and
prepared to head off to Penang by train.
The weather was most definitely a lot warmer (and humid) but as it is
monsoon season here, every afternoon was livened up by a big thunderstorm. I’ve always loved a good thunderstorm (these
competed well with hols in the Dordogne in the 1980s) and enjoyed my first KL
one whilst having afternoon tea on a covered outdoor terrace.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A very uneventful 7 ½ hour train journey took me from KL
to Butterworth. From the train station
you can walk directly to the ferry which will take you to Georgetown, Penang
for the pricely sum of 25p. The ferries
run every 10 mins or so and take no time at all. In the end I stayed for five days in Penang
pottering around the old town looking into all the workshops, visiting the <a href="http://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/">Cheong Fatt Tze</a> mansion and
jumping on the bus up to the beach at Batu Ferringhi. I did do a cookery course (#1 thing to do on Trip
Advisor, chef had made TV appearances..) which I looked forward to telling you
all about. Alas, it was largely
underwhelming and so there is little to recount. The weather precluded much else and there is
a limit to how many shopping centres a girl wants to visit.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A three hour ferry carried me up to Langkawi Island to
laze by the beach for a few days. After
day one, the weather was generally kind to me and I enjoyed some long sunny
days reading by the sea & the pool as well as doing a little island hopping. I found a fab spot at Frangipani Beach to sip
a Tiger beer and watch the sun set. Whilst
lovely, my budget on Langkawi couldn’t afford me a dreamy bungalow on a beach
and so it seemed like time to move on.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Singapore had never been on the agenda but the flight
times and prices to Siem Reap with Silk Air made the most sense and so I
decided to spend two days in the “clean” city.
I will admit to a few prejudices before arriving – that it would be too
clean and boring. I’m happy to admit
that I warmed to Singapore very much and took advantage of being in a big city
by going to the National Museum, both the cinema and theatre (Indian dance performance) and
partaking in a very pleasant Tanqueray Ten Sling at the Long Bar at Raffles. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Have to dash, boarding for my flight to Siem Reap is
being called. Angkor Wat awaits…</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-27559183825420052172011-11-05T07:26:00.000-07:002011-11-05T07:26:55.495-07:00Seven days in Tibet<br />
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If you need a little recap of your Tibetan history, here
are a few (admittedly biased) pointers. The Chinese attacked
and “liberated” Tibet in 1950. Tibet
ultimately suffered from its own introspective nature and failed to find any
help from the outside world. Many Tibetans
subsquently fled in 1959 following a failed uprising. Fearing kidnap, the <a href="http://www.dalailama.com/">14<sup>th</sup> Dalai Lama</a> also fled at
this time, and along with the exiled <a href="http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php">government</a>,
is now based in India in Dharamshala. In
the years following, many monasteries were shut down (some were later
re-opened). These monasteries now
function under tight political control and exist largely for tourism. Following the unrest in 2008, many monks were
killed or arrested and so their numbers are dramatically down. Chinese permission must be sought for any monk to enter an order.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Being so close to Tibet seemed too good an opportunity to
pass up, even if, in some regards, entering Tibet from Nepal rather than via
China is pretty restrictive. To travel
to Tibet from Nepal, you must join a group and be accompanied at all times by a
guide. The entry requirements change
quite regularly depending on how paranoid the Chinese are feeling. Travelling to Tibet either from Nepal or
China requires a special TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region) permit. There is no such thing as independent travel
and foreigners are banned from public buses.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Lots of travel agencies in Kathmandu sell trips to
Tibet. They all take a similar form –
five days driving and then 2 ½ days in Lhasa before either flying or driving
back to Kathmandu. This is the classic
overland route along the Friendship Highway.
When booking such a trip, you should definitely bear in mind the Lonely
Planet warning that your guide will be “pretty useless” and that if you think
you have booked a jeep rather than a bus or a single supplement, you should
expect to be disappointed! My
expectations were therefore set before I booked and my travel agent was honest
about the bus and that the first two nights’ accommodation would be “very
basic”. I was travelling for the scenery,
remoteness and the sense of mystery.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The night before the trip started, my passport was
returned to me (phew!), along with a photocopy of my new Tibet visa (the real entry
and exit visas was handed over the next day so that everyone had less time to
lose them before we got to the border).
I had been told a couple of days before that there would be 25 people in
the group. Essentially all the tour agencies
pool their clients together and all trips leave either on a Tuesday or
Saturday. Arriving at the bus the next
morning, this number had increased to 37 people and therefore two buses. After the beautiful journey to the border, we
learned that actually, there would be sixty of us in total and two larger more
comfortable buses on the Chinese side to collect us. It says a lot about some of the journeys I
had made in Nepal that I actually thought that the bus for the Nepal side of
the journey was pretty comfy!</div>
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<br /></div>
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As soon as you cross the border you see the greater
wealth of the Chinese. On the Nepal
side, immigration is somewhat chaotic and old but as soon as you get across,
there are armed border guards and a shiny immigration building. Suddenly you are assigned a number (from your
group visa – I was no 11) and everything is conducted in order. Not such an easy task with sixty people who
don’t know each other. We never did work
out who the ever delaying number 8 was…
The main aim of the customs checks appears to be to find pro-Tibetan
literature and any photos of the current Dalai Lama. My Lonely Planet was conveniently hidden on
Kindle but a few others had their hard copies investigated, flicked through and
returned (I later heard that others flying into Lhasa had theirs confiscated). It is intriguing (and decidedly
disappointing) that the Chinese refuse to put any mention of your Tibet trip
into your passport. Would I be
travelling incognito in China? I think
not <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> Army controls continued daily all the way to Lhasa.</div>
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<br /></div>
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At the border, we were amazed to see some of the packages
that were being carried across. Men and
women were waiting to carry up to 100kg parcels across the border (China to
Nepal). The lorries don’t attempt to
cross (the road on the Nepal side is not wide enough to handle them) and so
each parcel (maybe 350 woolen sweaters for example) is stood up (this takes
three men) and, using a head strap, someone then loads it onto their back and
crosses through customs to deliver them to someone on the other side. I can’t imagine these (mainly women) are paid
very much for this back breaking work.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Once out of customs, two buses
were supposed to be waiting for the 60 of us but only one was available and so,
after some delay, the rest of us were sent ten minutes up the road in
taxis. We then hung around in cold for
an hour until the one bus appeared with our black shell suit and shade wearing
Chinese guide (I never did find out what the one bus did for an hour…). After a bite to eat, we again waited for more
taxis to be arranged to transport us to our first overnight stop of
Nyalam. It should have been a beautiful 1 ½ hour journey but sadly, due to the transport disorganisation, we ended up making it
mainly in the dark. The guesthouse
definitely lived up to its “basic” description with grim toilets and no showers. The four bed dorm rooms were actually fine
but my word they were freezing (rumour was -7C). I was glad of my thermals and sleeping bag!</div>
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<br /></div>
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One of the very strange things
about crossing the border is that your clock moves forward 2 ¼ hours. The time in Tibet is very unnaturally aligned
to Beijing time (around 4,000km away) , making for very strange sunrise and
sunset times. The sun rises very late
and the heat of the afternoon sun continues well into what we would expect to
be the balmy end of the afternoon.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The next morning marked the
start of a big day and we were due to set off at 10am (far too late in everyone’s opinion apart from the guide).
Sadly, bus number two had still not appeared. Cutting costs, the agents had sent it on an
extra journey to the border and so we didn’t start our long day of driving
until after 11am. It was really at this
point that we realised that we had absolutely no recourse to anybody and that
all complaints would go unheard. You
have to show some respect to our guide for his ability to shrug his shoulders
and look “not bothered” regardless of the complainant and the nature/justification
of their complaint.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This was not however to detract
from the main highlight of the day – various views of Mount Everest. The weather was very much on our side –
bright crisp blue (as it remained throughout our journey). We reached some heady altitude heights this
day – crossing passes three passes above 5,000m, the highest being 5,150m at
Tong La Pass. Many people were really
feeling the altitude this day but I seemed to manage fine (no racing up hills!)
and never suffered more than a couple of easily remedied headaches and a little
breathlessness climbing stairs. Keep
hydrated and eat light meals seems to be the best advice. I’m really not convinced about the need to
take Diamox. It surely isn’t good for
you to take a drug which speeds up the heart…
If you give the body time, it is perfectly capable of learning to cope
with the reduction of oxygen in the air.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I did enjoy gazing at Mount
Everest although at first I was definitely looking at the wrong mountain… our
guide wasn’t very clear. I actually
thought that the mountain that I chose as Everest was in many ways more impressive
but maybe that was simply a perspective thing from our first viewing
point. Our best view all day was from
the town where we ate lunch, Tingri. If
you walk away from the main strip then there is a lovely peaceful view of the
mountain range which is perfect for photo opportunities. And so from here onto our second “basic”
overnight stop in Lhatse. Hilariously,
Torunn (Norwegian girl who had coincidentally also been at Sadhana at the same
time as me), scored us an amazing “upgrade” – a room with only twin beds (not
four) and with duvets, soft pillows and that classic hotel “white striped”
bedding. We apologised to everyone else
about our good fortune and let them come and use our ensuite <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> (still had freezing
water though!). I farmed out my warm
sleeping bag and silk liner to a needy cause.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Day three was a relatively
short drive and we arrived at our hotel in Shigatse before midday. Shigatse is famous for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashilhunpo_Monastery">Tashilumpo Monastery</a>
which was founded in the 1400s and is the traditional seat of successive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchen_Lama">Pachen Lamas</a> (Tibetan
religious leader, second behind the Dalai Lama who is the head of state). During the visit, it was forbidden to ask any
questions about the 11<sup>th</sup> Pachen Lama. The one chosen by the 14<sup>th</sup> Dalai
Lama “disappeared” with his family and the Chinese selected their own, who
resides in Beijing and is never seen.
Sshhh, you never know who might be listening…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Again, day four was a short
drive to Gyantse. It should have taken
about 90 minutes but our shell suit guide and cowboy bus driver managed to draw
it out to three hours. The journey was
very attractive - brown hills looming large over the golden
fields where wheat and barley had just been harvested. Gyantse offered us lovely tree lined streets
through the old town (the leaves were turning golden and dropping) and the
famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbum">Kumbum</a> monastery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As you
drive through Tibet, it is starkly apparent what a tough life the people
lead. This is a very remote part of the
world and, the odd sparkly Chinese building aside, people live very simply
alongside their animals. Based on the
level of hygiene on view, these are hardy folk.
Having read “Seven Years in Tibet” whilst trekking in Nepal, my
appreciation increased as I began to visualise the epic journey through such
unforgiving terrain. The Tibetan people
are clearly battling hard to maintain some religious freedom, continuing to
make pilgrimages to their monasteries and temples and hang up their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_flag">prayer
flags</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A long day
on day five took us up over the Kharola Pass (5,010m), around the magnificent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamdrok_Lake">Yamdrok
Lake</a>, arriving into Lhasa, the highest
inhabited plateau on earth, at the end of the afternoon. Lhasa itself is now unrecognisable from the
world that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Harrer">Heinrich
Harrer</a> described in “Seven Years in Tibet”.
Very much a Chinese city, the population has risen from 20-30,000 to
500,000 people (for the most part, not Tibetans). There are fast highways, wide featureless
avenues and electronics shops abound.
Armed police and soldiers stand patrol on every corner, ready to quell
any discontent, not least in the square in front of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jokhang">Jokhang Temple</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Nevertheless, Lhasa is a
wonderful place and if you focus on the old town, you can watch a more
traditional way of life and enjoy views of the Potala as, from that angle, it still rises majestically
above the city. Just ignore all the
semi-automatic weapons on display. The
Potala Palace is a truly magnificent structure and fascinating to visit. My particular highlights in Lhasa were
watching the monks debating at the Sera Monastery (slapping their hands to make a point and alternating between whole hearted laughter and seriousness) and looking out at the Potala
Palace and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkhor">Barkhor Square</a>
from the Jokhang Temple.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Overall, from a comfort point of view, my expectations
were generally exceeded (they had been set very low!). Things improved every day until everything
was very comfortable in Lhasa, staying at the Trichang Labrang hotel. This former residence of the 14<sup>th</sup>
Dalai Lama’s tutor has been beautifully restored. The food throughout was reasonable (fried
rice, chowmein, noodle soup) and although I generally didn’t trust the meat, I
was a convert to the yak burger in Lhasa!
It did seem a struggle to get fresh vegetables but there was plenty of
fruit to buy in the streets. After the
first two nights, the standard of hotel was pretty good – especially
considering what a budget trip we were on.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Flying out of Lhasa back to Kathmandu was very special
indeed and, from my window seat, provided continual views of the Himalayas on
the very close horizon. I was number 11
for the last time as our exit visas were taken away, theoretically removing all formal written trace of the visit.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So, should you go?
Absolutely! Tibet is a wonderful
place and the scenery spectacular. There
is clearly a rich history to be explored.
If you are travelling from Nepal and want to travel by jeep (more
comfortable than a bus and more flexible than having to move around in a group
of 60!), then make sure that your trip doesn’t leave Kathmandu on a Tuesday or
Saturday. That way you shouldn’t end up
on the “throw them all together” trip with useless guide. If you want the budget trip like me then shop
around in Kathmandu and find the cheapest package (mine was $365 for the trip,
$85 for the visa and then the cost of
the flight) as no matter what you pay, there is only one type of bus and one
type of shared hotel room. The
alternative is to fly into Beijing and take the world’s highest railway – 48
hours to Lhasa by comfortable train.
Having said that, I’m not sure I would have wanted to miss either the
overland journey and its scenery, or the flight back to Kathmandu from Lhasa
over the Himalayan mountain range. Maybe
I’ll just have to go again one day… and visit a free Tibet?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150905739825437.757716.705585436&type=1&l=49cb67a8f9">Photos
from Tibet</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Itinerary:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day1: Drive to Nepal/Tibet border. Continue to Nyalam. Sleep at 3,700m</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day2: Nyalam to Lhatse, lunch in Tingri (~8 hours). View Mount Everest. Sleep at 4,350m</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day3: Lhatse to Shigatse arriving at lunchtime. Tashilumpo Monastery. Sleep at 3,900m</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day4: Shigatse to Gyantse arriving at lunchtime. Visit Kumbum.
Sleep at 3,950m</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day5: Gyantse to Lhasa (~8 hours). Sleep at 3,650m</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day6-7: Lhasa – visit Potala Palace, Jokhana Temple,
Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day8: Fly from Lhasa to Kathmandu over the Himalayas</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-10023538928230835912011-10-18T05:30:00.000-07:002011-10-18T05:31:01.753-07:00You are what you eat; you are what you think<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Checking into Sadhana Yoga for a 10 day “Yoga Holiday”
offered the chance to purge my system of all the UK summer excess of red wine
and fancy food.<span> </span>Within a day of arriving
at Sadhana, you relax into the warm family environment, the gentle daily
routine and the wonderful food which magically appears at various points
throughout the day.<span> </span>The hardest part is
making it up the hill to the house on day one.<span>
</span>However, if you can manage that, you can achieve anything that Sadhana
then throws at you!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The routine starts each morning at 5.30am with the ringing
of the gong.<span> </span>This is the signal to get
out of bed in order to be ready for meditation at 5.45am.<span> </span>This may not sound gentle but, when 9pm becomes
a “late” bedtime, it really is not so bad.<span>
</span>It is perfectly acceptable to enter the meditation room and lie down on
your mat and cover yourself with a blanket for a few minutes.<span> </span>Or you can be over-keen and do some
stretches…maybe not.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After 15 minutes of instructor-led exercises to prepare
the body for stillness, you take your cross legged position (there are a
variety to chose from, some harder than others), ready for 30-40 minutes of
meditation.<span> </span>I very quickly realised that
“mantra” meditation was not for me.<span> </span>The
purpose of meditation is to clear the brain of all thoughts and focus on the
here and now.<span> </span>With mantra meditation you
repeat an expression (“mantra”) continually for the period of the session,
sometimes aloud, sometimes in your head.<span>
</span>Sadhana’s chosen mantra is “so-ham”.<span>
</span>I found this to be too associated to the town of a terrible crime in
England.<span> </span>Despite trying my own mantra
instead, I generally couldn’t clear my brain and stop it from racing.<span> </span>Its natural state is at least two threads of
thought at a time.<span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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On two occasions I did manage to remain in my
cross-legged position for the entire session.<span>
</span>Afterwards, it took my legs a good ten minutes to forgive me.<span> </span>Throughout my stay, I continued to attend
morning meditation and after completing the exercises, would lie down and look
at the trees and the sky.<span> </span>After a while,
I even managed to stay awake in this position!<span>
</span>I would sit at the back of the room to avoid disturbing others.<span> </span>For afternoon meditation, I would lie and
contemplate the paragliders – their graceful movements in the sky were very
relaxing to watch.<span> </span>Eventually I
abandoned afternoon meditation for some quiet time on the upstairs balcony with
a book.<span> </span>I realised that what I was
really looking for is a way to relax the brain and that cross legged,
closed-eye meditation is not necessarily the way for me to achieve that.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After meditation, you enjoy a cup of herbal tea and then go
down into the garden for ”nasal cleansing” with your neti pot.<span> </span>This sounds as funny as it is in practice.<span> </span>However, if you can get past the fact of
feeling ever so slightly silly, then this exercise is very effective at
cleaning the nasal passages.<span> </span>You tilt
your head and pour water into one nostril to flow out of the other, switching
nostril half way through.<span> </span>You then force
out the water using a number of funny exercises, culminating in a bizarre
chicken-style jump.<span> </span>This was considered
essential for our morning yoga practice which focussed heavily on breathing
exercises.<span> </span>Hatha yoga is gentle rather
than being a workout.<span> </span>Gloriously, all of
our yoga took place in the courtyard outside and you could gaze at the view
over the lake or up to the Peace Pagoda while holding your position.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The morning is the busiest part of the day at
Sadhana.<span> </span>A mountain walk is offered
before breakfast and then either a steam or mud bath.<span> </span>After lunch you are free to chill out, pop
next door for slow internet, debate meditation failures with fellow naughty
back-rowers or bask in sunshine and breeze on the 5<sup>th</sup> floor balcony.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Things gear up again at 3.30pm when the gong chimes for
Karma Yoga.<span> </span>Karma Yoga is a half hour
slot devoted to a selfless task.<span> </span>We
would all be asked to do something to help with the upkeep of Sadhana.<span> </span>Generally this would be some kind of
non-strenuous task – watering plants, weeding in the garden, hoovering the
meditation room or setting up the cushions for chanting.<span> </span>The best part of Karma Yoga (apart from being
helpful obviously) is that afterwards you go upstairs for Masala tea and big
bowls of popcorn!<span> </span>It was one of our
favourite parts of the day.<span> </span>From here we
moved onto chanting with Durga and then to the final yoga practice of the day
with Asanga.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After four days, I decided that it was time for fasting
(there is no requirement to fast at Sadhana – it was purely choice).<span> </span>The gastric cleansing took four days in
total.<span> </span>On day one, you are given two
apples per meal plus a honey/lemon drink.<span>
</span>In between meals, you can consume as much water and herbal tea as you
want (how generous!).<span> </span>On day two, you
are only given one apple per meal and on day three, none!<span> </span>I’m proud to say that the packet of sour
cream and chive crisps on the shelf in my room remained untouched for the
entire exercise.<span> </span>In fact, they didn’t
really ever appeal.<span> </span>I would however eat
my apples out on the balcony looking out towards the lake with my back to the
dining room, trying to ignore all the lovely food smells from inside!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
On day four, you begin to “cleanse”.<span> </span>This involves drinking a large quantity of a
salt water mixture combined with a series of exercises which encourages your
body to flush out all the rubbish.<span> </span>I
wasn’t very good at this bit as I struggled to drink the required quantity of
water.<span> </span>Nevertheless, the process ended
up being generally successful.<span> </span>You are
gradually brought back onto food with a rice/lentil soup for lunch and dinner
(tasty and filling, if bland) and then a delicious porridge the next morning
for breakfast.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As an exercise, I’m not sure if it made any lasting
physical difference but fasting is an interesting experience.<span> </span>Many people in the world exist on very little
food – in quantity as well as in flavour and variety.<span> </span>It does no harm to remember that.<span> </span>I was surprised that I didn’t really ever
feel hunger pangs during the day.<span> </span>I had
expected to feel quite sleepy during the day but although I was low on energy
on days 2&3, my brain felt sharp. <span> </span>Admittedly,
I was living a low-key life style at Sadhana.<span>
</span>I managed all the activities on the first two days but did take things
easy on day three.<span> </span>When I did feel
hunger was during the night – on both nights two and three, I woke up hungry
and struggled to get back to sleep.<span>
</span>Gulps of water were not enough to satisfy the body.<span> </span>I was happy to enjoy another couple of days
of normal food again before I left Sadhana to return to the relative metropolis
of Pokhara.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
During my time at Sadhana Yoga, there were anywhere
between 10 and 19 people staying.<span> </span>Every
day, people come and go.<span> </span>Some stay a
couple of days, others 6 or 10.<span> </span>Many
people extend their stay each morning until they have no choice but to get back
to the real world.<span> </span>On occasion, people
stay for months!<span> </span>I was particularly
fortunate with the great company I enjoyed while I was there – American, Swiss,
South Korean, Israeli, Australian, French and Nepali.<span> </span>Asanga (yoga guru) and his wife Durga and
their children welcome you into their home and take care of you.<span> </span>Bipin and Surrenda run around making sure
that everything runs smoothly and Sunita controls the delicious food coming out
of the kitchen – fresh banana lassi and fruit-laden muesli for breakfast, tasty
dal bhat for lunch and generally a soup with chapattis for dinner.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
You shouldn’t go to Sadhana if you are feeling cynical. You
need to be in the mood to embrace what is on offer.<span> </span>What I liked was that everything was so
chilled out – no-one was taking anything too seriously.<span> </span>Definitely lots of people there were looking
to make a breakthrough with meditation but everyone was respectful of anyone’s
reason for being there.<span> </span>Some people came
to relax in a calm environment, others with the purpose of practicing
yoga.<span> </span>I was thrilled to meet so many
interesting people my own age, also taking some time out.<span> </span>Throughout my time at the top of the hill, there was lots of
humour but no obligations and this resulted in plenty of time to think and relax
whilst enjoying great company and food.<span> </span>Stop by
next time you are in Nepal – there’s no need for a reservation!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Sadhana daily routine</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
5.30am: wake-up gong</div>
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5.45am: pre-meditation practice</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
6am: meditation</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
7am: tea</div>
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7.15am: nasal cleansing</div>
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7.30am: morning yoga</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
9am: mountain walk</div>
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9.45am: breakfast</div>
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10am: mud bath, steam bath or simply relax</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Midday: pre-meditation exercises</div>
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12.15pm: afternoon meditation</div>
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1pm: lunch</div>
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3.30pm: karma yoga</div>
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4pm: masala tea and popcorn</div>
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4.30pm: chanting</div>
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5.30pm: evening yoga</div>
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6.45pm: dinner</div>
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8pm: bed?!?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-78566203053075636492011-10-09T02:09:00.000-07:002011-10-09T02:26:29.568-07:00Annapurna Panorama<br />
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The Annapurna mountain range lies in the Nepali
Himalayas. Annapurna 1 (8091m) was first conquered by a small French
expedition, led by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Herzog">Maurice Herzog</a>, in 1950 (he wrote a famous book).<span> </span>The summit of Everest (8850m) was not reached
until 1953, in a British led expedition.<span>
</span>Today many people enjoy the trekking around Annapurna and/or Everest
ranges in a variety of different forms and lengths.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I had intended to complete the 10 day Annapurna Sanctuary
trek (up to Annapurna Base Camp – 4130m) but I was slightly mislead by the
trekking company I had chosen. In the end, I made the decision to shorten
my trek to the Annapurna Panorama trip – a five day trek which provides a view
of the Himalayan mountain range from Poon Hill (3210m). <span> </span>My fellow trekkers were Melissa and Anil (from
Shepherd’s Bush!) and a Finn called Bakka.<span>
</span>Our small group was accompanied by our Nepali guide, Fatta, and two
young porters.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We set off on a Monday morning on our “teahouse” trek – a
two hour drive from Pokhara to Naya Pul and then a leisurely 3 ½ hour walk to
our first overnight stop at Hile.<span> </span>Teahouses
are small guesthouses in villages up in the hills which provide simple
accommodation (think plywood walls!) and food. You will always be guaranteed a
dal baht (plate of rice, dal, curry, pickles & vegetables) with as many
refills as you need to fill up those hollow legs.<span> </span>Moving away from dal baht can result in some
very interesting dishes – you might find that your spaghetti arrives sizzling!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day two of the trek was by far the hardest in terms of
height gained and “up”.<span> </span>We started at
1430m and slept up at 2860m.<span> </span>The day
started with four hours continual uphill.<span>
</span>You are generally walking on man-made steps but they are of varying
heights and so this can end up being quite a strain, particularly if one
suffers from short legs <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span>J</span></span>.<span> </span>However, after heavy monsoon rain overnight,
we had a beautiful clear morning and had discovered the healing qualities of
the “hot lemon” tea stop.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As we were trekking the week before the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasain">Dasain</a> festival,
many goats were being brought down the trail.<span>
</span>Every family sacrifices a goat for Dasain and so this is big business.<span> </span>The goats are brought from Tibet or China and
many herders bring the goats overland to increase their margins (trucks are
expensive).<span> </span>They buy the goats for $100
and sell them at market for $200.<span> </span>Four
or five men will be herding a couple of hundred goats for 7/8 days and it can
get somewhat chaotic!<span> </span>Goats are pesky
creatures who quite like to dart off as well as stop for frequent grass
feeds.<span> </span>For us, they provided the perfect
excuse to have regular breaks to let them pass – you don’t want to get caught
up in the middle of a hundred goats coming down a narrow mountain pass!<span> </span>There is a distinct smell of goats’ cheese
each time they pass – not necessarily in a good way, even for an aficionado like
me.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
On the morning of 3<sup>rd</sup> day, we enjoyed a clear
view of the Himalayas from our base at Ghorapani (2860m), including Annapurna
South, Himchuli and Fish Tail.<span> </span>On day 4,
we covered a lot of distance, up and down with the some very enjoyable
“undulating” stretches.<span> </span>Each time we
looked back, we couldn’t believe how far we had come.<span> </span>All day we ploughed on in the knowledge that
we would be ending the day at the hot springs at Jhinu.<span> </span>We soothed our aching bones in the gloriously
hot water as the river raced past on the other side of the wall – the only
thing lacking was a nice cold beer!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As my legs felt like lead by the end of the trek
(hardcore downhill on the last day), I think the 10 day trek may have been a
step too far.<span> </span>It took a couple of leg
massages before I could stand up without wincing!<span> </span>Far better to relax in Pokhara and then come
up to Sadhana Yoga for a 10 day retreat.<span>
</span>Sadly, with only a vegetarian menu, there was no goat on the menu for
Dasain!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-82601934796101657472011-09-22T05:43:00.000-07:002011-09-22T05:43:18.485-07:00An armchair in the sky<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
All year I
have wanted to jump into the sky.<span> </span>My
desire to skydive in Namibia was sadly thwarted due to local bureaucracy.<span> </span>One of the many advantages to travelling to
Pokhara from Kathmandu was that Pokhara is THE place in Nepal for paragliding.<span> </span>As soon as I arrived in Pokhara yesterday, I
wanted to seize the moment and go and sort out a flight.<span> </span>I visited several paragliding places for a
chat before finally plumping for <a href="http://sunrise-paragliding.com/">Sunrise Paragliding</a>. <span> </span>They seemed suitably professional and were
offering a 15% discount for a one hour “Cross Country” flight.<span> </span>I signed on the dotted line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This
morning, after a light breakfast, I had extra time to wind myself up as they
were running behind schedule due to having had to fit in all the flights which
hadn’t been possible yesterday (due to weather conditions).<span> </span>We finally left the office an hour and a half
late for the 20 minute drive up to the take off site at Sarangkot: three
passengers and three pilots.<span> </span>I was quiet
on the way up.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Things
happen pretty quickly once you get to the take-off spot.<span> </span>My pilot, Herve “The Master”, has been
paragliding for 22 years (4 here, 18 near Chamonix).<span> </span>He is one of the elder statesmen of the
Pokhara paragliding world and instantly put me at ease.<span> </span>Within minutes, I was strapped into my “armchair”
and ready to take off.<span> </span>When Herve said “walk”,
we walked and when Herve said “run”, we ran – up and away without any
fuss.<span> </span>I felt surprisingly calm about the
whole thing and relaxed back into my armchair.<span>
</span>Beyond the undemanding “walk, now run”, as a tandem passenger, you have
nothing to do other than enjoy the flight and take photographs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Paragliding
is of course all about the wind and taking advantage of the thermals.<span> </span>We moved around watching the birds and then
Herve took his guide from them.<span> </span>Before
long, we were moving higher and higher thanks to the thermals and ended up in
the clouds.<span> </span>I had asked Herve before we
took off about how it would feel.<span> </span>“Like
being on a motorbike with the wind in your face”, he said.<span> </span>I was amazed at how peaceful it was and that
he could and I could converse normally.<span>
</span>This was important so that I could listen to his advice to “look
forward, not down”.<span> </span>It was very
liberating to be floating in the sky looking down over the Pokhara valley.<span> </span>Watching the other paragliders, they seemed
to be whizzing around (like on a motorbike) but from where I was sitting, it
felt that we moved around very gently.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We had
excellent weather conditions in the end and were able to stay up for pretty
much an hour.<span> It was too cloudy to see the Himalayas but I'll be seeing them up close in a few days time. </span>We climbed high up above
Sarangkot, moved around over various villages and then hovered for a while
above the forest trees looking for monkeys.<span>
</span>We then spent some time over the lake before coming into a very gentle
landing – again, I was surprised at how easy it was.<span> </span>Bizarrely, landing had been one of the main
fears for the whole thing.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My stomach
has now recovered sufficiently for me to be enjoying a Gorkha beer with some
chips at Moondance.<span> </span>New to-do list:
where can I skydive in the following countries?<span>
</span>Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia.<span> </span>Answers on a postcard please.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150824117450437.740291.705585436&l=49ee14f635&type=1">Paragliding photos</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-74278919573316418422011-09-19T21:44:00.000-07:002011-09-19T21:44:45.434-07:00Monsoon rains in Nepal<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is the middle of the night and the monsoon rains are
falling heavily.<span> </span>Kathmandu was
completely dry for the first 24 hours and so I naively believed one of the
locals who told me that the rains were pretty much done for this year.<span> </span>The UK isn’t the only country where a pocket
umbrella is of the utmost convenience.<span>
</span>Alas, I packed mine away on the North Circular <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span>J</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having left Africa in mid-July and spent the rest of the
summer in various parts of England, with a slight detour to Pakistan, it feels
a little strange living out of a rucksack again and having to sort everything
out for myself.<span> </span>I arrived without much
of a plan other than that I wanted to trek and do some yoga.<span> </span>There are to be no “Eat, Pray, Love”
comparisons, thank you very much.<span> </span>Javier
Bardem, however, is welcome to make an appearance...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Things started slowly in Kathmandu.<span> </span>Maybe it was the long flight and losing a
night but I seemed to wander somewhat aimlessly for the first couple of days,
unaided by an erratic sleep pattern.<span> </span>The
sleep clearly still isn’t right but after three nights in a cheap (very clean)
hotel room with little natural light, I have upped the budget to enjoy a hotel
with a garden (and which does not reside above a nightclub).<span> </span>Things are looking up and the puzzle of how
to spend the next 45 days is starting to come together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I shall be abandoning Kathmandu on Wednesday to head for
Pokhara.<span> </span>It has a reputation for being
far more chilled out than the madness of Kathmandu and is also the start point
for my Annapurna Base Camp trek on Sunday.<span>
</span>The trek will take 10 days, should involve regular showering, and is
hopefully the perfect prelude to 10 days of yoga and meditation near Pokhara.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With a visa extension, it looks like I should be able to
head back to Kathmandu and then join an eight day trip to Tibet.<span> </span>I just need to get my head around paying the
airfare from Lhasa to Kathmandu when it is in the opposite direction to my
desired travel plans.<span> </span>The fact is that
the Chinese authorities force you to return to Kathmandu at the end of the trip
and you can only travel into Tibet from Nepal on a group tourist visa.<span> </span>But if not now, when?<span> </span>And so I shall likely suck it up and hand
over the cash.<span> </span>It is apparently a
spectacular flight.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so, after a few weeks of relying on comfortable English
trains, it is nearly time to get back on a bus for 7-8 hours. A “tourist bus”
runs between Kathmandu and Pokhara each day, and if reports are to be believed,
it will not be too cramped.<span> </span>Hurrah!<span> </span>I’m not ready for local buses again yet…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-9768323371608994222011-09-09T02:41:00.000-07:002011-09-09T02:41:23.109-07:00Hindu Kush Adventure<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I took a taxi yesterday to my storage unit on Hanger Lane
with the more valuable contents of my shed.<i>
<span> </span></i>I sat in the front next to the
driver and it turned out that he was of Pakistani origin.<span> </span>This swiftly led us into a conversation about
my recent trip to Pakistan.<span> </span>At the
traffic lights near BBC TV Centre, he insisted on shaking my hand – “respect”
for the fact that I had been to the Chitrali mountain range.<span> </span>He himself had been some ten years ago but on
his recent trip to Lahore this summer, he hadn’t made it past Murree.<span> </span>Too dangerous, man!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
At the beginning of the summer, I needed a plan for
August that would amuse me post-Widcombe Grange and before spending a week at
Lakeside Road between tenants.<span>
</span>Everywhere seemed too far, too hot or frankly, likely to be full of
families away during the school hols. I needed to escape to somewhere a bit
random… which is how I ended up choosing a <a href="http://www.wildfrontiers.co.uk/">Wild Frontiers</a> trip to Pakistan.<span> </span>It was all very last minute and in fact, I
only picked up my visa at 5pm on the evening before my 8.40am flight to
Islamabad.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Some people definitely questioned my sanity ahead of the
trip and many more after the fact.<span> </span>A few
others simply rolled their eyes.<span> </span>I had
to acquire some super-duper “non-FCO recommended country” travel insurance and
added on some extra terrorist cover for good measure.<span> </span>It is important to note that the FCO only
advise against all travel to four countries currently: Libya, Somalia, Syria
(darn shame) & Yemen.<span> </span>Anyway, my
trip was in the North West provinces of Pakistan, bordered mainly by
Afghanistan so surely all would be fine <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span>J</span></span>.<span> </span>On a more serious note, when a well respected
travel company has their “signature trip” to Pakistan, I presume that they have
the clients’ safety under control.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The trip started well, arriving into Islamabad on time
and the weather was hot, but not too hot.<span>
</span>Our guide, Zafer, kept mentioning that he was monitoring our flight
for the next morning. Today’s flight to Chitral had left and the weather for tomorrow
looked good.<span> </span>The daily 1 hour flight
from Islamabad to Chitral is on a very small plane and gets cancelled not
infrequently.<span> </span>All looked good on
Saturday morning when we got up at 4am and after a light breakfast, headed to
the airport for our 7am flight.<span> </span>We
checked in our luggage and made our way to the departure gate.<span> </span>There were two planes on the tarmac and
only one of them matched the description of our small plane for Chitral.<span> </span>It was a little upsetting when it took off
for Gilgit…</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It took until 7.30am before the departures board suddenly changed to
show “cancelled” for our flight.<span>
</span>Fortunately our minibus had stayed until the car park to wait until we
had taken off and so by 7.50am we had collected our luggage and were setting
off on the 12-ish hour journey to Ayun, near Chitral.<span> </span>As we were travelling during Ramadan and food
can be hard to come by during daylight hours, Zafer stopped to pick up some
snacks and fortuitously to make a set of photocopies of the list of our
passport and visa details (4 Brits, 1 Canadian, 2 Aussies & 2 Americans).</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We passed uneventfully through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swat,_Pakistan">Swat</a> valley but then
progress slowed when we had to stop at an army check point in the Dir
province.<span> </span>Sitting opposite a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitral_Scouts">Chitrali Scouts</a> barracks,
we waited for an hour whilst Zafer negotiated with the army to allow our
passage.<span> </span>The army had decided that we
lacked a “No Objection Certificate” (a relatively new invention). A few times,
it seemed that Zafer had collected his document folder and was on his way back
to the minibus when suddenly the army chief would suddenly call him back and he
would sit down for some further discussions. A lot of phone calls were made.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Finally, it was agreed that we could continue and the
army chief would call ahead to all the check points that we would pass over the
coming week and inform them that we should be allowed swift passage.<span> </span>Unfortunately this message did not reach the
next check point up the road.<span> </span>We enjoyed
the questioning of an enthusiastic army officer who was concerned that we had
been kidnapped by our guide and driver.<span>
</span>I wonder if it was almost a disappointment that we hadn’t and that
boringly, we were exactly who we said we were – tourists.</div>
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The subsequent few hours passed in a blur, nibbling on
almonds and biscuits and occasionally having to close the curtains on the
minibus to avoid the attention of unwelcoming locals.<span> </span>Late afternoon, we arrived at the PTDC Hotel in Dir
and were thrilled to be served tea and meet our jeep drivers (Mufti, Nasir and
Daman) who had come from Chitral to collect us (a slightly longer journey than
if we had arrived into Chitral airport).<span>
</span>By 5pm, Liz, Ken and I were settling into our jeep with driver Nasir,
looking forward to arriving at Old Masoud Fort in 3-4 hours time.<span> </span>The journey would take us up the Lowari pass
and somewhere near the top, we would leave the Dir region and enter the Chitral
area.<span> </span>As Nasir repeatedly said “Dir –
bad people, Chitral – good people”.</div>
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As we approached the Lowari pass, we requested permission
to use the Lowari tunnel but we were refused on the grounds that it was too
dangerous for foreigners.<span> </span>It is
debatable whether this related to the potential of what could happen within the
tunnel or simply due to the state of the road on the other side.<span> </span>We had no choice but to head up the pass
itself at the onset of dusk.<span> </span>The problem
was that since our drivers had driven over the pass at 1pm, there had been
heavy rain causing many landslides… Our skilled jeep drivers handled these landslides
with aplomb despite being bemused at how the road could have changed so much during such a short time.<span> </span>“No problem”, Nasir would
tell us with a grin.</div>
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Suddenly at 8pm, we met our match.<span> </span>“Problem”, said Nasir, “Go back”.<span> </span>Liz gave him all her snacks so that he could
break Ramadan. We set off back down the mountain, my front seat affording me a
great view of mountain pass, even in the pitch black.<span> </span>At the bottom of the pass, the army again
refused us permission to travel through the tunnel but promised that they would
allow us to travel through the following morning.<span> </span>Back to the PTDC at Dir then…<span> </span>As there was no mobile signal, they were not
expecting us and the chef had gone home for the night.<span> </span>Rooms were found for us and our jeep drivers
headed off to find us a “takeaway” which we devoured at 11.30pm.</div>
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We were granted a late start the next morning (and boy
did we sleep well) and headed back to the pass.<span>
</span>I don’t think very many foreigners have travelled through the Lowari
pass tunnel and definitely we were the first Wild Frontiers group to do
so.<span> </span>It took a bit more negotiating but
eventually we set off in convoy followed by a variety of Bedford trucks carrying live
chickens.<span> </span>My jeep led the 30 minute
drive through the dark wet tunnel.<span> </span>No Taliban
jumped out along the way.</div>
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When we arrived at the other side, it was clear that we
wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon.<span>
</span>The heavy rains had washed the road into the dry river bed. Zafer was convinced that there was a route through for the jeeps but Mufti just laughed. In the end we left our main luggage with the jeeps and scrambled over to the other side. The jeeps would follow us later in the day once the army had restored some form of "road" over the river bed. The plan was to walk until some taxis could be found to take us the rest of the way. In the end, an enterprising minibus driver was found and he drove us to Ayun. With the state of the roads, this took another four hours: ouch. Old Masoud Fort could hardly have scored more highly as a picturesque destination. A cup of tea, late lunch and a hot shower later and all was well with the world again.</div>
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The journey may have been long but everyone remained pretty relaxed and in good humour throughout. Zafer remained calm at all times but as days at the office go, these were two fairly stressful ones! Those photocopies proved invaluable - every check point seemed to want one. You could even go so far as to say that this itinerary was an improvement on the original as it took us much deeper into Pakistan and gave us a better insight to the troubled regions.</div>
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That evening, a controversial announcement was made to Zafer. For the next five days, we would be supplied with a police escort to ensure that we were safe. This meant that wherever we went, we were accompanied by five police officers, including a local chief. All the Pakistanis we met were furious and convinced that this was officiousness. However, a little googling since I returned suggests that this has become standard since October 2010. The police joined us for the drive to the Kalash Valley and as we were in the front jeep, we were able to laugh at their inability to take the corners properly. Relations relaxed a lot once the chief of police discovered that he & Zafer were both <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismailism">Ismaili</a> and from the Hunza Valley. Suddenly the police were all smiles and we could be trusted!</div>
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Whilst it was a little annoying have a continual police presence, they were generally charming and keen that we were enjoying out stay in Pakistan. When we trekked up to 3,800m (much of which was scrambling), they carried our rucksacks and waters and were always ready with a helping hand. Following our schedule did mean that they ended up doing a lot more exercise than normal! The negatives obviously are that when you visit a village, the locals associate the arrival of foreigners with police and also, you are never free to just wander. Our guesthouse owners were also obliged to provide lodgings and food for the policemen. Clearly if a police escort is to become standard practice, then it should be the tourists or the police covering the costs and not the local guesthouse owners. The times when the police put their flashing lights on to get us through traffic was mortifying and wholly unnecessary. </div>
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Where we ever in any danger? Probably not, but then I'm no foreign policy expert. In the Kalash Valley, we were a day and a half walk from the Afghan border but the locals didn't feel there was any issue. For the Pakistani authorities however, we were a potential PR disaster and so ultimately it is their decision.</div>
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The rest of the trip was fairly straightforward! We loved our three days in the Kalash Valley and the walks to the various villages & hardcore trek up to 3,800m. In our simple guesthouse, we chatted with the owner Saifullah and enjoyed mulberry gin instead of Kalash fruity wine (last year's grape harvest failed). I stayed in Michael Palin's "room" and if you'd like to know more about the Kalash then <a href="http://palinstravels.co.uk/book-3623">"Palin's Travels"</a> provides a far more succinct description than I could achieve.</div>
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From the Kalash Valley, we travelled to Chitral, Mastuj, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandur_Top">Shandur Pass</a>, Phander, Gilgit, the Hunza Valley (where we saw Rakaposhi and Ladyfinger), ending up at <a href="http://www.serenahotels.com/serenashigarf/default-en.html">Shigar Fort</a> after 14 hours of being bumped along jeep track. The people of the Kalash & Hunza Valleys shone out as the most welcoming. Elsewhere we were largely ignored. It was a long way from the continual waving in Africa earlier in the year. Our return flight to Islamabad from Skardu did leave on time which saved us a two day drive back to Islamabad. I'm not sure we'd have all managed the same sang-froid as we had at the beginning of the trip! Pakistan is a beautiful country with a lot to offer the tourist but I fear that it will be a while yet before it becomes a main stream destination again.</div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150782824935437.731298.705585436&l=b20cb9b4cb&type=1">Photos from Pakistan</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/pakistan">FCO travel advice for Pakistan</a></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><strong><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #dedede; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">We advise
against all travel to Swat, Buner, and Lower Dir, including travel on the
Peshawar to Chitral road via the Lowari Pass. In these areas there are ongoing
reports of military or militant activity. Localised curfews may be
imposed at short notice.</span></i></strong><b><i><span style="background: #DEDEDE; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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against all but essential travel to the Kalesh Valley, the Bamoboret Valley and
Arandu District to the south and west of Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These
areas have seen an increase in militant activity recently which has included
abductions, violent armed robbery and murder.</span></i></strong><b><i><span style="background: #DEDEDE; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-16814199972772727692011-07-11T02:44:00.000-07:002011-07-11T02:44:39.342-07:00The Kingdom of Swaziland<div class="MsoNoSpacing">I arrived in Swaziland from Mozambique by local mini-bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might have thought that I would have been put off by my journey up to Tofo, but no, the return Maputo to Tofo journey went smoothly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After spending a lovely Sunday afternoon in Maputo with Keith, Simon and their twins Andrew & Cameron, I was ready to brave the chapa station again on Monday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conveniently I had overheard a Dutch student, Isabelle, asking for advice on travel to Swaziland at the backpackers on Sunday evening and before long I had two travel companions for the journey.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Maputo to Manzini is really not very far at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 70km on the Mozambique side and then the same again in Swaziland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were crossing via the Goba border which turned out to be incredibly peaceful and efficient in its lovely mountain setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our only real hold up of the day was turning up at 7am (as recommended) but the bus not being full and therefore ready to leave until 11am!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We chomped on delicious fresh bread while we waited, one eye monitoring our rucksacks which had been placed into a trailer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just before departure, they were unloaded and the trailer filled with produce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our rucksacks looked precarious on top but the driver dug out some cord and secured them down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to admit that I turned and checked them various times during the journey to ensure that they hadn’t bounced off into the countryside.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Swaziland instantly felt very welcoming and by 5pm I was installed at a lovely B&B called Malandelas, in the Malkerns Valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time for a beer, sunset and some Wimbledon on the TV in the “pub”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swaziland gained independence from the British in 1968 and certain influences remain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next morning it became clear that I could do some more game viewing in Swaziland (yippee!) and that there was a backpackers (Sondzelas) inside the Mlilwane National Park, 2km down the road from where I was staying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I booked in for two nights.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Mlilwane National Park only has small game (antelope, zebra, hippos, crocs) and as a consequence you can do self guided walks and hire bikes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a slight hiccup when Sondzelas forgot to come and pick me up but the chief of the Malkern’s Police ended up helping me out when I accidentally dialled the police station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I quickly forgave Thulani for forgetting me when I spotted his Steven Gerrard sticker on the dashboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were some nice Brits staying at the backpackers and it was such a lovely retreat that I stayed an extra night enjoying a sunset game drive, self guided walks, a guided cycle and an impromptu sunset bathe in the local natural spring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walking to and from the backpackers to the main camp, I said hello to the zebra, impala and warthogs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although winter and therefore the dry season, the countryside was lush and beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must be even more so in the summer rainy season.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Whilst there, I started reading up on the other game reserves in Swaziland and realised that both Hlane National Park and Mhkaya Wildlife Sanctuary were easily accessible via public transport (Swaziland isn’t very big – 120km by 180km).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before long I found myself with a reservation for two nights at Hlane (big game – lions, elephants, rhino) and one night at Mhkaya (main attraction: black & white rhino).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither of these parks has any electricity so I charged everything to the full and set off on the bus.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Hlane National Park is separated into a couple of different sections – the main section where you can go on guided walks and cycles and then the big game section where the lions, elephants and rhino hang out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas Mlilwane had seemed relatively lush during the dry season, Hlane was absolutely desolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the trees were dead (blame the elephants – they eat the bark and/or knock them down) and all the grass was yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems amazing that the animals find enough to sustain them during the winter.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I headed out on a sunset game drive on my first evening and was spoilt by seeing a crèche (about eight – that’s a new collective noun for you!) of white rhino followed by three lions prowling around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sipped my beer while they played.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One rhino did starting running towards us but then seemed to change his mind and turn around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We later came face to face with an old elephant on the road and had to gently back away while he continued to move forwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At night, it was very dark at camp and my room was lit solely by gas lamps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could hear the hippos moving around near the waterhole as I went to sleep and the roar of lions when I woke up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But noise travels quite far, right?</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The next day I decided to try a 2 hour guided cycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although this only takes you around the main section of the reserve with small game, on our return we saw the same three lions as the night before, all walking past the gate of the big game section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had full bellies and so clearly the previous night’s hunting had been successful!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They eyed Themba and I up as dessert but that would have involved the effort of trying to jump over the very big fence and, like crocs, lions are not that inclined to make effort – they sleep for about 20 hours a day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If my guide doesn’t look concerned then I try to be relaxed…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the afternoon I enjoyed watching 4 big rhino taking an afternoon drink by the waterhole visible from the camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then spoiled myself with another game drive at sunset and we came across more elephants, rhino and an old lion curled up asleep next to his kill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on the smell, it wasn’t very fresh… and appeared to have once been a blue wildebeest.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I set off to Mhkaya the next day, a little sad not to have seen any giraffes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of easy mini-bus journeys later, I sat waiting by the side of the road to be picked up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No guests can drive into Mhkaya; a pickup has to be arranged at either 10am or 4pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having left plenty of time to get there I found myself sitting reading a book for an hour surrounded by goats and chickens, much to the amusement of the local children coming home from school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mhkaya is a little different to the other parks as you pay a set price and then everything is included: accommodation, all meals and a variety of game drives & walks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stone cottages are partly open (fresh air instead of windows) and so your loo most definitely comes with a view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, everything is lit by gas lamps making for a wonderful “enchanted forest” feel.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">It quickly became apparent that I was the only guest staying at Mhkaya (low season) and so the staff were ever so attentive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst it would have been nice to have some people to chat to, the situation did mean that I had most of my game drives/walks with a private guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could ask Bogano as many questions as I wanted and always have the best seat in the jeep!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After our sunset game drive (lots of white rhino by the watering hole), a table had been set for my four course dinner in front of a roaring fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just me and Madame Bovary.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">My lovely bed was covered in a big cosy white duvet and blankets so there was no worry about me being cold – especially when I realised that during dinner, the staff had been and slipped a hot water bottle inside the sheets!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a magical place to sleep and incredibly peaceful – I had expected to hear more animal noises and therefore possibly spend the night worrying about the lack of door/barrier!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was woken the next morning by one of the ladies bringing me coffee and a muffin at 6am in preparation for my 6.30am game drive.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Entering the big game section of the reserve, the first thing we encountered was two white rhino fighting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We drove very close as Bogano tried to separate them by making a lot of noise banging on the side of the jeep and revving the engine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They took no notice and so I snapped away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were separated later in the morning by two rangers who put their vehicle between the two animals (who had injured each other).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I questioned Bogano about the ethics of stopping the fight – surely nature should be allowed to determine the outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The answer is that normally, yes, but rhinos (as we have discussed previously) are disappearing fast and the purpose of Mhkaya is to protect endangered species to allow for the re-population of Swaziland’s other game reserves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swaziland has some of the world’s strongest anti-poaching laws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between 1988 and1992, the so-called “Rhino War” was fought in Swaziland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhinos were being poached and the poachers finding loopholes in the law to avoid punishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of months ago, the first rhino since 1992 was poached at Hlane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The poachers are already behind bars for 15 years with no possibility of parole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very efficient.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Later on, we went on a two hour game walk, coming very close to various female rhinos and their young ones – the littlest was just 3 weeks old!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A French family joined me for the afternoon game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I exercised the brain a little by translating things and we enjoyed yet more white rhino (sadly no black rhino), some playful elephants and ended with a family of giraffes close to some zebra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they are all my favourite animals, this seemed like a fitting ending to me.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Coming from Mozambique, Swaziland felt more prosperous but it seems that many people dream of moving to Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a lot more relaxed than South Africa and it is nice not to see armed security guards everywhere like in SA and Mozambique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would highly recommend Swaziland to you, not simply for the wonderful and relaxed game reserves but also because it is a very beautiful country, easy to navigate and the people are extraordinarily welcoming and helpful.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Top Twenty Swaziland photos on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150708468025437.707886.705585436&l=c4532cfc7f">FB</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-24943746588834238202011-06-25T07:34:00.000-07:002011-06-25T07:34:15.815-07:00Game drives through Africa<div class="MsoNoSpacing">From eastern to southern Africa, I have enjoyed more game drives than is perhaps normal, if not for one lifetime, then most definitely for one half year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the very beginning, I was spoilt by the wildlife we saw and the guides who accompanied us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As time went on, we actually saw less “impressive” game but learnt a lot more about the lives of the animals & birds themselves, the tracks they leave, the precariousness of their habitats, and the very real risks presented by poachers.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">There is much debate about what time of year to visit different game reserves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, many people visiting the Serengeti like to time their trip to coincide with migration - this is the time when many animals are moving great distances to find new sources of food and water and so the likelihood of spotting lots of animals is very high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, you can be very successful when water is scarce – the animals will need to travel more often to find food and water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At other times of year when water is plentiful, you may have to travel further, be prepared to be patient and return from some drives with little to jot down in your notebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The advantages of these periods of the year are that you will encounter far fewer people and not be racing other jeeps to get to the reported sighting of a lion or leopard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that is the case though, you need a nimble driver who can out-manoeuvre the other jeeps into the choicest spot for your photographic ambitions!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">For most first timers, the crucial thing is to spot the big five: lion, leopard, rhino, elephant & buffalo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite visiting towards the end of the rainy season when water was plentiful, on my trip we managed 4 out of the 5 in Kenya on our first day but then had to wait until the Serengeti to add the leopard to the list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t just see lions on day one, but mating lions!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being spoilt so early on, I came to have great expectations of all game drives and had to re-adjust at times and remind myself that we were not viewing these animals in a zoo but in the own natural environment and that we were the intruders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These fascinating creatures may not always fancy coming out to play on your chosen route!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At all points, you need a good guide with eagle eyes who can spot camouflaged animals whilst driving – a fine skill indeed.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The best times for spotting wildlife are first thing in the morning when the animals are getting up (yes, some of them go to bed just like us!) or late afternoon when they are moving to find their spot to settle for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On any game drive you can end up travelling hundreds of kilometres through national parks, often not spotting much at all for long periods of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s funny though how that disappears to the back of your mind when a herd of elephant comes storming past you on their way down to the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly, it’s one of your favourite drives!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also did a couple of game walks although due to the smaller distances travelled and the luck of the draw, we didn’t spot a great deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did come across a hippo that seemed to be seriously considering charging us until our guide cocked his AK47…</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">We were also lucky to view some different scenes at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, we ventured off in our jeep in thermals, fleeces, woolly hats and sleeping bags (ooh, it was chilly!) for a night game drive and rather naughtily woke up some baboons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were avenging all the things that the baboons had stolen from us (bananas, sandwiches, suntan cream, our guide’s fancy binoculars).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also saw a variety of animals who only venture out at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Etosha National Park in Namibia, our campsite was next to a waterhole where viewing platforms and spotlights had been set up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting there in the cold night air, we had the wonderful sight of a solo rhino coming to drink water and when he had left, a lion and lioness majestically strolled down to the water’s edge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afterwards they seemed to be behaving quite cagily and we were convinced that they were looking for a kill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the contrary, they were looking for a secluded spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may have lost them from sight (uber-binoculars with great night vision would have come in handy), but there was no mistaking those roars!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reaching a tally of nine, we decided that they must be done and headed back to the tents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh no, our lions roared all through the night.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Camera and binoculars should be a major focus when considering any trip involving game drives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is easy to become very frustrated when the animals are far away – especially when it is your first leopard sighting!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t consider it a proper sighting unless I can get a recognisable photo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously good position and composition are vital for a photo but having a powerful zoom lens is crucial and can help you get some memorable shots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Canon DSLR has a 75-250mm lens but I was always wishing that I had more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of today’s small cameras have very powerful zooms but if you want to be able to blow shots up and frame them, then you will be better off with a camera that has manual settings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My recommendation would be to get some photography lessons before heading out – my shots improved dramatically after J<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span>sus switched me over to manual settings rather than automatic and I learnt how to adjust the settings based on the light available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, sometimes it is just nice to sit and watch the wildlife with the binoculars – you can really see their faces and movements and look right into their eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are there to observe and learn; not just to be trigger happy.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">A topic that came up for discussion more in Southern Africa rather than East Africa was poaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much work has been done to make poaching illegal and the punishments harsh but nevertheless it remains a very serious issue and if things continue as they are then rhinos will soon be extinct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhino horns are a very valuable commodity in the farcical belief that they can make man more potent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the poachers, the animal itself is just collateral damage in the search for rhino horn to make their fortune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, many of these rhinos live in countries with limited resources (e.g. Zimbabwe) and where many people are desperate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhinos are particularly vulnerable not only due to the market value of their horns but also because mating takes an hour and so population growth amongst a diminishing population does not happen quickly!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Success stories against poaching would be the gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tracking the gorillas may not be cheap for a foreigner (~$500 in Rwanda for a foreigner, a minimal fee for a local) but the protection programme is now self funding and the gorilla families are expanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The threat however remains very real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst the local community has been educated and become involved via job creation, the site of the gorillas in Rwanda is scarily close to the very unstable Democratic Republic of Congo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a reason we were accompanied by so many AK47s that day.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The one missing thing I had really wanted to see was a kill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may sound a little gruesome but I think it is actually quite important to remember that these game parks contain delicate balances of wildlife and that what might look cute and cuddly to me from the safety of my jeep, is actually an important source of food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If too many animals survive, there is not enough food (be it prey or greenery) and water to go round.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did see some lions protecting their prey as well as some vultures feasting, and a stripped carcass lying under a tree ready for the hyenas to find that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Nevertheless, I love the protective practices of the different animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were watching some giraffes drinking one day (they bend down in the most hilarious manner) when all of a sudden they all started sprinting away from the waterhole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An impala had appeared from nowhere sprinting and they had all reacted instantaneously in self defence – it could have been a predator but in reality was just an impala having fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one giraffe drinks, another keeps guard. While drinking, they are very vulnerable to attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With elephants, the babies are very vulnerable to attack and so they always travel protected by the group, often within the legs of one of the adults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked the story we heard about the mother of a young elephant who was attacked by a crocodile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She picked it up with her trunk and threw it far into the river!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">So, what was my favourite thing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Impossible to say…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lions were majestic but I never bored of seeing elephants, zebras or giraffes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to watch elephants and giraffes eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when I’d seen hundreds of these animals moving around and chomping away on grass or trees, they could always do something to surprise me and show themselves to us in a new light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll never forget seeing elephants play fighting as they crossed the road or watching them swim and the teenagers fooling around in the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had seen so many placid zebras and then all of a sudden two were having an argument and one starting chasing the other, racing at incredible speed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t see giraffes drink or run until the later part of the trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The animals always had some new way to surprise and amuse me.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I’ve been tempted too much now and so I will need to visit more reserves in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be nice to focus on one area for a whole week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need a fair amount of luck when you only visit certain reserves for one or two days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You also don’t have time to focus on the geography of the area and actually try to track the animals.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Where did I go and what were the highlights?<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Sunday 3<sup>rd</sup> April: Lake Nakuru, Kenya – afternoon game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Pelicans, flamingos, water buffalo, zebra, impala, white rhino family, giraffes, mating lions. Baboons at campsite</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 4<sup>th</sup> April: Lake Nakuru, Kenya – early morning game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Black rhino, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, impala running & jumping</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Thursday 7<sup>th</sup> April, Kibale Forest National Park, Uganda </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Chimp tracking</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Friday 8<sup>th</sup> April: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda – afternoon boat ride followed by short game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Hippos, birds, crocs, water buffalo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Solitary elephant</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> April: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda – early morning game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Lots of elephants</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 11<sup>th</sup> April: Ruhengeri, Rwanda</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Gorilla tracking – Sabyinyo family</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Thursday 14<sup>th</sup> April: Lake Mburo, Uganda - early morning game walk</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Hippo charging through the swamp – you’d be surprised by the speed</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Tuesday 19<sup>th</sup> April: Ngorongoro Crater then into Serengeti National Park, Tanzania – all day game drive</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Buffalo, wildebeest, flamingos, antelopes, zebras, elephants, giraffes, sleeping lions, cheetah (in the distance) </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Wednesday 20<sup>th</sup> April: Serengeti, Tanzania – early morning game balloon ride followed by game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afternoon game drive</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->From balloon: large herd of buffalo moving across the plains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Family of 20 elephants running</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->From jeep: leopard moving around our jeep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Play fighting elephants, hyenas</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Thursday 21<sup>st</sup> April: Serengeti, Tanzania – early morning game drive</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Lion asleep, leopard in a tree</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Saturday 7<sup>th</sup> May: Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Rhino bush walk – only tracks, no rhino!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Sunday 8<sup>th</sup> May: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe - afternoon game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Night time game drive.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Elephants, giraffes, baboons, springboks</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 9<sup>th</sup> May: Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe – early morning game drive</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Giraffes and zebras, impala</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Friday 13<sup>th</sup> May: Chobe National Park, Botswana – early morning game drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afternoon game cruise.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Large herd of elephant storming down to the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elephants swimming and playing in the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lizard & crocodile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ukudu and springboks</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Sunday 15<sup>th</sup> May: Ovavango Delta, Botswana – afternoon game walk</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Nothing!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 16<sup>th</sup> May: Ovavango Delta, Botswana – morning game walk</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Waterhog, wildebeest</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Friday 20<sup>th</sup> May: Etosha National Park, Namibia – afternoon game drive</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Ukudu, black faced impala</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Ø<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Saturday 21<sup>st</sup> May: Etosha National Park, Namibia - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>early morning game drive, afternoon game drive, evening by the waterhole</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Daytime: black rhino, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, jackals, mongoose, antelopes</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Nightime: black rhino, lion & lioness</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Top twenty photos from East Africa on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150677483560437.699313.705585436&l=7285f1906c">FB</a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Top ten photos from Zimbabwe on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150677493895437.699320.705585436&l=4ef6cb10b8">FB</a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Top ten Botswana on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150677503815437.699328.705585436&l=cfbba95074">FB</a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Top ten Namibia on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150677510040437.699329.705585436&l=8a17fdb9db">FB</a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-47315276535638669412011-06-25T07:01:00.000-07:002011-06-25T07:01:24.877-07:00African border crossings<div class="MsoNoSpacing">I have fallen in love with crossing borders by road rather than arriving into airports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels far more like “travel”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s face it; airports have had their day for providing glamour and romance to the traveller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To date, I have crossed fourteen African land borders and if I make it into Swaziland and Lesotho via South Africa each time, then that will make it eighteen in total. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Including the three pages for Turkey, Syria and Jordan, only 16 pages of my new 48 page passport have been used but there are 9 full page visas and some 40 unique stamps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have very much appreciated the efficiency with which the various border control agents have treated my passport!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The hype about African border crossing has proven to be far worse than the reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before leaving London I had run around to the Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian consulates to make my life simpler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In reality, the visas could all have been acquired at the borders without any fuss (obviously I can only speak for the borders we used and on the days we travelled!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike in an airport, there is not necessarily an obvious sign to point you in the right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t know what you are doing, these land crossing can be intimidating but really this is just an opportunity for someone to help you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s pretty cool to get stamped out of one country and then stroll over the border to get stamped into the new country.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Up in East Africa, the borders seemed a lot busier – both in terms of people crossing and also the amount of vendors (often young boys) wanting to provide you with currency, fruit or fizzy drinks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At these crossings, the border guards categorically don’t want to see you if you are travelling as part of a group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when visas are required, they just want one person to hand over the passports and all the money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The East African Community has understandings about movement between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and if you enter and return once within a specified time period, they won’t require a new visa fee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Rwanda is not yet quite part of that and I was annoyed that I had to pay for two Ugandan visas when I had only gone into Rwanda for 4 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried smiling sweetly at the border control guard but he just smiled nicely back and insisted on a new visa ($50).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave up gracefully and handed my passport in with the rest of the group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t worth causing a fuss and potential problems for the whole group.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">As we reached Southern Africa, the borders became much quieter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our introduction to bureaucracy came when we entered Mozambique for the day to travel from Malawi to Zimbabwe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Extra time had been scheduled into our day for this notoriously slow crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arriving before 8am we were given our entry forms instantly but told that we would need to wait for the visa forms themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time ticked on and there was no sign of the forms and none of the officials looked too interested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make the foreigners wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last time an Intrepid truck had done this route, they had all been given $30 “transit” visas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After an hour and a half, the officials decided that they had no forms as the system had changed two days previously!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Transit visas no longer existed (the government didn’t consider that this was bringing in sufficient money for the country – just driving through doesn’t use any services) and so full visas were now required ($75).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would enter us all into the computer one by one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all trotted into a special room/cupboard at the back of the building where we gave our details and they had fun working out how best to position the new camera they had been given for this new system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we’d got up at 5am that morning to get to the border early, with no expectation of having photos taken, we all looked pretty rough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frankly, I wouldn’t have let me in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">At the Zimbabwean border later that afternoon, we were processed quickly, handing over our $50 bills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the Zimbabweans will take any US dollar bill they can, I was unable to get the group to get rid of all my accidentally acquired 1996 $50 bills which has been unusable elsewhere in Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As was often the case, the Canadians had to pay more than the rest of us <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we moved down to Botswana and Namibia, border crossing became far more sophisticated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of these borders had been upgraded for the World Cup in 2010 as they needed Interpol information on football hooligans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The agents were friendly and unfailingly polite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were also the most efficient with the pages of my passport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As in the Middle East, being a Rooney from Liverpool came in useful on many occasions and provided some nice banter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day, I even found myself discussing Kenny’s recent permanent appointment.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The most fascinating border in many ways was between South Africa and Mozambique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No longer with the truck and a group but travelling by overnight coach as just two from Johannesburg to Maputo, we had to navigate this one with only the nudges of the locals to point us in the right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Follow that queue!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I think he is on our coach – follow him!”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arriving by coach, we were able to use the short queue to get stamped out of South Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the other side of the room, we could see the big queue which stretched back for miles – these were people crossing over on foot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many Mozambicans, South Africa is their only chance of making a reasonable living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We later met a young man who worked in SA for 5 ½ months at a time before returning to see his wife and children for a couple of weeks.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">A situation on our coach had been fascinating us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lady sat opposite us with a young baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the controller came to inspect the tickets (strangely quite a while after we had left Jo’burg), she did not have one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had suspected this as we had seen her arguing at the ticket desk in the station but she had then appeared on the coach anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She refused to speak to the ticket controller and we wondered whether she would be thrown off when we made a stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He kept returning and asking for money (an inflated fare from the one we had paid) but she refused to engage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also understood that she also had no papers.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">When we arrived at the border, we wondered what would happen to her and whether we would see her again on the other side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After having our passports stamped out of SA, we were walking across the border when we spotted her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were many soldiers with guns randomly spot checking passports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was striding ahead and a soldier was running behind her shouting “Senhora”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She simply ignored him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although intrigued, we put our heads down and carried on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely this soldier would not give up and then there was still the Mozambique side with yet more soldiers and more guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We joined the next queue convinced that her seat would be empty on the coach for the remainder of the journey.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">You can therefore imagine our surprise when we re-boarded the coach shortly afterwards to find her sitting in her seat and grinning widely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can only imagine that she was a desperate woman with nerves of steel who was going to do whatever it took that day to get herself and her child safely into Mozambique that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The relief on her face was dramatic and she finally removed some of the heavy layers of clothing she had been wearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every so often she would laughingly exclaim, “Mozambique!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her clothes were old but clean and her bonny baby was beautiful and obviously well cared for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder where she had been and what her story was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was a very brave and determined woman.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">We may use borders for fun travel but for others, they are a source of income or a lifeline to safety.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My border crossings and comments:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Friday 1<sup>st</sup> April: enter Kenya at Nairobi airport</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I had acquired my visa in London as I would be landing at 3.45am from Cairo and had read that they could be difficult if you were arriving from a non-European destination and did not have an onward ticket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end it was a complete non-event, I did not need an onward ticket and the visa would have been cheaper purchased at the airport.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Tuesday 5<sup>th</sup> April: Kenya into Uganda (Malaba)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We passed through pretty quickly but there was an enormous queue of trucks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the main goods route in East Africa and it is not unusual for trucks to wait two weeks to pass through customs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are plenty of “hotels” along the road to keep the truckers entertained.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->On the Ugandan side, we chatted to some young boys who were mad about football.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently Liverpool are now referred to as “Loserpool” – unfair…</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Sunday 10th April: Uganda into Rwanda (<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">exit Kamuganguzi, enter Gatuna)</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rwandan visa is free for UK citizens</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Wednesday 13<sup>th</sup> April: Rwanda back into Uganda (Cyanika)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Had to purchase a new Ugandan visa for $50</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Saturday 16<sup>th</sup> April: Uganda back into Kenya (Malaba)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Helen had bought a football for our friends from our earlier crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, after asking around, we discovered that they were away that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A young boy who amused us with his requests for any magazines on the truck became the proud owner of our football</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 18<sup>th</sup> April: Kenya into Tanzania (Namanga)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->First use of Yellow Fever Certificate</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Friday 29th April: Tanzania into Malawi (Kaporo)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->No more visas required as we head into Southern Africa</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Tuesday 3rd May: Malawi into Mozambique (Zobue)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->$75 to transit for the day!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Tuesday 3<sup>rd</sup> May: Mozambique into Zimbabwe (Nyamapanda)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Easy border control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joked about Rooney.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Offloaded all my 1996 $50 notes via the rest of the group</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Thursday 12<sup>th</sup> May: Zimbabwe into Botswana (Kazangula)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Had to take all our shoes to be washed – protection against foot and mouth</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Saturday 14<sup>th</sup> May: Botswana into Namibia (Ngoma)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Easy crossing – discussed Kenny Dalglish appointment</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Sunday 15<sup>th</sup> May: Namibia into Botswana (Muhembo)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Tuesday 17<sup>th</sup> May: Botswana into Namibia (Muhembo)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 30<sup>th</sup> May: Namibia into South Africa (Nordoewer)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->South African border guards failed to raise a smile for anyone, not even J<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span>sus</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Saturday 11<sup>th</sup> June: South Africa into Mozambique (Lebombo-Ressano Garcia)</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->No Intrepid crew to guide us, locals point us in the right direction, easy peasy</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Visas acquired in Cape Town otherwise the coach company would not have let us board!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 27<sup>th</sup> June: Mozambique into Swaziland</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Swaziland into South Africa</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->South Africa into Lesotho</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Lesotho into South Africa</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Leave South Africa at Johannesburg airport</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-30509371588889856922011-06-17T08:47:00.000-07:002011-06-17T08:47:59.877-07:00Cape Town to Tofo: the unusual way<div class="MsoNoSpacing">The truck journey ended on the 31st May and so I enjoyed a welcome break from long days of driving, early starts and the tent up/down routine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to a cracking online deal, I suddenly found myself in a lovely comfy big bed with constant hot water and no more middle of the night mental debates about whether or not a trip to the ablutions block was a good idea.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">In Europe we have rather become used to the idea that flights can be found cheaply with a little patience and a willingness to travel at unfavourable times of day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has not reached South Africa when considering flights into Mozambique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “international” taxes on such a flight renders them beyond the budget of the meandering traveller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus a different route needed to be plotted to reach Maputo, the chosen launching pad for further Mozambique travel.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">As you may recall, I spent the first week of travels heading from London to Istanbul by train and subsequently enjoyed train journeys through Turkey and Syria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading up, it seemed that the Cape Town to Johannesburg 27 hour train journey on the “<a href="http://shosholoza-meyl.co.za/">Shosholoza Meyl</a>” would be a great way to begin the journey to Mozambique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The train has sleeper carriages and a dining car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would watch the South African countryside go by from the comfort of a two person “coupe”, occasionally popping to the dining car for hearty fare.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Ellie arrived into Cape Town on a plane from London at lunchtime on Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a lovely long lunch at <a href="http://www.fork-restaurants.co.za/index.html">Fork</a> on Long Street, we headed into town to do a little internet research and look into flights to Maputo. This is when we realised that there was no such thing as a cheap deal and we would need to use the more economical train + luxury coach option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To do this however, we would need to acquire our visas before we left Cape Town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coach companies in Johannesburg will not let international passengers board without a visa already in their passport, lest this cause big delays at border control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remembering how it took the Mozambique authorities 2 hours to discover that they didn’t have any visa forms on the day that the truck had travelled from Malawi to Zimbabwe via the Tete Corridor, this seemed reasonable.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Discovering that one needs a Mozambique visa at 4.30pm on a Friday evening is less than ideal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially when you are picking up a hire car at 8am on Monday morning and are not planning on being in Cape Town again until an hour before the train leaves on Thursday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All seemed well when we dashed up to the Mozambique Consulate on the 10<sup>th</sup> floor of a random office building and found a nice young man at reception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that providing we deposited 750 ZAR (~£70) each with the local FNB bank, we could submit our passports at 8am on Monday morning and they would try to have them ready by lunchtime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forms in hand, we went on our way. A slight change to the Monday plans would ensure that we would have Mozambique visas and could continue with our important wine tasting itinerary in Stellenbosch.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">After a delicious meal at <a href="http://www.savoycabbage.co.za/">Savoy Cabbage</a> on Friday evening (thanks Lori, Claire & Michael!), we were up bright and early on Saturday morning with plenty of time to pop to FNB, deposit the cash, pass by the train station to buy our tickets for Johannesburg (that office also closed early on a Friday) and then get to the ferry terminal for our 9.45am trip to Robben Island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alas, the entire banking system had gone down and no deposits could be made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little sweet talking later, the bank manager, Sedick, had agreed that I could go to the bank before the standard 9am opening<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>time on Monday morning, call him on his mobile and he would let me in to make the deposit.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The young man at the consulate at 8am did not believe that the bank manager would let me in early and neither did the bank security guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, true to his word, Sedick sorted out my deposit for me on Monday morning at 8.20am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The young man at the consulate looked duly impressed when, having had all my forms checked at 8am, I popped back at 8.25am with deposit slip in hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>TIA man, TIA – in a good way <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later on we detoured back to Cape Town from the Cape of Good Hope to collect our newly adorned passports, before heading over to Stellenbosch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We even managed to fit in afternoon tea at the <a href="http://www.mountnelson.co.za/web/ocap/mount_nelson_hotel.jsp">Mount Nelson</a>.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The Shosholoza Meyl looks nicer online than in reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike the Eastern European sleeper trains I had taken, on this train you had to take you own bedding and no-one comes along to make your bed in the evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The train felt tired and in need of a good scrub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However coffee is brought round to your cabin as well as meal orders taken and delivered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the cabin at times felt like a cell, we always went and took our meals in the dining car, inevitably waking the dining car staff from their slumber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The train left at 10am and was pootling along nicely until early afternoon when we seemed to have stopped for a reasonable length of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fire at a small power station had caused the electricity on the line to go out and so we had to sit and wait for it to be sorted out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had 10 hours in Jo’burg the following day between train and coach so what did two hours matter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We laid the little cabin table with a sarong and got out a bottle of wine and some nice cheese & crackers and made the best of the situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also planned what we could do with our time in Jo’burg the following day once our luggage was locked up in storage.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The train had originally been meant to arrive into Jo’burg shortly after midday but at 3pm we were debating whether or not we would even make our 10pm coach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A goods train had broken down ahead of us on the single track line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With no further interruptions, we still had three hours of train travel to complete and there was no information as to when the goods train might be rescued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time ticked slowly by and the train manager had little info to provide to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end the train moved again around 5pm and miraculously we arrived into Johannesburg Park Station just before 8.30pm – eight hours late.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Just time to collect our tickets, grab a bite to eat at Nandos and then board the Intercape overnight coach to Maputo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A queue was joined, passports checked and luggage tagged and loaded into a trailer behind the coach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a little bit of jostling, the conductor found us two seats together downstairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The roads are pretty smooth in both SA and the southern part of Mozambique and we arrived at the border crossing around 6am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, we had to join the queue to exit South Africa and then walk over the border to attend to the Mozambique formalities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coach gets a check once everyone if off, but fortunately there didn’t appear to be any customs and so the main luggage could remain in place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keen to get everyone through quickly, the coach conductor ensured that we joined the shortest line to exit SA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main queue for people exiting SA on foot stretched back for some miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the people on our coach didn’t seem to have any travel documents and still got through but that is a story for another day…</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">All was sorted in under an hour and the coach was on its way, arriving into Maputo on schedule around 8.30am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our hotel of choice had no rooms but the owner, Celia, kindly offered us coffee and helped to find us another room elsewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also said she could help with transport up to the beach at Tofo (~420km north of Maputo) and gave us a couple of names and numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were ready to leave Maputo after a few days and so I called and arranged for Masingo to pick us at 6am on the Tuesday morning at our hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trip would take 7 hours and cost 600 MZN per person (~£13).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hurrah – by the following afternoon we would be swimming in the Indian Ocean.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Tuesday morning didn’t start off too well when we woke at 5.15am to discover that the power in Maputo had gone out and this was impacting the electricity and our bathroom water supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How we laughed… no big deal, we have a torch and we’ll be in the Indian Ocean at lunchtime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things were starting to look far less funny at 6.30am when there was no sign of Masingo and his mobile phone was turned off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No-one at our hotel seemed to have heard of the concept of a private chapa which picked up tourists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chapas are public transport and the long distance ones can be caught at the Junta outside town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the meantime our hotel breakfast had opened and so we grabbed a coffee and fumed.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The reason most chapas leave between 5-7am is because, as with most capital cities, traffic becomes very heavy during rush hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is also when most people wish to travel in order to get to their destination sooner rather than later in the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chapas fill up very quickly during these hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A chapa is a small minibus which can carry around twenty passengers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most passengers carry a fair amount of luggage and this gets pushed into any available space under and above the seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A chapa only leaves when it is full of passengers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">After unsuccessfully trying to get help from our original private chapa contact, Celia, we realised that if we wanted to get to Tofo that day, a public chapa it would need to be and so a taxi to the Junta was required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The taxi driver we found to take us out to the Junta (a few kms outside town) fortunately had pretty good English. He was confident that we could still make it to Tofo that day and on arrival, we requested his help to find the transport we needed.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">After toying with the idea of a private taxi to Tofo we realised that this was silly money and that we would need to take the seats available on the public chapa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our taxi driver did all the talking and the chapa “manager” seemed very excited to welcome us. He even moved another passenger so that we could sit together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our padlocked luggage required its own seat and it was duly stowed into the very back seat where it would be nice and safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst someone had managed to place a single mattress into the overhead rails, no live animals were present and there was no luggage on top of the vehicle.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">When you board a chapa, it looks as though it has two seats on one side and one on the other, with an aisle in the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alas, there is an extra seat to be folded down into the aisle ensuring that no-one has any wiggle room and all space is used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our chapa was full an hour later and so we set off at 10am, music pumping, with no real sense of how long this journey would ultimately end up taking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chapa itself was only going to Inhambane but we had clearly paid our fares to Tofo, another 22km down the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Late afternoon, passengers finally started to disembark as they reached their destinations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had hoped that this would free up some space and a little air on the chapa but alas, the seats were refilled as quickly as they were vacated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Passengers wait along the side of the road for the next chapa.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Our fellow passengers were an assorted crew of probably reasonably well off locals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is important to remember that Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two young lads in front of us were travelling up for an in-law’s funeral and returning the following day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They proceeded to get quite drunk in a loud but friendly way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had been raised partly in South Africa and Ernest had some very strong feelings on the international investment required to assist Mozambique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He provided occasional commentary on where we were and how much further there was to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man to Ellie’s left worked in South Africa laying pavements and was going home for the first time in five months to see his wife and two young children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were largely ignored by the other passengers and never felt that we were seen as easy targets as a couple of rich white tourists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the later passengers seemed to find us quite amusing and were very smiley.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">It became clear that our journey would be taking longer than 7 hours and that we would arriving after dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is always disconcerting to arrive somewhere new after dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we reached the final stop in Inhambane, we stayed on board whilst the chapa driver & young boy conductor went off to sort out our ongoing transport to Tofo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were thrilled to discover that we would be taken straight there in a taxi!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After ensuring that not another metical of payment would be required, we set off along the dark windy road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally at 6.30pm we reached the Aquatico Lodge where Sharon was waiting to let us into our beachside casita.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day had ended up being far more stressful than necessary and costing twice as much but we were finally metres away from the Indian Ocean, even if it was too late to have a dip.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Some of the phrases we have heard since:</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Why didn’t you fly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re driving…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I avoided Maputo and flew straight to Inhambane… Didn’t you know that Fatimas Nest runs a shuttle?</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Whilst we wouldn’t wish to replicate the journey again, it does classify as an adventure and it did in total cost less than a sixth of the price of a flight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ellie plans to dine out on the story for years to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listen out for it in a pub near you.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-64638310870051734252011-05-17T08:45:00.000-07:002011-05-17T08:45:27.354-07:00Zimbabwe - to visit or not to visit?<div class="MsoNormal">I have wanted to write about Zimbabwe since I entered the country for the first time on the 3<sup>rd</sup> May.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It dawned on me however that maybe I should wait until I had left the country before I actually posted anything – paranoia perhaps:-)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before arriving in Zimbabwe, I was very excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When choosing my African trip, I had deliberately chosen an itinerary which went to Zimbabwe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was attracted to the idea of lesser visited countries and those with intriguing history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, while approaching from Mozambique, it felt strange to be entering the country occupied by Robert Mugabe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was I supporting his regime by visiting?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was noticeable on the truck that the non-Brits/Irish were not really very conscious of “Uncle Bob”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many ways, I was surprised that Brits could get into Zimbabwe by simply buying a visa at the border ($55).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This money may have gone straight into the regime’s pockets but otherwise, for the subsequent nine days, there was little sense of his presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were very welcomed as tourists. At the National Gallery in Bulawayo, we wandered around some artist studios and chatted (and yes, I bought a couple of pieces).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They commented that we were the first tourists they had seen in a couple of years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were excited to see an overlanding truck in town again as this would offer them more chance of a revenue stream in future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been two years since the Zimbabwean Dollar spiralled out of control and the country descended into crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A mixture of US Dollar and South African Rand is now used and this has stabilised the situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This however does not change the fact that unemployment stands somewhere between 94-7% - people are desperate.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Nonetheless, there were marked differences as soon as we crossed the border from Malawi into Zimbabwe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gone were the mud huts and whilst the properties were still thatched, they were all made of brick and the thatch was reed and not banana leaf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we approached Harare, we saw a lot nice properties and even a suburban housing estate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very easy to see that people have previously lived through better days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things however are changing quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To use the example of our campsites: our crew had visited just over a month ago and were able to point out the progress made in a short period of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Backpacker Campsite outside Harare, the swimming pool had been restored to service and at Norma Jeanne’s, fast Wifi had been installed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elsewhere, shower blocks were being refurbished and hot water becoming more reliable.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Things seemed slightly less male orientated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dress sense felt more western and I was thrilled to see a young women wearing a Liverpool shirt and driving a motorbike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a sight would have been unthinkable in East Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The landscape was less dominated by small businesses along the side of the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cities of Harare and Bulawayo felt fairly modern.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">We went on various early morning, afternoon and night time game drives in the Matobo and Hwange National Parks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t manage to succesfully track the rhinos on foot but we did see some spectacular bushmen cave paintings and learn a lot from our guides Ian & Andy (disco donkey = zebra).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw giraffes run for the first time and an elephant swim!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">We also visited the wonderful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Zimbabwe">Great Zimbabwe Ruins</a> (the National Monument after which Zimbabwe is named).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A UNESCO World Heritage site, Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city which was first constructed in the 11th century where it was thought to have been a royal palace for the Zimbabwean monarch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here our guide was a charming and intelligent young man called Philip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Philip’s parents had been a head teacher and a nurse but the ruling party decided that his father had been promoting the opposition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They sealed up their house with Philip’s father, mother and younger brother inside and burnt it to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very humbling to hear a young man tell you this story (we had asked about his family) so matter of factly, adding that “such things happen in life”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may be a soft Westerner but I can’t agree that this should be the case.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In addition to the overwhelming welcome reception from the Zimbabwean people, what I will remember most about Zimbabwe is the red sunsets, the boulders in the landscape and the crisp golden wheat in the fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a country that will shine again in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remembered not to mention the BBC.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-34035708115150807462011-05-10T03:01:00.000-07:002011-05-10T03:04:39.528-07:00Top ten East Africa wildlife shots<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ideally I would give you a top 30 but I have limited wireless upload so here is a taster for now:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Either link should work:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116942691328229893026/TopTenauthkey=Gv1sRgCJLE6_3k0vyLOg">Picassa</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150600111010437.677256.705585436&l=41a1d0ae53">Facebook</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-44442625009042836912011-05-01T09:13:00.000-07:002011-05-01T09:13:03.570-07:00Visiting East Africa<div class="MsoNoSpacing">I am writing this from the shores of Lake Malawi at Kande Beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The waves are lapping loudly in the background and Liverpool just comfortably beat Newcastle 3-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all, a great afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left Tanzania for Malawi two days ago and it seemed to me that a month in East Africa required some reflection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today is exactly half way through “Africa Encompassed”.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">East Africa is made up of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda and the only one not visited on this trip is Burundi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hear it isn’t very open for tourists (although Uganda hasn’t been so stable since I left, a bit like Syria).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lonely Planet “East Africa” has only a very small section on Burundi and re-iterates its potential for instability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you may recall, the trip started in Kenya and went into Uganda, Rwanda, back to Uganda, Kenya and then into Tanzania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first thing to note about all of these countries is the staggering beauty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes when looking out of the truck window for hours at a time, you forget about all the poverty and basic living conditions – it just doesn’t seem to add up.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The geography of all of these countries is very diverse as you move from North to South, East to West.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visiting the region during rainy season, the Ugandan and Rwandan countryside seemed the lushest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is fertile soil and the hillsides were beautifully terraced and the fields full of patchwork quilt crops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Northern Tanzania felt more arid but the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti seem to provide well for their wild animal populations.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Entering Uganda from Kenya, things instantly felt more prosperous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was more evidence of industry (pharmaceutical factories, Tilda signs in fields) and the children seemed to be more consistently dressed in bright, smart school uniforms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, shoes to go with the uniforms only became apparent in Tanzania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vision of prosperity in Uganda was slightly shattered as we passed the slums outside Kampala on the way to our campsite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our understanding is only as good as the roads we take.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">However, wherever you go, the children come running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their vivacity is rich indeed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are walking they want to hold your hand and have their photo taken (and giggle at the screen afterwards) and if you are driving past in the truck then you need to make sure that your right hand is ready for some enthusiastic waving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard to say no to all the children looking up and asking for pens and money, but necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contributions of pens and pencils should be given to a teacher and contributions of money direct to organisations that you visit/come into contact with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The odd football can come in handy though, particularly for young boys with good chat at border crossings.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">In all of these countries, 6-8 years of primary education is provided by the government, although is not always compulsory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondary schooling is fee paying and so the reserve of the well-off and beneficiaries of foreign aid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>University education is beyond the means of all but a few.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Small businesses were prevalent in all the countries but seemingly less so along the roadside in Rwanda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the premises are brightly coloured and have often been painted to advertise a mobile phone network.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Kenya it seemed that butchery was a business that could be attached to any other – Hairdressers & Butchery, Hotel & Butchery, Mobile Phones & Butchery… the list could go on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People are obviously enterprising.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many of the tourist destinations, locals have been encouraged to focus on their traditional carving and art skills as a way of making a living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case of the National Parks, this often provides revenue which replaces that previously earned via hunting or poaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preservation of game parks is high on the agenda and sustainable tourism represents an important source of income in a region bereft of high value natural resources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beauty alone does not pay the bills.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Helen and I spend many hours on the truck pondering how to solve the problems of Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Funnily enough we haven’t identified any magic solutions when so much basic infrastructure is missing and so many people live on subsistence farming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the reasons why the Ugandans are so upset is because the government has just spent millions on arming the military but yet have not provided sufficient funds for primary schooling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And food prices are rising...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Having read “The State of Africa” during my month in the Middle East, I arrived in Africa feeling fairly sceptical:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so much corruption at the highest levels, brutal dictators, collusion from Western governments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure that my opinion on that has changed much but I have been overwhelmed by the beauty of these countries and the welcome from the local people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure that those assets alone can drive forward change across East Africa but if the focus remains on keeping people healthy and improving access to education then hopefully over the coming generations, lasting change can be driven from within.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Apologies that this seems a little rushed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently tonight is my last opportunity to connect my netbook to t’interweb until I get to South Africa at the end of May.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully I shall be surprised on the way but I doubt that will be the case in Zimbabwe!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We start the drive to Zimbabwe tomorrow where we stay for ~ 10 days before spending the rest of the time between Botswana and Namibia, arriving in Cape Town on the 31<sup>st</sup> May.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-76486773403415853762011-04-30T08:35:00.001-07:002011-04-30T08:35:53.010-07:00The “Endless Plains”<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Back in real life when I went to an office every day and had a regular source of income, I decided to treat myself to Balloon Safari in the Serengeti.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This turned out to be an excellent decision despite the 4.45am start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Team Canada (Marie, Maria & Pooja) and I were picked up in the early hours to be driven to the balloon launch site, collecting the pilots from their lodge on the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had never been in a balloon before and so it seemed very extravagant to be doing so for the first time in the Serengeti.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">There were sixteen people in our balloon and we had to all climb into our two person pods while the basket was on its side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This seemed a little bizarre (imagine lying on the floor with your legs up on the sofa) but in reality provided an amazing view of the balloon being inflated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the inflation was complete, the basket gently rolled over into an upright position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we were off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stayed very low at the beginning but gradually climbed higher depending on the wind conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our ride was just over an hour and whilst we didn’t see any cats, we had an amazing aerial view of a large herd of buffalo moving across the plains as well as two separate families of elephants running.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">After a very smooth landing, we enjoyed some bubbles before being driven to a nice spot where a five star bush breakfast awaited us with proper coffee, more bubbles and mango juice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We enjoyed lots of fresh fruit followed by an English fry up!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were particularly delighted with the luxurious hand washing set up with clean towels for drying rather than the usual shake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we were feeling cheeky and it was Hugh’s 25<sup>th</sup> birthday the following day, I negotiated to take an extra bottle of bubbles away with us, hamming up the camping angle of our trip.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">We had many great sightings during our two days in the Serengeti:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>beautiful brightly coloured birds, elephants drinking, an old elephant with tusks down to the floor, necking giraffes, elephants play fighting, hippos yawning and lions sleeping and basking in the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I particularly enjoyed hanging out of the top of the jeep as we drove along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As J<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span>sus had given me a quick lesson in how to use my camera more effectively (use manual AV/TV and play with the ISO setting), my pictures from these game drives should be much sharper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can really tell the difference when looking at my shots of our leopard.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">We had spent a lot of time looking for a leopard and our best hope was to see one sleeping in a tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having had a distant view of one, we had technically completed the big five but were still hoping for a closer view. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of a sudden we were given a tip off. We sped off and soon came to some other jeeps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As our jeep driver Simon skilfully manoeuvred us into the middle of the other jeeps to improve our view, the leopard decided to come and walk around the jeeps (windows closed, hands inside!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly she was sat underneath our jeep and we had to keep very still and quiet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a once in a lifetime experience (our guide could hardly believe it).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She stayed underneath the jeep for a few minutes and then continued her stroll around the other jeeps before retiring to mark her territory under a tree and climb it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">My favourites are still the zebras (beautiful), the giraffes (so graceful and so funny when they chew) and the lions but in terms of performance for the crowd, the leopard really stole the show.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-13757474952008621542011-04-30T08:33:00.001-07:002011-04-30T08:33:45.790-07:00Camping in Africa<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Camping in Africa is a unique experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a common saying around here: TIA – “This is Africa”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Expectation is everything and that is often the key to the enjoyment of a particular campsite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are not expecting a shower and there is one, suddenly, it’s a fab campsite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you were expecting hot showers and flushing toilets but if there is no water, the campsite plummets in the popularity stakes even if it has the best bar. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Patience is a critical virtue.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The purpose of overlanding is to travel great distances through countries and regions and allow you to traverse areas that are normally difficult to reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything is stored on the truck (don’t upset the driver by calling it a bus…) and so it becomes your home from home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our truck has a tour leader, driver and cook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the cheaper overlanding trips skip out the cook and rely on the passengers but I highly recommend having a cook as your meals will end up far more interesting and varied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure your fellow passengers are going to get up early to make you pancakes or eggs to order.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Hygiene is of big concern in this part of the world and so very strict rules are in place in regards to food and its preparation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A three bowl washing system is in place for hands – dettol soap wash, dettol rinse followed by normal rinse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The washing of dishes also goes through a similar process and ends with a boil rinse which requires the use of tongs to protect the hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Tonging” is one of my favourite jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me it ranks above “flapping” – the art of shaking dishes to dry them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although, if planned correctly “flapping” can include a full upper body work out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t forget to bring plenty of hand moisturiser.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">With an $8 pp per day budget for food, the cook (Emmanuel for the first two weeks and now Simon) requires ingenuity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our favourites have been the many avocado salads for lunch, the African goat stew and the regular fresh passion fruit and pineapple for dessert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cook uses local markets and supermarkets as we travel along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are hoping to take over the kitchen for a day in Malawi or Zimbabwe and go shopping and put together a feast of our own.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The tents on this trip are unexpectedly large (a pleasant surprise).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they are all two man tents, one of the most important decisions for the solo traveller to make is that of a tent companion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Helen and I made a beeline for each after the introductory meeting – we both recognised that we were the sanest solo travellers on the trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This partnership is proving to be a great success. We have a hitting policy in place for snoring and, excluding week one’s 53 year old Taiwanese lady, are the fastest at getting our tent up and down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our tent is also the best equipped with double layer mattresses, bug spray and air freshener.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The best campsites have warm showers, sit down toilets and a bar with wireless internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preferably we also arrive before dark and can shower without battling the mosquitoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as it sometimes feels irritating to be constantly putting the tents up and down, I have had my best sleeps in the familiarity of the tent rather than some of the basic hotels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would exclude the beach bungalow in Zanzibar as Helen and I appeared to have been upgraded – yippee!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Camping is a great way to reduce one’s alcohol intake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to consider whether or not you fancy a middle of the night excursion or two… bad enough on your average campsite but a little more concerning when you are camping in hippo territory, or in the middle of the Serengeti…, or on the one night in every couple of months when the river flies come out to play.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">One aspect where I do not excel is hand washing clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I have seen the future and it is not garlic bread – it is laundry service!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are often locals who will happily do your washing for a few bob and this saves spending your free afternoon elbow deep in dirty clothes.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">All in all, camping in Africa requires a sense of humour, patience and willingness to adapt and get involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can also make life easier for yourself by buying the crew a round of drinks every couple of days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Goodwill goes a long way… all the way in fact, to a beach bungalow.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-32838797864420148172011-04-12T11:57:00.000-07:002011-04-12T11:57:29.528-07:00Mzungu in the Mist<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">One of the main highlights of the first section of <a href="http://www.dragoman.com/holidays/search?region[]=0&country[]=0&category[2]=0&month=0&code=euw">“Africa Encompassed”</a> is tracking the gorillas in the <a href="http://www.rwandatourism.com/primate.htm">Volcano National Park</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the last week, we have been gradually making our way through Kenya and Uganda into Rwanda.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Mountain gorillas live in both Uganda and Rwanda but for a variety of reasons, it is felt that Rwanda is the better location, not least because you are not required to trek through the <a href="http://www.uwa.or.ug/bwindi.html">Bwindi “Impenetrable” Forest</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">There is much written about tracking the gorillas and it all leads you to believe that it will be an arduous journey climbing through the dense, humid forest on your hands and knees with hazards at every turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such, much preparation is needed: as much skin covered as possible and double layering to prevent the spiky needles from making an impact on your arms and legs.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The experience begins at the visitor centre where you can enjoy delicious Rwandan tea and coffee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you will only have bush toilets for the next 4-5 hours however, you should consume this in moderation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a briefing from your guide (ours was Oliver), you set off to your chosen group of gorillas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only eight people a day may track each set of gorillas and there are currently eight groups living in the forest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The permits come in at a hefty $500 pp for non-residents but as we discovered, it was worth every penny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were allocated to the Sabyinyo group and so we set off in a rather crowded jeep to get to the starting point for our tracking.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">This is a very professional operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to our main guide, two experienced gorilla trackers had already been out since sunrise tracking the gorillas to help us aim for the right spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each day these trackers follow the gorillas from sunrise to sunset when the gorillas go to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they will never move more than about 40 minutes away from where they slept the previous night, the trackers know where to start their task each morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once they find the gorillas again, the radio through to the guide so that he can adjust the trekking path as necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also employed the services of a local porter to carry our non-essentials (food, waterproofs, suntan cream etc..) and his machete proved to be very useful in helping to clear our path through dense areas of forest. He will also be there to give you a shove if you are struggling to get up a tricky bit of the climb!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And last but not least, at the front and back of the group, there is man with an AK47… apparently to fire into the sky to scare away any aggressive forest elephants or buffalo but if you look on a map you’ll see just how close we were to Congo and so I think you can draw your own conclusions as we did.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The planned outfit worked a treat and I returned bite and sting free: thermal leggings, walking trousers, thick walking socks (trousers tucked in), long sleeve t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, neck scarf, thin skiing gloves (gardening gloves in the porter rucksack as a back up!) and cap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are given a walking stick to assist your progress and this proved essential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tracking started at an altitude of 2,400m (we reached about 2,600m) and depending on where the gorillas are hanging out, it can take you anywhere between 30 mins and a few hours to reach them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our case it took about 1 ½ hours of enjoyable walking through a mixture of open fields and light and dense bamboo forest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were walking in the footsteps of forest elephants and buffalo and some of the earth was fairly wet and churned up (it is rainy season here in Rwanda).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d like you to think that I was gazelle like in my ascent and descent through the forest but overconfidence and a more hippo-like walking style resulted in some very mucky boots!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Finding the gorillas was a very special moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You leave everything apart from your camera 100m away with the porters and AK47 men and pay very close attention to the guide’s instructions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gorillas are generally very relaxed in the presence of humans but the ideal scenario is to remain at least 7m away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guide and one of the trackers kept us all together as a group and were alert to the arrival /movement of any particular gorilla.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Sabyinyo group contains 12 members including a three week old baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a slightly scary moment early on when the main Silverback ran across the guide but we were assured that he was just playing <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J </span></span>Oliver has been tracking the gorillas for twelve years so they are firm friends.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">We moved up and down through the forest and watched these beautiful creatures at incredibly close range.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A 7m distance isn’t necessarily possible in dense forest especially when the gorillas decide to move and come closer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We generally watched one gorilla at a time but also saw a couple of mothers with their young babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the gorillas were busy feeding themselves from the vegetation in addition to general lounging around and much bottom scratching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is worth noting that many of these gorillas do seem to be playing to their audience – lying down on their sides with their backsides to you or lying on their backs eating and covering their faces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the last ten minutes, we were with Silverback no 2 who was eating away just 2m in front of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed as though our guide had communicated with him (lots of funny grunting) and and so he humoured us whilst focussing on the important task of leaf eating.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">When around the gorillas there are strict rules about no eating, drinking or bush toilet trips and absolutely no flash photography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such, when tracking the gorillas in dense forest (some groups can be found in open fields), photography can be tricky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite a few blurry photos had to be deleted but the dappled sunshine was kind at times and some wonderful shots taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to be careful at any rate that you don’t spend all your time viewing the gorillas through the lens of a camera but take the time to just watch and enjoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst the photos can be challenging, the very clear advantage of the forest is just how close you can be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an open field, the 7m rule will always apply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oliver always kept us in a tight group and when a gorilla decided it was time to move on or approach, we were kept away to ensure our and the gorilla’s safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Oliver was relaxed then so was I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even trusted him when a gorilla was moving around above my head in a nest in a tree!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">In the end, the trekking was not arduous but very enjoyable. The layering was necessary but we were very lucky with the weather and had no downpours. What a privilege to interact so closely with these fabulous animals. I'll add some photos once I have a stronger WiFi connection.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2195738798184163698.post-35366769526293018282011-04-02T05:24:00.000-07:002011-04-02T05:24:21.144-07:00Africa EncompassedIf you're not sure where I'll be over the next couple of months, this is the link to check:<div><a href="http://www.dragoman.com/holidays/details/africa-encompassed">http://www.dragoman.com/holidays/details/africa-encompassed</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The trip runs something like this:</div><div>Start in Kenya, into Uganda,Rwanda (gorillas), back to Kenya, to Tanzania, out to Zanzibar, down Lake Malawi, through the Tete Corridor in Northern Mozambique into Zimbabwe, into Botswana, Namibia and finally arriving Cape Town on the 31st May. Phew!</div><div><br />
</div><div>The truck will look something like this, blending right in, ha ha:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbDK6fqTjZcxJ4rjSDspVn2CjbVG3IKlcW3QGRMMIQji1V1GOFJDYVZl4oAESEdovDKtDXuX02AvQJHYo6reMEm3OHhheOAGf91A6aSHXbNT-kRqN9_eQl8tjcC1MAB9wi5bXesJNcUg/s1600/Truck2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbDK6fqTjZcxJ4rjSDspVn2CjbVG3IKlcW3QGRMMIQji1V1GOFJDYVZl4oAESEdovDKtDXuX02AvQJHYo6reMEm3OHhheOAGf91A6aSHXbNT-kRqN9_eQl8tjcC1MAB9wi5bXesJNcUg/s320/Truck2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>I doubt I will have regular access to WiFi (!) but you can keep texting my UK mobile as phone coverage should be widespread.</div><div><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0