Serengeti & Kilimanjaro

I am now back home! (But still not proofreading) Before I get into the process of getting everything prepared for Medical school I’d like to finish up the blog. Luckily for me the last few weeks in Africa were some of the most interesting of my trip…and hopefully I can convey the feeling.

When I left off I was in the Island paradise of Zanzibar. The remaining days on the Island did not disappoint as they were spent either sea side or in a tropical jungle setting. On the morning of June 18^th we (the overland truck) made our way from Dar es salam to Arusha…to begin our safari in the Serengeti.

The truck ride was long but a lot of fun with some group singing of old songs. About 5 hours into the drive our driving started Honking the horn and pointing to the horizon. When we stopped he said “you can clearly see Kilimanjaro today”. We all looked in the direction he was pointing and nothing was visible. After some discussion our driver realized we were looking much too low and pointed up towards the sky. Still the mountain was not visible to me and everyone else. Then as we raise our eyes above the clouds the massive snow covered peak becomes visible. I was completely confident about climbing the mountain until I saw how ridiculously high it was….

As we continued to Arusha everyone who had once talked about climbing the mountain was suddenly humbled by the presence of the awesome peak. I still had resovle to attempt the mountain but wasn’t going to go up without reading a little more about the challenge.

The day after arriving in Arusha we met up with our new Safari guides and made our way into the Serengeti. The ride in was pretty hilarious with some fun games and just nonsense talk. As we made our way into the Serengeti the share number of giant mammals was overwhelming. There were literally thousands upon thousands of Zebra, Buffalos, Wildebeasts, Gazzelle type things (springbok, impala, Kudo), and Giraffes. Not was common but still often found were lions, hyenas, hippos, Cheetahs, and elephants. The only thing that was super rare was the leopard…which we only barely saw. The game drives were fun and that night people were instructed to shine their lights around before using the bathroom. If they found 2 bright pair of eyes they needed to go back into their tents…. That night a number of people got out of their tent to go to the bathroom but went back in when they found that 2 lions had taken up stay about 20 meters from the bathroom.

The next day there was more game driving and we even saw a leopard. Kind of. It could have been a stuffed animal placed in a tree since it was not moving and was amazingly hard to see. However, if I count it I did see all of the big five and every major game in Africa. Also, we saw an amazing sight for anyone…a cheetah stalking and then chasing it’s pray. It didn’t actually kill the littler springbok however.

In addition to game watching in the area, I also visited Olduvai Gorge…the location of the world’s oldest human remains. Since I believe in evolution I kind of think as that site, and all of Africa for that matter, as a religions pilgrimage. There was something powerful knowing that our minds and intellect all evolved upon that continent. Perhaps it was knowing that 1.6 millions years ago when the first “humans” walked they were terrified by lions, awestruck by massive elephants, and humbled at the gargantuan shining mountain that rose from nothing. All the same feelings I felt as I saw the same sights.

After the Serengeti we returned to Arusha back to my final campsite with the individuals had I had spent 6 weeks traveling with. It was a bittersweet goodbye with everyone the next day but I took comfort in the fact that I had made dozens of friends that I hope to keeping touch with for a long time to come.

The next day me and my friend Adele (a person I met on the trip also interested in climbing Kilimanjaro) split from the group in Arusha and then made our way to Moshi…to begin what would be the hardest physical journey of my life. Once in Moshi we talked to a few tour companies and organized a climb for the mountain. We were amazed to find that the necessary group for 2 climbers consisted of 7 people (2 guides, 4 porters, and 1 cook). After making the preparations to climb we took a day of rest to compose ourselves and our minds for the struggle to come.

Kilimanjaro: DAY 1:

We arrived at the entrance gate (Marungu Gate) by about 11 AM the first day. The air was cold and there was a thick mist and light rain falling. As I walked through the gate I got the sense that ordeal to follow would be difficult. We spent about 4 hours walking about 8 kilometers and a vertical distance of 1300 meters (4265 ft). When we made it to our destination were at a height of 2700 meters (8860 ft) and the difference in temperature was noticeable. At this altitude there was less rain, more mist, and a frigid wind in the Air.

That night we ate and drank as much as we could (we learned that altitude sickness reduces your appetite and lack of water would give you a massive headache on the mountain). Also we met a couple from Canada both working in the health care industry that did their part to scare us about the possible complications of climbing Kilimanjaro.

First, the low pressure cause brain expansion and many people get brutal headaches. Second, there is the chance of nausea and dizziness (this was made apparent as I saw people throwing up all the way to the top on the summit day). After these relatively minor problems comes pulmonary edema (flow of liquids into the lungs) that cause permanent chronic lung diseases. Then finally, cranial edema (flow of liquid into the brain) which has the common, and troubling side-effect, of death!!! The mountain kills 20 people a year and after this discussion me and Adele were positive it was going to be us.

DAY 2:

We woke up early the next morning and began the next climb to 3700 meters (a paltry 3,280 more feet). The days walk was fairly simple but at the end we came above the clouds and the second base came rested about 100 meters above the clouds making for an amazing view. The walk took about 8 hours and we crossed the tree-line and there were nothing but shrubs at this heigh.

DAY 3:

The easy day! We didn’t have to sleep anywhere new this day and instead made a climb up to 4000 meters stayed there for a while and walked around….then came on back. This extra day is for acclimatization. (WARNING: SCIENCE CONTENT) Basically, as you go higher and higher the air-pressure drops, thus you are taking in less air per breath. Since you have less air the total amount of oxygen in your lungs also drops…therefore your red blood cells (RBC) don’t pick up enough oxygen per cell to meet your bodies needs. Your body counteracts the pressure problem by producing more RBCs which though carry less oxygen than at sea level make up for quality by shear quantity. So….by staying up an extra day our body produced more blood cells…to combat altitude sickness.

DAY 4: THE HARDEST DAY OF MY LIFE

So on Day 4 everyone who was climbing the mountain woke up with some anxiety. The standard breakfast/pack activities occur and then another 1000 meters of altitude was gained through a 6 hour walk to the last hut, Kibo hut. The walk was beautiful and we crossed the altitude that supports life into a region of the mountain known as the alpine desert.

When we arrived at the hut our guide decided we needed to go up an additional 150 meters to about 4850 before we could take some rest in preparation of what was to come. After getting down to the hut we took a nap…kind of…it was a little nerve racking but at about 8 PM I fell asleep.

At 11 PM I woke up to the sound of my guides telling me to get up and get ready for the climb. The preferred method to summit the mountain is at midnight. The reason is partly to see perhaps the world’s greatest sunrise and partly because when the snow starts melting up top it is easy to slip to an untimely demise.

 

After waking up I put on the following layers: long underwear, fleece pants, rain pants skiing pants, turtleneck, thin fleece, thick fleece, ski jacket, 2 pairs of thick wool socks, wool gloves, water proof gloves, a scarf, and a baraclava. The colors made me look like a giant version of papa smurf, but I was quite warm and when the howling winds of the peak came I was pretty glad I had all the stuff.

The walk started a little after midnight and the moon was bright enough as to preclude the need for headlamps for the first few hours. The head guide lead us up the path constantly saying “poli poli,” or slowly in Swahili. We inched non-stop up the steepest part of mountain through endless switchbacks. There were hardly any breaks for five and a half hours. We stopped a grand total of 5 minutes to drink water which was slowly freezing in its bottle. On the way up people ahead of us were turning back with terrible headaches or breathing problems. The only time one group passed another was if someone had to stop to puke or the general feeling of malaise became overwhelming. However, when the grueling 5 and half hours were done we made it to Gilman’s point, the furthest south African explores had made it many years ago.

At this point the highest point, Uhuru peak, was still another hour and a half away but the cause for celebration was large as we were at 5600 meters and the peak was only an additional 300 meters of altitude away. At this point the shear height of our situation struck me. 5895 meters or 19,340 feet is just silly high! When I went skydiving I jumped from 12,000 feet. The world’s highest building (Taipei 101) is only 509 meters less than 1/11 of the height on the mountain. In fact, if you would need to take the tallest 16 buildings in the world and stack those up just to get to the height of the mountain.

Also at this point all the water we had brought up the mountain had frozen so the breaks became even shorter since the slush was not very refreshing and your own body began to freeze if you stopped moving or longer than a minute. We started from Gilman’s point with determination but the hour and a half went be slowly. Walking on the ice at the summit was extremely tiring and the wind was more than capable of gusting and pushing people to the floor. However, we persevered and at the end we had made it…the peak!

 

I was so happy I ran up and kissed the sign. That was about all the energy I had and after taking pictures we turned around and started the decent. The first leg was 3 hours to the hut followed by 4 more hours to the next hut down. That night we slept easy and happy and the following day another 6 hour walk took us back to the base of the mountain with giant smiles on our face.

Just one more blog article to come. A summary of the whole experience.

Zimbabwe to Tanzania

Again it has been a long time since I last wrote a blog entry.  Not surprisingly much has happened since I last wrote almost 2 weeks ago.  I have crossed from Zimbabwe and the amazing Victoria Falls through Zambia, Malawi, and now into Tanzania.  Currently I am sitting in the picture postcard island of Zanzibar (incidentally the birth place of Freddie Mercury the lead singer of Queen).

Before I get ahead of myself I just want to take this chance to say happy birthday to my mom, who’s birthday was on June 13th.

Also I want to take this chance to let everyone know that I have uploaded photos since Namibia (basically 4 weeks worth of photos just got uploaded on the world’s slowest Internet connection).  The link is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/saurabhgombar/sets/72157600356978294/

So when I last left you I was in the country of Zimbabwe, in the town of Victoria Falls.  First things first, Victoria falls deserves 100% its spot on the natural wonders of the world list.  The falls are just spectacular and quite beyond the description of words.  Even my photos don’t do it justice because the areas with the best views are forever in a constant downpour caused by the mist, and hence my camera. 

The trip was lucky enough to arrive in Victoria Falls during a full moon…which in the area translates to phenomena known as the Lunar rainbow.  Basically since the mist kicked up by the falls is so fine and the moonlight bright enough there is a full color rainbow that cuts through the night sky at the falls.  I would suggest anyone who reads this to google some photos or better yet get yourself there during a full moon.

Other than that Zimbabwe was an interesting experience.  The economic policies of the current leadership (Mugabe) have destroyed the financial success of the country, which was doing quite well until the year 2000.  In that year Mugabe decided that he would play the race card and took away all lands belonging to white people and redistributed it.  The land switch was extremely violent leaving deep racial scars on both sides.  However, since this destroyed the agricultural back drop for the economy almost all the educated people left the country leaving it severely lacking in industry bringing the economy crashing.  Last year inflation alone was around 1700%.  To give you an idea of how bad it is, the prices of goods increased in the stores during the 3 nights we were there.   The only plus side of it was cheap souvenirs which I purchased an ample amount…how I am going to get them home is completely a different story.

Victoria Falls also marked the half way point of my trip through Africa and was the departure point for a few friends I had made along the way.  On the last night of the stay in Victoria Falls we decided to head to dinner and the Casino.  Dinner was an emotional good-bye but the casino was good fun.  After playing blackjack for an hour or so and slowly losing money we decided to pool our remaining 1.5 million zim and play some roulette.  Here our luck changed and we went up to like 8 million…. lucky number 15.  I am pretty sure that is the last time I will ever drop a million in a Casino and it was pretty fun I must say.  However, there was no where to spend it so I am still carrying 2 million Zimbabwe dollars with me (which expire in July 31st so the country can reprint money).

The next morning the trip got up early (we get up before 6 AM most days) and made our way to Zambia.  I loved Zambia but I hated the immigration because they charged US citizens a $100 US.  Once into the county we made our way to a campsite to relax by lake Kariba for 2 night.  This was a good opportunity for me to meet some of the new people joining the trip (4 Australians, 2 English people, 2 Americans, 1 Kiwi, and 1 Bermudan).  All are great people and the trip is still void of any annoying personalities and will be void of them for the rest of my Journey at least.

While at the lake we did our first Village tour to see an African Village.  The site was definitely and eye opener and the Continent continues to surprise me.  Before coming I imagined an area where people were unhappy and starving with little resources and growth.  What I have seen is completely contradictory.  First, in Zambia the children were the happiest I have ever seen in my life.  They were all bright eyed and happy to be in school and enjoyed interacting with each other and outsiders.  The older people too seemed to be mostly employed and generally happy.  It is true that the trip has not gone through too many conflict areas as west Africa and north east Africa but I think it is safe to say most of the continent is moving to meet the challenges of the 21st century.  I believe that with some good political leadership and the reduction of corruption the continent definitely has the resources it needs to succeed.

However, there is the major problem of Aids in much of the continent.  The worst affected areas are Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe with an HIV infection rate over 40%.  The effects were clearly visible in the villages as there was a relative shortage of young adults compared to kids and elderly people.  This has caused the number of orphans in areas affected to skyrocket.

After lake Kariba we made our way through Zambia and towards the Malawi border.  I was pleased to hear that there was no visa fee for Malawi after the exorbitant fee in Zambia.  Once in Malawi we went to the capital city to get some supplies and then made camp alongside lake Malawi.  The lake was gigantic and it was entirely impossible to see the other side at the location we made camp.  In addition, the water was amazingly clear and inhabited with brightly colored fish…making one of the worlds top fresh water scuba diving sites.  I didn’t go diving but did get a chance to snorkel and saw a number of fish.  Didn’t quite compare to large ocean fish like in Thailand but it was still an interesting experience.  Most surprising was the fact that the lake had a beach that was just as wide and soft as an ocean beach.

We stayed beside the lake for 4 nights and everyone was happy to get of the truck and just hang out and relax.  The nights passed quickly with bonfires and drinks on the beach and everyone was sad to pile into the truck again for a few days of long driving.  Our next stop was Tanzania and Dar es Salam, a major city on the port that is not the capital (as I mis-stated earlier) but is the largest city in the country.  We didn’t spend much time in the city just got supplies and then prepared for our 3 night trip over to Zanzibar…where I am right now. 

Zanzibar has the look and feel of paradise with large beaches and turquoise blue water.  There is a large town called stone town which has very identical looking white buildings (I haven’t been there yet but will tomorrow).  It was once a large port for the trade of spices coming from India and the Indian influence is clear in all the restaurants and construction on the island.  Here, I tried my hand at fishing and learned I am pretty terrible at it.  I always assumed fishing was just about luck but when you use a hand line there is definitely skill involved.

My next stop after Zanzibar is the Serengeti.  Currently the great migration (a huge migration of animals that follows the rains in Africa) is crossing so I should see millions upon millions of the world’s largest mammals.  After that I start my climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro and then make my way back to the states.  Hope everyone is well and I look forward to seeing people when I get home.

Africa part B: Namibia and Botswana

Last time I wrote I didn’t actually get a chance to proofread the blog and I just read it and I apologize for anyone who has ever had an English class and had to read that.

It has been a number of weeks since I last got a chance to write a blog post.  I am currently in the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.  As I am sure you have heard in the news Zimbabwe is going through a huge economic crisis and political crisis currently but I will get to that later.

Since the last email I have gone from Namibia to Botswana to Zimbabwe.  The experience has been amazing and the days were long but the weeks quite short.  After leaving the relative comfort of a real bed and roof in Swakopmund, Namibia we made our way north to an area with ancient cave painting and strange rock formations.  Their the camp site had little to no amenities.  We had to bring in all the water we used from outside and there was just one lone toilet for use.   Even with the minimalist conditions at the camp it was not in short supply of amazing scenery and interesting people.

Perhaps the most interesting and horrific story I have heard of my life was told by a Swedish biker we met here.  He started peddling in Norway and made his way south through eastern Europe, the middle east, Egypt, and down the eastern coast of Africa to the western coast all by himself on a bicycle.  His total time biking was 23 months and his destination of Capetown, South Africa was only a few weeks away.  On his face there was a long scar going from the bottom right lip down past the jaw.  We asked him to tell the story about it and we all shocked as we heard:

“So I was originally going to finish the trip in 2006 but I had an incident in Tanzania that forced me to go home for 13 months to recover.  I was biking down a lone road when I came up to four men walking in the same direction I was going in the middle of the road.  As I came up the men split to the sides of the road and I thought it was to let me pass.  However, as I came inbetween them they ran up and closed on me.  One guy swung a huge knife and hit me right across the jaw.  I blacked out for a few seconds but when I came to I was still luckily on my bike so I peddled as hard as I could until I got away from the four men running after me.  I felt my face and saw that my jaw was completely split open and I couldn’t move my mouth.

A few kilometers of peddling hard I came across two people who looked at my face and flagged me down.  I stopped the bike and they helped me off and one guy ripped off his shirt to try to tie my jaw together and stop the bleeding.  In a few minutes a truck came by and they got me on the truck to the nearest village.  The village didn’t have a doctor but it did have a police officer who insisted on asking me questions before I went to the hospital.  I was unable to talk to I kept writing on a piece of paper…’I NEED A DOCTOR NOW’.  After about an hour of no treatment they finally got me a taxi and sent me on my way to the next town with a doctor.

The doctor only had stitches and sewed my skin together but said that the bone was completely split and that I need a hospital immediately.  So he got me on a bus to Dar es salam (capital of Tanzania). When I got there I found that the doctors were on strike and they refused to help me.  So I had to contact the embassy who got the hospital to open the doors for me and get me some treatment.  Here they used metal stitches to sew the bones back together and got me and IV to rehydrate myself.  The next thing I knew I was on a plan back to Sweden where I needed a number of surgeries and 13 months to recover from the attack.”

The most amazing thing about the whole story is that when he recovered fully the first thing he did was resume his trip and when we met him he was almost done.  Also he had nothing but good things to say about people from Tanzania, saying they were some of the nicest he had met on his whole trip.  I was amazed at his acceptance of what happened and the ability to shake it off so easily.

After the night in the bush camp we made our way to a cheetah sanctuary in the north of Namibia.  Here we got a chance to pet and see live semi-wild cheetahs in action.  The cats were absolutely amazing and everything about their body proved that they were percise killing machines.  Continuing on the game trend we then made our way to Etosha national park, also in the north of Namibia.  We spent a few nights there looking at wild game and taking game drives.

In Africa there is a group of animals known as the “Big 5″.  They are the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and water buffalo.  The name big 5 comes from hunting where those animals were by far the hardest to kill…and most likely to kill the hunter.  So far on the trip I have seen everything but the leopard with the lion being the most spectacular.  On one of the nights in Etosha the group was sitting by lighted water hole just viewing game as it came to get a drink.  The night had already been amazing as we had seen the extremely rare black rhino, herds of zebra and giraffes, amongst a number of elephants.  After about 10 minutes of seeing nothing a huge cat moved into view absolutely not worried about the surrounding and went straight for a drink.  It was a massive female lion.  At least 2 or 3 meters long the cat destroyed my conception of how big a lion actually was….it was clear that it was the king of jungle because as it drank every animal was at least 200 meters away from the hole.

The game viewing continued throughout the rest of Namibia and into Botswana.  In Botswana we went to a place known as the Okavango Delta….a huge swamp/grass land area in the north of the country.  The place completely covered in water and reeds is only accessible through canoe. Even the canoes are forced to go on paths that hippos have cleared out by swimming through the water for years.  Since the delta cannot have any cars or trucks the game viewing with did there was done entirely on foot…with lions and leopards both on patrol.    If the giant cats weren’t enough of a threat we also learned that hippos kill more humans than any other animal in Africa because they are the most aggressive of all animals.  In fact, the kind of trip I am doing does not have an 100% survival rate due to hippos.

A few years ago an over-landing group was at a campsite on a river…a river with a number of hippos on it.  The travelers were told that they should not walk near the water at night due to the hippos but one night 2 people decided to take a shortcut by the water to reach another camp.  On their short cut they crossed the path between a hippo and the water…an extremely aggressive move according to the hippo.  The giant 3 ton beast rushed the two and  trampled them on the spot.   Needless to say I am staying a good distance away from the water at night when hippos come out to graze on the flat land.

After all the worry about the cats and the hippos we were glad when walking around we saw mostly the calm herbivores of zebra, giraffes, elephants, wild boars, and wildebeest.  However, after a few hours into the trip we came to a watering hole and saw a hippo or two and some crocodiles in the water.  It was nice to get some pictures and we walked back towards the cover of trees to return to our campsite.  As we came from the clearing to the trees we heard a massive crashing sound only 20 meters away.   We looked up and saw a massive elephant clear the trees with ears spread out and tusks up…a sign of extreme aggression from the beast.  The guide we were with looks at the five of us on the walking tour and yells, “RUN!!!”.  We turn as quickly as possible and run like 50-100 meters away from the elephant which had luckily been startled by us as well and ran the other way. When we all stopped the guide told he had never had to run from an elephant before and it was kind of scary for him too!

Well I still have hundred things to say about the rest of the time before Vic Falls.  Really ridiculous funny stories from the group and our first encounters with poverty and aids in africa.  However, this blog is getting too long and I am getting tired.  I will try to write again soon and definitely post some photos tomorrow.

Hope everyone is well

***

Africa Part A

Hello everyone.  I am writing to you from the African country of Namibia, in a small coastal town known as Swakopmund.  I have been on my African safari for 8 days now and the experience has been amazing.  Africa has not been at all what I thought it would be and I have learned an amazing amount so far

I left India on may 9th and headed towards Africa.  My original plan was to land in Johannesburg, South Africa…spend a day there and then head to Capetown to begin my Safari on may 13th.  However the process of leaving India was a bit more difficult than I had imagined.  My flight times had been changed and I ended up missing the flight from Mumbai to Bahrain that I was supposed to take.  Luckily, Gulf Airlines was very accommodating and routed me through Dubai instead, and even booked me a seat on an Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai to Johannesburg.

After the ordeal at the airport and being excited I got to take another international Emirates flight I made some phone calls home.  As the plane door was closing I told who I was talking with good-bye and waited for the plane to take off.  After about 10 minutes it was clear that my health wasn’t what it should be.  I was feeling much too cold and my health only worsened during the travel.  When I landed in Oman (my connection to Dubai left from there)  I was shaking with the chills and felt generally miserable.  I would be sick for my entire travel to South Africa and instead of going to Johannesburg I went straight to capetown and to a hotel to sleep 80% of the next 3 days.  Capetown seemed like a beautiful city but I didn’t get to experience any of it.  The night before my safari left I still felt  generally miserable and hoped I would be good when the dawn broke.

On the morning of the Safari I miraculously felt much better and packed my bag one more time and headed to the departure point.  When I got onto the bus I was introduced to 11 other strangers who would grow to become my friends over the week and hopefully become life long friends over the next 42 days.  The group consisted of the following people that I am sure I will write much more about as time goes on:
Me:  As you all know
Jude:  A Swiss nurse who has been working in South Africa for the past year
Brett & Kirsten:  An engaged (Canadian) couple who are traveling before they get married/start school again in august.
Denis:  An Irish guy traveling the world before going back to Ireland to teach.  Happens to be the comic relief on the trip.
Rich & Monic:  Another couple.  Rich is from London and Monic from Los Angeles.  They will be returning to San Francisco where rich is a life coach and monic is a jazz singer.
Adell:  An English girl who has been doing advertising work in Ghana for a few months.  After completing this trip she will be volunteering in Nairobi then heading back to England to work.
Mika:  An Australian in Africa to do this trip…afterwards she will be returning home.
Rik:  A boy from Holland who has been working in South Africa and after the trip returning home.
Sam:  Another English girl (lots of English people on the trip) who has just finished high school and begins university when she returns home.
Elena:  A 58 year old retired polish woman living in Australia.  The stories of her life are amazing and what is more amazing is that she has more energy than anyone else on the trip.

The trip leaders name is Kim and she was once a participate in the same trip I am doing about a year ago.  She loved it so much that she wanted to spend a year guiding trips learning as much as she could about Africa.

Our first day consisted of a four hour drive (the daily typical even though there will be a few days with as much as 8 hours of driving and even one with 9 at toward Kenya).  Wen went along the stunning South African coast and then entered into wine country.  There were a number of rolling hills and vineyards dotted along the landscape for the rest of the dive.  The trip ended at a vineyard that caters to overland safaris such as ours and we learned to pitch our tents and the job system for the first time.  As the trip works there are 4 different tasks that have been created and 3 people are assigned to a task each day.  They include: dishes, pitching the tent for the cook/driver, truck clean, and food prep.  The worst one by far is the dishes and my group was unlucky enough to be assigned the task on the first day, when we had a stew as the main dinner course.

The food on the trip has been really amazing.  The truck comes with a cook who is named Joseph…a Kenyan who has been all around Africa.  He does an amazing job with all his dishes and no one has gone hungry yet.  For breakfast we usually get eggs, beans, toast, coffee, tea, and fresh fruit.  For lunch there is usually some sort of sandwich with different meats and vegetables.  For dinner the meals have been really diverse ranging from stew, roast chicken, soups, and a number of other things….all really good.  We also stop from time to time at rest stations where people can fill up on snacks….I’ve been trying to eat healthy but I have been getting the occasional ice-cream.

The first night was a great icebreaker for the group as a wine-tasting had been prepared and we sampled a number of different south African wines.  Everyone got along great and the trip has not had an fights or arguments arisen between group members….yet.  We will however be picking up 7 additional members once we get to Victoria falls so hopefully they will also get along well with everyone else.

Ah…I am running out of time at the Internet cafe so I will have to condense the rest of the trip.

Africa so far has been for those who love large landscapes and like to be thrilled.  After the vineyard we moved to the Namibian/south African border which is made up of the Orange river. There we swam in its cold waters and the next day canoes down some minor rapids and met the other overlanding trucks doing similar trips.  Of the other trucks the only one I’ve had major contact with is the Nomad Truck….we are the ATC (Africa Travel Company) truck.  The nomad truck is made up of 11 girls and 3 guys…but that is another story altogether.

After the Orange river we made our way up into the country of Namibia.  The southern part of the country is dominated by the geological wonder known as the Namib desert.  It is the home to the world’s oldest and largest sand dunes and the location for the filming of almost every Hollywood film that requires the grandiose desert setting.  There we climbed dune 45…one of the largest dunes in the world standing close to 200 meters.  The walk up was miserable as every step my foot slide back down half the distance I covered.  The run down the share face of the dune was much funner however.  The sand helps you keep your balance so you can run full speed covering 10 meters per step and just sink into the sand.  I tried to roll towards the bottom and got a face full of sand but it was well worth the experience.

Also in the desert we met with a guide who had grown up in a tribal setting and walked us around the desert teaching us survival tips and how to navigate the desert and find food.  I was amazed at how dry and dead the desert looks on the surface but how much life is accessible if just look.  I was really amazed that there is a plan there that the locals use to combat Diabetest!!!!    Also, in the desert I went sand boarding (basically snow-boarding on the sand) which due to the comic relief…and lack of coordination…of Dennis back perhaps the funniest day of my life.  (I have a dvd of the experience that is sure to make anyone laugh).  Finally in the desert….today… I went quad biking in the dunes.  The views were spectacular but my camera didn’t accompany due to the fear of rolling and destroying it during a wipe out.

That is all for now but next time I write I will have been to the national cheetah park, estosha national park, spend a day with the bush tribes, and who knows what else I might have done in Africa.  Hope everyone is well.

Pani Puri – 11 days in India

India India India…

What can i say it is home to over a billion people each going 100 ways at once.  As soon as I made it out of the Airport I was once again struck with the population density as I was a year ago.  Unlike a year ago however I was not travelling with family this time.  Instead, I was touring India with 5 friends (two i hadn’t met until I met them in india) and were later joined by 2 more.  Each of my companions on the trip were just travelling to India so when I met them at the Airport they were full of energy and ready to see the city…even though it was like 10 at night.  I however was the same as I was in Thailand…eager to see thing but still eager to sleep at the end of the day.

As many things did happen in India I will not be able to give a day to day story of what happened.  I will instead just try to touch upon the highlights of the trip…and the downsides.

First Highlight: having company I know.
For the entire trip up to this point I have been on my own meeting people in each new location.  It has been great however I was at the point where I could not have another conversation  starting with, “where are you from.”  Being with friends from the states made conversations / discussions / and jokes much easier to convey.

The group consisted of 6 people for most of the trip. Me…whom all of you know quite well.  I would also like to say I am the biggest Indian I know and ever met.
Viral…a friend of mine from UNC who is really easy for everyone to get along with.  For some reason everyone gave viral a hard time on the trip in a fun way and he was cool with it never really dishing it out.  He was very happy being the second biggest indian in India…even though he is like 5’9
Omar…another friend from UNC who is amongst the wildest and craziest people I know.
Eric…a friend of common friends living in NYC (as are the previous 2) who really likes good food…he ordered many of the groups meal during the trip.
Jaleel… omar’s cousin who is from Canada.  This guy is just as crazy and wild with his cousin making me think it is hereditary.
Latif… jaleel’s friend from Canada who is working on a web start up in Calgary.

I would get to know them all better on the trip and pretty sure they will be life long friends.

Second Highlight:  The food
The food in Thailand was great and I thought I would be disappointed when I got to india.  I was however dead wrong!  THe food here was amazing right off the get go.  The night we landed in Mumbai Viral, Omar, Eric, and I went to a late night restaurant for some food.  The available cuisine was sparse but what we got were these chicken Tikka rolls and some mango lassi’s.  The rolls were slightly spicy and on a variation of Naan.   The lassis tasted of mangos that were jsut taken off the trees and put directly into our glasses.

The next day we arrived in Delhi and we met up with our driver, Khan.  We asked him to take us to a place that he likes to eat and he took us into Konat Place (spelling) to a chicken curry place.  There we each got different meals and mostly sampled out of each other’s plates…the food was once again amazing.  Spicy but not painful.  Also instead of naan’s with the curry we had fresh chapatti’s which I had not had in a long time.  That night we could continue the trend of good food to having possibly our largest meal of the trip at a Muhglai establishment.  We ordered assuming that 5 people would be eating but it turned out to be mostly 3 people having the meal.  I myself put away the food for the other two and my food induced coma for the next 12 hours was all I needed to digest it.

The rest of the trip had periods of amazing food thrown here and there.  On our house boat in Cochin we purchased 12 kilos of Fruit (Mangos, Grapes, Pomegranate, Bananas, and others) of which we consumed almost all of it in one day.  Also on the house boat we had home cooked Kerela food which was eaten by the use of hands ( a first for me).

Also in Cochin we went to the restaurant Rice Boat in the Taj hotel.  This was the best sit down meal we had by far.  The matrondee knew we wanted to try all their specialties and did the ordering for us…we were not disappointed.

Finally during much of the trip we talked about “Pani Puri” (for some reason Jaleel kept yelling it out like he had a mild case of Torrets Syndrome).  On mine and Eric’s last night in Mumbai we found ourselves on Chappatay beach sampling the fair food.  There we saw Pani Puri and decided to have some.  It was by far the best I have had and Eric liked it too.  However, his stomach did not.  I can only imagine how uncomfortable his flight back to the states that night could have been.

Third Highlight: Culture and Sights
India is a huge country with an absurd amount of people in a very small area.  To get an idea of how many people are in any given area next time you walk around a mall in the states multiply what you see by 30 and that is what you can expect in a comparable area in India.  Even with all the people and all the diversity there is a sense of one-ship that I found pretty palpable in India.  The people all seemed to be from India first and then from their specific area or city.  This meant that as we got to talk to each new individual in India we could piece together the overall pulse of the country since it was beating in everyone.

Major Annoyance 1: Pollution
I have gone from Country to Country and culture to culture not trying to judge or compare them. However, I have not seen such a blatant disregard for public lands or the lands of your neighbor as I have in india…and I am DISGUSTED by it.  Everyone on the street was treating the areas as a trash bin and it showed everywhere we went.  Even on the beaches of goa (which could have been some of the most beautiful i’ve seen) I saw a family literally throw their trash into the water.  There was trash everywhere outside of residences.  Mumbai was the worst and delhi was a close second in amount of filth that was freely floating by.

In addition, I noticed that people used any outdoors area as a toilet.  I never saw so many people urinating by the side of the road as I did in India.  I also believe that the residents of the country are fine with it.  They have the mentality that if everyone else is doing it then it is fine if I do.

I don’t understand how the population can see pristine cities in their Bollywood films and not ask why is my city not like that?

Major Annoyance 2: Travel
This one is mostly the groups lack of knowledge more than an annoyance of the country.  I would like to thank omar and viral for booking the trip once again but I think they might have been a little too ambitious on what we could see and not see.  To give you an idea I was in India from April 27th to May 10th (not enough time to scratch the surface I know).  And in this time I took 7 flights and visited 5 cities and did two day excursions (a safari and a house boat ride).  Basically everyday was a hectic world-wind of getting in and out of a hotel and making it to the next location.  As terrible as it sounds it did make for one day of complete ridiculousness.  But again I thank Omar and Viral who allowed me to stay for free in their 5 star accommodations.

April 30th…
The day started in Delhi bright and early around 5 or 6 AM.  We checked out of the Sheraton (super nice by the way) and make the way to the Airport.  On the way there I am hearing for the first time what is about to transpire this day.  Our final destination for the day was Cochin (a big city in Kerela) and Omar is pretty sure there were no direct flights so instead we are going from Delhi to Hydrabad (10 minute layover) to Banglore then to Cochin.  We get to the airport go through the ridiculous ordeal that is security at an Indian airport (another story in itself).   As we are checking in I see something on the screen and tell Viral to look at it..he does and a big smile cracks across his face.  We tell omar to look at the screen and by the time he does what I saw is gone….he asks me what was up there and I said a direct flight to Cochin….he didn’t believe me.  But sure enough a few minutes later it comes back up and he proceeds to yell at us for not telling him about the airline known as Air Sahara.  Oh well nothing can be done.

Our flight out of delhi leaves on time and we arrive to Banglore a few minutes before scheduled.  Pretty happy with the timeliness of our flights so far in India we all leave to get lunch as we have a 4 hour layover in Banglore.  We end up having this great meal at the Ebony restaurant atop the Ivory hotel.  Completely thrilled with the trip so far nothing can prepare us for what happens next.

We tell the driver we would like to go to a market before we go to the airport.  The driver gets all excited and drives like 20 minutes (even though the guy in the restaurant said it was 5 minutes away) and takes us to a Rug store! We completely flip out and start yelling at him trying to make a buck on us.  All our happiness with the food vanished.  Then on the way to the hotel he just parks the car and is like i need to have lunch.  Again we start yelling at him and he basically gives us the finger and goes to grab a meal.  Infuriated we wait for 5 to 10 minutes until he comes back.  Finally we get to the airport and give him no tip and get back to waiting for our flight.  Again we go through the ordeal of security and go wait for our plane.

Once inside the gate agents tell us we are delayed 10 minutes.  Then 10 minutes later we are delayed an hour.  Then an hour later that we are not going to leave until 10…it is about 5 PM at this time.  All of us lose our cool.  I realize i need to buy a ticket from Goa to Mumbai so i figure this is the time to do it.  I get out of security and go to the ticket office to wait in line for 10 minutes to buy a ticket.  This is what happens next:
Lady: Sorry we can’t take foreign cards or cash
Me:  Why can’t I pay cash…my friend just payed cash for a ticket
Lady:  Tomorrow
Me:  Tomorrow?  I can pay cash tomorrow?
Lady:  Yes cash tomorrow
Me:  Why not cash today?
Lady:  Monday
Me:  No cash on Monday?
Lady:  Cash on Tuesday

I wanted to yell but i was so dumbfounded at the stupidity of the system I just went to another airline that happily took my money.

When I made my way back inside I met Viral who was possibly the most upset I have ever seen him.  I asked him whats up and he told me that the guy at the snack stand wouldn’t sell him a coke.  As I am watching a person goes up and asks for a “Coke Lite” and gets one.  So i tell viral that he was just mistaken and he should ask for another.  He does and the guy shakes his head no.  Not that weird head shake just a straight no.  So I go up and ask can I get a coke and he tells me yes.  Then I ask…can I get a coke for this guy- pointing at viral; and again he says yet.  I purchase the coke and give it to viral and we walk away about to bring down the whole airport.

Annoyance number 3:  No respect for the line
Fitting with the mentality that it is all about me and I don’t care about you…Indian people do not care about lines.  They won’t form them but rather create a huge swarm around a single point until everyone is upset.  So many times we had to stare down, yell, and forcibly make people get to the back of the line that I felt often like a 3rd grade teacher.  The final time was on the flight out of Mumbai where I had to keep going up to people and forcing them to move (by literally pushing their cart out of line at times) until finally people coming in would go to the back of line.

THE REST OF THE ANNOYANCES:
Don’t have time to elaborate but;
- The head shake that means both a yes and a no at the same time.
- Men, men everywhere.  Why were there no single indian women out and about?  What is the basis for the double standard? I hate countries where women are treated or expected to act in a different manner than men.

Thailand take 2….

So it has been some time since I left Thailand but I haven’t yet finished talking about it.  I think it is probably better that I tell you about Thailand instead of my companions in India (where I am now)…who are sick about me ranting and raving about the Thai experience.

So far I have talked about Thai food, culture, and climate.  In combination those items are definitely enough to bring me back to Thailand in a few years now.  However, adventure travel is more than enough even if the food was bad, climate cold, and people mean.

ADVENTURE:

Thailand is a place for the active.  There is everything from rock climbing to cave diving to do in that country.  While I was there I partook in a number of activities and am eager to go back for more.

My first real adventure was a 3 day 2 night jungle safari in northern Thailand.  The safari started early morning around 9 AM when a closed top pickup truck pulled up at my hostel door.  I stepped in to be greeted by 2 Americans, 2 Swedes, and a British guy.  I was amazed to see the two Americans as I have barely seen any while traveling until that point and since then as well.  One of the American’s was a college girl from Alabama studying in Australia and just happened to be in Thailand for a few weeks.  She would turn out to play the role of a literary foil for me on this trip ( a foil is a character in a book who’s qualities are in clear contrast to the main character….it is from their dis-similar handling of similar situations that you learn about the main character).   That being said I didn’t like a single thing about this girl and learned about the qualities I don’t like in people.  The other American was a 41 year old traveling by himself in Thailand.  He mostly kept to himself but seemed like a nice guy very jaded with life.    The swedes were two women police officers who were eager to talk and asked most of the questions during the trip.  The British fellow just finished his high-school (not sure what they call that in England) and was travelling in Thailand with some friends.

After about 20 minutes of driving and talking we pulled up at another hotel and two more people hopped into the truck…making a total of 8 for the jungle safari.  These new companions included another British guy who was into journalism and politics and was working at a newspaper in Lahore, Pakistan.  The girl was his girlfriend and also working at the newspaper in Lahore.  These people were great…they would be the people I got along with the most during the trip and made the best conversation.

The 8 people and our guides made our way up into the mountains for about two hours, got lunch, and then started the trek.  At first the walk was pretty easy.  We walked along a small dirt road past a hill tribe village where we saw little kids playing a combination of soccer and volley ball.  Me and the two British people joined the game and learned that it was harder than both volleyball and soccer and were all quite terrible at it.  Soon after the village we hopped off the road onto a very narrow dirt path and started a 4 hour walk through moderate terrain to our village for the night.  Along the walk I saw a lot of insects….. a lot.  Including one very large and very angry Tarantula.  Our guide spotted it and wanted to show us it’s ferocity and poked at it with a long stick.  As the stick came close to the fangs and upper legs of the hairy hand sized monster it instantly attacked and bit the stick.  After about 2 tries it litter ally snapped a small piece off the stick and then ran to its hole.  Everyone could handle the spider in the wild accept that American girl…who would be scared of spiders for the rest of the trip.

We then came along some amazing plants that when you blow through their stem bubbles are made (see flickr photos).  It was truly amazing.  Also we saw plants that when touched by anything instantly shrink all their leaves to nothing.  It is not often we think of plants having nervous systems but this plant clearly had some sensors and proteins that act via action potentials to protect its delicate leaves.  Further along we came to a narrow rift with dirt walls.  Looking at the walls it looked as if they were crawling…and in fact they were.  There will litter ally thousands of small jumping spiders lining the walls waiting for things to walk to the rift so they could jump on.  We went through the rift carfully and when we got to the other side checked for spiders…..there were many who hopped onto our bags and what not.  On the other side of the rift we had a break…for about 10 minutes as the was too scared to walk through…..as you can tell i am not very forgiving of unbased fear.

After that there was little trouble and we got to the hill village rather quickly.  As the guides cooked food me and the two Britishers walked up to locals playing that combination of soccer/volleyball game again and joined in.  We did much better this time but the locals still had good laughs at our lack of skill.  All in all the first day was good and the night went be with little trouble.  The next day we packed up and walked about 3 or four miles to an elphant riding camp.  This was definitely a very interesting experience for me.  I have never before ridden any animal… horse/camel… so riding on the world’s largest land mammal was a new view for me.  I was amazed at how sure footed the beast was even on steep narrow dirt paths that were barely wide enough for 3 humans walking side by side.  We were on the elephant for about an hour and everyone really enjoyed the experience.

Next started the strenuous climb of our trip.  For about 3 miles were were going up extremely steep hills and most of us had expended our drinking water during the first part of the days trek.  The climb was too much for the American girl who was on the very heavy side of things.  She tried to throw in the towel about 1 mile in asking if she could go back down and leave from there.  However, we only had one guide so that wasn’t going to happen and he said that she couldn’t leave until the next village at the earliest.  So the other American and myself took turns carrying her pack for the rest of the climb.  In the end she made it but not until she had almost killed the rest of the group with her whining.   At the village we ate and then continued on to a nice waterfall/swimming area for the rest of the night.  That night the stars were bright and air was cool…a picture perfect evening.

The next day was much the same as the day before but there was a ride down an authentic bamboo raft which was fun for everyone.  After getting back to the hostel i showered cleaned up and got ready for my early morning flight to south Thailand.

In the south I went to a world famous rock climbing destination of blue water and limestone cliffs called Railay  (see the sunset photos in flickr).  The place was amazing and I stayed in a small bungalow about 50 meters from the beach for about 12 dollars a night.  It was definitely paradise!  While in Railay I partook in Kayaking on the first day.  I kayaked around until I found a beach that was cut off by limestone cliffs and no humans were on it.  I landed my craft on the beach and for a few hours it was only me, and a few sand crabs to keep me company as I reflected on life in pure solitude.

The next day I decided to do a day rock climbing trip for beginners.  It turned out that I was the only beginner in the class so the rocks picked for climbing were on the more difficult side of things. I found out that I am pretty bad at rock climbing.  I went up slower than anyone else in the group and on one rock I couldn’t even get to the top (I had a fall about 5 meters from the top).  The problem was not strength but it was my inability to see where to place my hands and feet.  When on the ground it was obvious where to place things but when I got up on the rock the whole thing looked the same.  It was fun however and my arms and shoulders were really tired after the experience.

The final day in Railay was spent basically trying to stay alive during a hike.  I had heard rumors of a hidden lagoon which was isolated by limestone cliffs and only accessible by a strenuous…near insane…unassisted rock climb.  Assuming that I could handle it I tried to go there.  They climb started off pretty hard by basically scrambling up rocks and roots on a slick mud laden path for about 30 minutes and about 200 feet vertical.  When you get to the top it is a short walk until you see where the lagoon is….getting there is a whole different story.  I had to climb down into the lagoon…and I don’t know if it was a sense of adventure or a brief period of insanity that pushed me to do it.  The climb down consisted of four different 20 foot vertical drops that I had to rock climb down with absolutely not safety.   My heart was definitely pumping but the view from the bottom was amazing!  I was in a lagoon about the size of a football field with no other human beings in sight.  I took a swim in the warm water and was ecstatic I made it down to see it.  I would say the view might be one of the prettiest things I have seen on my trip and I suggest anyone who goes to Railay to do it.  The climb out of the lagoon was much easier in comparison.

Switching from rocks to water in the lagoon started to get me thinking about snorkeling and scuba diving.  So I headed to Koh Tao…Thailand’s premier snorkel and scuba island.  The water hear was clear and clean upto about 30 feet and the variety of fish and corral in the water was amazing.  I did both snorkeling and scuba diving while on the trip but actually preferred the snorkeling.  Since I was a non certified Scuba diver I first had a morning of training and a few very shallow dives in the evening.  I was able to see more wildlife snorkeling on the shallow reefs and wish I had done that two days instead of one.  While snorkeling/diving me and my companions would take food into the water with us and open our hands and get swarmed with fish…the feeling on the skin was as if you had millions of small wet spaghetti strands hitting you.  Doing this about 3 or 4 times would attract the big fishes that ate the small fishes which would eventually attract the sharks…. and they did come.  I saw about 4 or 5 sharks during the trip and all of them were too close to comfort.  The most terrifying one was not the closest one but the most ominous.    One of the girls during the scuba trip had gotten to low and cut her foot on the razor sharp corrals below.  There was a small plume of blood and she was clearly worried….she quickly (faster than i have ever seen someone swim before) made a straight line for the boat.  About 30 seconds after I could no longer see her (meaning she was probably 50/60 feet away at this time) I saw a shark swim by and in her direction.  I am not sure if she was out of the water by the time the shark got the scent but there was no biting incidences.

I am running out of time here in the hotel in Banglore India…but i think this sums up the experience in Thailand.  I left out some of the amazing people I met but I hope anyone reading this also gets to go to the country and experience the variety and depth of the culture and life of Thailand.

I will write again soon from India.

Thailand – A reflection of paradise

Hello all,

I know it has been a long time since I last wrote but I have been keeping very busy while in Thailand.  I had originally planned to take a week during this trip to just relax at the beach and not do very much….but that didn’t happen.  There are too many adventurous things to do; rock climbing, snorkeling, kayaking, scuba, and hiking to name a few.  If anyone wants to take an adventure vacation I would definitely suggest Thailand as a spot to visit.

Since it has been so long there is much too much to sequentially go through my trip.  So I have decided to break Thailand and Thai culture into smaller sections and hopefully from that you can reconstruct my trip.
FOOD:
I will start with what has impressed me the most about Thailand…the food.  I was expecting that the food would be quite good but I was blown away with the variety and the quality of the culinary creations in Thailand.

I didn’t have my first meal until after I arrived at the hostel I was staying at the second day in Thailand.  After putting down my stuff I met a college girl name Thoi who was working in Bangkok during her summer break from University.  After talking for a few minutes we decided to grab a meal and she took me to a local noodle place she had discovered during her first week in Bangkok.  Unable to read the menu myself Thoi ordered for me and picked an authentic Thai rice noodle and soup dish…..it was amazing.  Afterwards we had a fresh fruit shake (much like a juice smoothie but significantly sweeter).  I would make fruit shakes part of my everyday meal choice after that.

Later on that same day I met some Australians who were on a multiple month trip around South East Asia.  We also decided to get dinner together and we saw a place that said…”winner of Bangkok’s best phat thai” but it was sadly closed.  So instead we went to a place across the street.  I got phat thai there and when it arrived I could smell that it was going to be spicy, real spicy.  I took one bite and for an instant I thought, “this isn’t that bad.”  Then it hit me.  My tongue erupted in pain and I was pretty sure I could breathe fire for a few minutes.  I ordered another juice shake and continued to eat the food.  Even the Australians were having trouble with the spiciness of their food and by the end everyone was sweating and had runny noses.  I am not even sure if the food tasted good…it was just hot.

Even later that same day (around 2 am later) me and the Australians returned to the Hostel and found that “Bangkok’s best phat thai” was open now.  So how could any lover of Thai cu sine resist the best of the best?  So we all sat down again and had another meal.  This really was the best phat thai I had tried up to that day in my life.  It would however come in second on my trip to the creation of a culinary genius later on.  After the third full meal of the day I was pretty full but the Australians told me of a dish known as “Mango and Sticky Rice” that I must try.  Giving into their peer pressure I got the dish and was blown away!  It was amazing.  The dish is basically fresh ripe mango and sushi rice with the addition of Sweet coconut cream and crushed nuts….absolutely Delicious.  It was another thing I added to my daily repertoire of food.

No other day really compared to my first day of Thai food but as the trip carried on I tried a number of dishes and was almost always pleased with what I was eating.  I was so impressed in fact that I decided that it would be wise for me to learn the art of Thai cuisine.  So during my stay in the northern city of Chang Mai I signed up for a one day class.

The day began early at 9:00 AM when a driver for the course came to my hostel to get me and take me to the meeting place…an open air produce market.  On the way we stopped and picked up a number of others also interested in cooking and by 9:30 fourteen people had amassed ready to learn to cook.  Our teacher than showed up and taught us the different raw ingredients that go into Thai cooking and how to pick the best ones.  His demonstration started off interestingly enough with a bare hands smashing of a coconut.

After about an hour of instruction on how to pick produce and picking up the ingredients for the class we made our way to the cooking school…about 30 minutes away.  I got a chance to meet a number of people in the class and much like the rest of the trip I was the only American surrounded by a lot of Europeans…and this time one Canadian.  The Canadian grew up directly across lake Ontario from me and went to college at York University, in Toronto, at the same time as a few other people I know.   Also on the cooking course I met an Irish fellow who had retired at a young age after successful real estate dealings and commented on how terrible the food in the states was.  I felt like I had to produce good results in the cooking class just to prove him  wrong. 

The class started off simple with instruction on how to make Tom Yum Soup (spicy thai soup) that was really really good.  Then the dishes became more challenging as we moved into a special stir fry using a hot wok.  I got a great movie of me adding the ingredients to the walk and a giant tower of flame rising as I cooked.  Again the food came out well.  After taking a short break we moved onto the world famous Thai dishes; curries and phat thai.  I chose to personally make a green curry but we were instructed on penang (red) curry as well. 

Then came the hardest dish of the day…phat thai.  To correctly make Phat Thai you are supposed to wrap the finished dish in an omelet…a task that is apparently difficult.  The Irish fellow was pretty sure that in standard American culinary fashion i would butcher the process and end up making scrambled egg instead of an omelet.   However, I was did quite well and at the end I had a neatly folded omelet surrounding my phat thai…and the  Irish fellow had scrambled pieces littering his dish.  My own phat thai was the best I had during Thailand and I hope the results are reproducible.

After lunch we moved onto desert and created two dishes.  One was a super spicy papaya salad that is eaten by hand after creating a ball of rice.  Then we also learned mango and sticky rice.  A dish I would be happy to make any of you for a price.

After that day food mostly just remained good and I tried different this for the rest of the trip.  I eventually moved away from the juice shake to the fruit lassi which had the added benefit of being made from yogurt.  Overall, I loved the food and am very eager to cook for myself when I return.

CULTURE:

The first thing and the most important thing I can say about Thai culture is that people are extremely happy and extremely nice.  They (the thais) say that Bangkok is the city of smiling faces and they might in fact be correct.  But it is not only Bangkok, it is every Thai person I met on my trip that made it clear that this country is happy and meeting the challenges of moving into the 21st century.

My trip to Thailand was lucky enough to coincide with the Thai new year, Songkran.  To celebrate the coming of the new year and transition to the hot season they hold a 3 day (often growing to a week) festival of water.  Very similar to the Indian festival of Holi.  During this time the whole country transforms into water gun toting denizens who will hit drench anyone whom they encounter…. no one is safe from the madness.  My first day in the northern city of Chang Mai coincided with the first day of Songkran.  The man who picked me up from the airport said that the Hostel was close but he would take a strange route to spare my luggage in the back of the open air truck.  I had no idea what he meant and we weaved around streets avoiding pavement for dirt road at times. 

After getting to my hostel I was warned if I’m going into the heart of the city to not take my camera… I listened and went completely unprepared into the cross fire.  About 5 minutes from my hostel walking toward the old city center of Chang Mai (basically 1 square mile surrounded by a moat) I suddenly felt felt cold water hit me from behind.  I turned to the side to see a truck full of people driving by with buckets and water guns cheering.  This happened about two more times in 5 minutes and then I was under attack by people who had set up outside their shops to get the trucks driving by.  Finally I made it into the center of the city and met some Swiss people who were are bewildered at me by the party.  We were getting hit left and right and decided it was time to join in.  After purchasing a few buckets we joined in with a local bar and started attacking people on the other side of the street…in their own bar.  While there I learned that Chang Mai is regarded as one of the wildest spots of Songkran because of the moat.  The moat however would also be my main problem so far on the trip.

After the sun set and the party died down a little I made my way back to the hostel to shower, clean up, and eat…then hopefully come back to join the night festivities.  However, after eating I noticed there was something wrong…my stomach was severely messed up.  I believe that it was because people were throwing water from the moat and I involuntarily swallowed some…..needless to say that night was not pretty.  I was so exhausted and dehydrated from the experience I spend the next day close to the hostel in recuperation and rehydration. Luckily they sell multivitamin juice/milk drinks that helped me get back on my feet.

All in all i loved the festival however and a few days later participated in it again.  I always got a smile on my face when I saw a bunch of youths with water guns on a truck riding by and having a great time spraying people.  It was watching them I realized that so far on this trip I have not had a moment of feeling insecure or unsafe.  In my head I knew that if you see a bunch of people on a truck with guns that you should probably duck for cover because they aren’t going to be shooting water.  The festival was a great way to meet local Thais and foreigners and I might one year return to Thailand to participate again.

To get a better insight into local life While in each country I have had extended contact with one local person.  In Japan with a japanese ex-pat named Masami, and in Hong Kong with a girl named Jackie.  In Thailand I hung out with a guy named Mac.  Mac was one of the individuals who worked at the hostel I stayed at in Chang Mai.  He put together the bookings for the guests and made sure people had a good time.  He did an amazing job of making sure people had a good time.  His English was quite good and we talked a lot about Thailand and how it was changing.  He also showed me around Chang Mai one night and we went from small local concert bar to local concert bar.  All in all the night was great and I was introduced to lots of Thai people and learned how they party…and they party hard.

There was one cultural aspect that I asked Mac to explain to me but he couldn’t….the lady boy.  Now for people who have not been to Thailand the lady boy is exactly what it sounds like…a man who dresses, acts, and quite uncannily looks like a lady…a transvestite.   However it is amazingly prevalent in the culture and population, especially in the night life.  You can expect to find a number of them at any bar or club in Thailand.  They are extremely good at concealing their gender and you have to pay attention to the Adam’s apple and hands of people to be able to tell what sex they are sometimes.  It is even hard for the  Thai’s to tell at times.

While on a jungle trek in the northern provinces of Thailand I met a guide who went by the name Johan (even though is thai name was Fuk – meaning the sky or vegetable in northern thai).  He was born in a hill tribe village but went to  college to study agriculture and bring new techniques to the tribe.  He was very knowledgeable about thai culuture and policy and his stories kept everyone engrossed.  He told us about the first time he left the village and went to the city of Chang Mai.  While there he went to a bar and saw this beautiful woman.  He went inside and tried to talk to her but she wouldn’t speak…instead she would just write down her responses.  Johan kept explaining that she looked like an angel and he was mesmerized.  After a few hours he asked her to speak just his name and that would make him very happy….when she did it was apparent that she was not a she at all…and instead a lady boy.  He finished his drink at the bar and didn’t approach another “girl” for a number of months at school.
But in the end the thing I will remember the most from Thailand is how nice and friendly everyone was.  They were not nice in the manner that they just saw you as a wallet and hoped to get a tip but they were genuinely concerned with making your time in Thailand a good experience.  They often came up to foreigners and asked where they from and what they were doing in Thailand and what they thought about the country so far.   Every foreigner (farang in Thai) all agreed that they were some of the nicest people in the world.

CLIMATE:

Coming from Hong Kong which was rather chilly during early April I still had pants and fleece on when I got out of the airport.  My first reaction as I stepped out into the Bangkok air was that something had gone terribly wrong.  There was no way that it could be 80+ degrees and so humid at 1 AM in the morning.  Adapting to the tremendous heat and humidity of Thailand would be a challenge and sew the seeds of doubt of heading to India during the warmest part of the year.

By the time I had gotten from Taxi to the reception and spent 5 minutes checking in I had already broken into a large sweat.  I soaked through my pants and shirt and immediately took a cold shower when getting into the room.  It was good I didn’t want a warm shower because hot water is not a common thing in Thailand. In fact, only the really nice hotel I stayed at during my last day provided it in the room.   However, except for shaving hot water was never a miss.  The temperature stayed fast between 85-95 during the entire trip.  With relative humidity during they day above 70 percent.  Because of this as the sum began to set and temperature went down every place I was in was rocked by massive thunderstorms…which greatly lowered the humidity for the evening hours. 

My second day in Bangkok saw the worst rain I have ever seen.  For three hours the precipitation varied from extremely thick and fast rain to small pieces of hail.  I was forced to sit within a ferry station for hours reflecting on my trip as the rains came down.  This same event would re-occur numerous times during the trip and by the end I timed my return to my hostel as the sun was going down to avoid the rain.

The weather was most ideal in the tropical peninsula of Railay…(see attached photos).  Here there was a cool breeze off the water and the temperature was never unbearable.  Also the steady breeze and warm sun made for ideal beach and water conditions.   The weather was the worst in Bangkok where there was nothing to escape from the heat expect jumping into a massive shopping center with air conditioning…which all began to look the same after a day.
That is all for today…but before I leave for India I hope to add a section on Adventure and Night life.  Hope everyone is doing well.
S

New Page Added!! Google Earth Place Marks

I added a new page to the Blog.  “Google Earth Place Marks for Trip”.

 The tab for it is located at the very top of the blog (look above the photo).

Hong Kong – another pristine Asian City

Hello again,

 I am writing to the blog this time from an internet cafe in Hong Kong.  I spent the last 5 days on the island city exploring, eating, and getting lost….same things as in Tokyo.  The voyage from Japan to Hong Kong was rather uneventful and no different that flying between any two countries.   The customs process was the same in both airports and it wasn’t until I was on a taxi that I could tell the difference between the two countries.

Hong Kong is another mega city but unlike Tokyo it is built on 3 separate land masses.  The major financial and corporate area is Hong Kong Island,  a grand city island with an immense skyline seen on most Hong Kong photos.  Then their is the major residential area known as Kowloon.  Kowloon is actually on mainland China but remains under the Hong Kong [psuedo]independent governance.  The final part is Lantau Island, over two times as large as Hong Kong Island but sparsely populated and most of it is preserved as national parkland.  The climate is farily warm and humid and the flora seemed tropical to me.

 When I arrived I got on a taxi and headed to my hotel, a beach resort in Lantau.  I couldn’t quite admire the scenery as it was 12 o’clock at night when I reached the hotel and the Taxi driver was fast and quite reckless.  We were flying on a mountain road above a steep precipice into the ocean and I was clenching my safety handle to stay upright.  It wasn’t until the next morning did I realize the beach had a view of two mountains coming together on either side of the bay and was quite picturesque. 

 I didn’t get much time to admire the view however, I donned my pack and boarded a Ferry for Hong Kong Island.  As the ferry meandered through numerous uninhabited islands and passed sailing boats I could tell that the area was indeed tropical and the warm season was just beginning.  After about 20 minutes on the ferry the skyline of Hong Kong could be seen in the distance.  The number of buildings visible kept growing for about 10 minutes and we eventually reached the island.  Again, I didn’t have time to stand and admire the great engineering feat of 80 story plus buildings, and continued my travel onto the metro. 

 The metro in Hong Kong is no where near as confusing as Tokyo’s.  There are only about 5 lines and they only share about 4 stops in common, so every trip in Hong Kong brings you to the same stations.  Also, the pricing is much better hear.  For all public transportation (ferry, metro, train, and bus) you can purchase one card, known as the Octopus card.  Also the card can be used to speed by products in the various shops within the metro and harbor stations.  Getting to my hostel was no problem but I was kind of disappointed once I finally got indoors.

 I decided to splurge a little on the hostel fees and get a private room.  However, it was just large enough for a bed and had very small attached bathroom.  The weirdest thing for the bathroom was that there was no separate compartment for the shower…it was just a hot water heater with a shower head.  So you showered right where you brushed your teeth and things..  Other than that the place was extremely clean and all the sockets already contained adapters for American wall sockets.  All in all i slept fine and that is all the hostel was used for any way.

 After I got out and about I located one of the hundreds of phone shops along the Hong Kong streets and picked up a SIM card for my phone that allowed me to call internatioanlly.  For 70 Hong Kong Dollars (about 10 dollars) I got one that gave me good US rates.  I made some test phone calls and then contacted a friend of friend from the states who said they could show me around.  We planned to meet up around 6:30 at a metro strop in Kowloon.

 I was a few minutes late as I had some trouble locating my nearest stop.  However, when I got there i found Jackie ( a friend of of Michael Chen) waiting patiently for me.  She ended up being a great guide for the city.  She showed me around a few nights and during the day she told me the places to go, all suggestions were great.   That evening we went to the Temple Street Market, the place to find cheap knock off goods in Hong Kong.  The stalls were packed with thousands of shoppers and hundreds of sellers.  All goods were peddled from toothpaste to designer bags.  After a few other open air markets we ducked into an authentic Cantonese restaurant for dinner.  Not knowing the menu I let Jackie do the ordering and she picked out a noodle dish and a rice one.  The food was really good and my gastric experiences during the trip just seem to get better.  The noodle dish resembled a Japanese ramen dish and I was surprised to find out that many people in Hong Kong eat Japanese food most days.

 After dinner we took a walk to the Kowloon coast facing Hong Kong island.  Here I had a great view of the night skyline of Hong Kong.  It was spectacular to say the least.  There was a heavy mist in the air and each building had a large halo.  It then began to rain so we decided it was time for desert.  We went to a place called “Health Deserts” and it was basically a fruit/herbal desert place.  I had this great mango dish which comprised of fresh fruit (mangoes, kiwis, strawberries, melons, grapes, and lychees) on top of a mango Sorbet.  Jackie had an herbal pudding that looked like chocolate but tasted significantly worse.  After desert we parted ways and I fell asleep in a few minutes of laying down.

The next morning I decided to explore Hong Kong Island.  My first stop was an area known as the Peak.  It was the location that the wealthy British liked to live in when they first arrived in Hong Kong.  The area still has the most expensive real estate, the reason being the view and the temperature.  The peak tends to be a few degrees C cooler than Hong Kong Island and a little less humid, in the sweltry summer months it apparently makes a large difference.  At the time I went up there the peak was cold and I wasn’t happy to be wearing shorts.  After the peak I went back down to sea level and took a few hours going from city garden to city garden.  I learned that Hong Kong is very well planned and not just a concrete jungle like I was expecting.  At no point on the Island were you more than a 10 minute walk from a large garden.

 That night I went to Lan Kai Fong the going out center of Hong Kong. There were a ton of foreigners in the area as some large Rugby tournament was occuring during my visit.  Apparently people in Hong Kong are really into Rugby and host a yearly tournament called “the Sevens,” the largest rugby tournament on the international circuit.  I didn’t stay out long but met a number of interesting people from around the world.

The next day was pretty much the same as the day before except I spent time in Kowloon Island and Hong Kong.  That night I returned to Lan Kai Fong but this time with Jackie.  We didn’t stay long and instead decided to go see a movie,  Mr. Bean’s Vacation….it was quite terrible.

On my final full day in Hong Kong I went back to Lantau Island to see one of Hong Kong’s most famous sites…the Giant Bhuddha of Tian Tan.  It is a huge 40-50 foot tall bronze Buddha ontop of a mountain in Lantau Island.  Leading up to the Bhuddha is 260 odd steps that were tiring for all the tourist flocking to the region.  From on top of the Bhuddha the view was pretty spectacular and you could see mountains and sea in stark contrast.  I spent a few hours exploring Lantau and then eventually came back to Kowloon.  That evening it began to rain a little and I started to write up a blog and plan my trip in Thailand ( I am leaving for the airport in a few minutes).  I also reflected upon my stay in Hong Kong and decided that this city also needs to be visited again to see the remaining sites.

I will try to upload pictures when I get a chance but for now I am off to Thailand.

Kyoto and a glance back at Japan

I am sitting in a private booth at an Internet cafe at the moment.  The place is pretty nice http://www.netparty.jp .  They have like 40 private booths 20 of them with Internet on a really fast machine that I am pretty sure is meant for online gaming.  Then the other booths have couches and videogame systems or large TVs with DVD players.   Also all the internet booths have these universal chargers for cell phones. 

 Since I last wrote I spent a few nights in Kyoto and a few more nights in Tokyo.  In fact, I am spending my last morning in Tokyo writing a quick summary of my experiences before I move onto Hong Kong. 

 The trip to Kyoto was definitely an interesting one.  I met up with some Austrians I had met at my first hostel and we made  the trek to Tokyo station to get to Kyoto.  We had all decided to take the “shinkansen” or the bullet train.  The journey to the station was quite terrible.  It was slightly raining outside, my pack was heavy, and Tokyo Station is probably the most congested place in all of the Tokyo.  It took us about an hour to get there and purchase the tickets for the Shinkansen.  Most of the Japanese Rail workers don’t speak much English so we weren’t even a 100% sure we got the correct ticket.  Once on the tracks we split ways as they pass the Austrian’s had didn’t allow them to get reserved seats, but was able to for a few more dollars.  With no place to to sit I stood their waiting in slight agony for the 20 minutes to pass until next train.

 The train arrived and left promptly exactly at the time it said it would on the ticket.  Passengers only had about 2 minutes to get situated on the train at the stop before it took off at high speeds for Kyoto, making only 2 extremely brief stops on the way.  The speed and smoothness of the train almost felt surreal.  The only way you could even understand you were moving was by looking out the window….otherwise it just felt like a smooth car ride.  However, outside the country side was flying by at 300+ km an hour.  It looked as if you were flying on a high speed jet just a few feet off the ground as houses/people nearby to the train window were just streaks of color on the grey background.  We passed by mount Fuji but it was covered in a rain cloud and only the base of the mountain was visible…and only for a few minutes.

 I fell asleep after about 20 minutes on the Train and woke up again in Kyoto.  There I made my way with the pack to the hostel I was staying in.  This Hostel was terrible.  It was small, dingy, dark, damp, and cold.  Also internet was no longer free but instead about 1 US dollar for 10 minutes.  The sleeping dorms were six people to a room and just involved a few stacked blankets on a tatami mat.  I tried to spend as few minutes in the hostel as possible and continued directly from dropping my stuff to the Imperial Palace and some shrines. 

Kyoto was the old capital and full of shrines, castles, and other building of historic significance.  Also, the city reminded me slightly of Rome.  Their was the old and culturally significant juxtaposed with the brand new and flashy.  While there I went to a number of temples including the Imperial Palace, Nanzen-ji, Fashimi-Inari, Heien Jingu, Nijo-ji, and a number of others I just stumbled upon.  I would elaborate on each place but I was pretty much over whelmed with temples by the end of the trip.  One place I did really like was this 4 km walk up the mountain called Fashimi-Inari Taisha.  It is a complex of 5 temples and a number of graveyards that just wind up a pristine mountain path.  The unique thing however is that the path is covered by thousands upon thousands of orange gates (See Attached Flickr Photos).   All had unique lettering, possibly names carved into their sides.

 Another cool site was the castle of Nijo-ji, the first castle of the Shogunate when he took over Japan.  The Shogunate was basically a samurai (warrior) who took over the country by force and transferred power from the monarchy to himself.  The castle the first one built was a structure to be seen.  It was first of all huge and very intricately designed.  There were a number of ingenious methods to keep out spies and would be assassins.  The most interesting was the use of “nightingale floors.”  These floors made a unique chirping sound even when the slight bit of pressure was applied to them.  As the tourist made their way through the castle it definitely sounded like a flock of chirpping birds.   In addition, many of the rooms had translucent panels to the halls, serving as guard rooms.  If an intruder walked past a translucent panel a shadow could be seen inside the room but the exterior of the panel looked no different than the rest of the panels in the castle.

 While I was exploring the different temples and castles I ran into an Australian girl named Liny (pronounced lin-ee).  She seemed to be very interested in Japanese culture and history and told me more about the sights we were visiting than the guide books.  Back in Australia she was studying homeopathic medicine and had a lot to say about the problems with western medicine.  She proceeded to talk about it for about an hour and then asked me what I was doing with my life.  I told her that when I return to the states I would be going to medical school and an embarrassed look washed over her face.  She then apologized for a few minutes which I found pretty humorous.

 After seeing all the temples I could handle and staying on tatami mats I made my way back to the train station and back to Tokyo.  Again I slept on the the train with its soothing hum as the world passed by outside.  Once in Tokyo, I again donned my large pack, and made my way to my final hostel in Japan.  This hostel was pretty nice except it was out of the way and the bed was exactly 6’4″ givign me one inch of space to stretch out in.  Also the ceilings were extremely low and I hit my head probably a dozen time on different surfaces.  The hostel was set up as a number of small apartments for 3 people.  I lived with an Australian girl and a Korean girl in japan studying the language.  Across the hall I met a British guy named David and a Japanese ex-pat living ing Amsterdam, Masimo.  We hung out most of the remaining days and went to different party spots in Tokyo.

 The first night we went to the bustling heart of Tokyo known as Shinjunku.  The place was vast but seemed small as there were probably 5 thousand people within plain sight on the main street.  We walked around for a while and I came to a few realizations.  A)  Japanese people are by far the best dressed people I have ever seen.  They were all wearing interesting and designer clothes and clearly took a lot of pride in their appearance.  The women were wearing outfits easily in the thousands of dollars with matching purses and shoes.  The men all looked like they came out of a european clothing store, and also had the coolest haircuts i have ever seen.
B)  Women have not learned how to walk in high heels.  I wish I could have just taken a video of women barely able to stand let a lone walk in these things.  I would say at least 80% looked beautiful but when they walked it was as if they were drunk and injured looking for any support to keep from falling over.  Everyone else that has been to Tokyo I am sure can corroborate my account of this.

 After people watching for about half and hour we ducked into one of the many food/drink bars that are frequented by salarymen after a long day of working.  I talked to both David and Masimo about their respective towns and views on Japan.  Everyone loved the city of Tokyo and would try to return.  On the way back to the hostel we encountered another familiar phenomena in the Tokyo subway…the drunk salaryman.  This guy was dressed impeccably in a suit but clearly drunk and often passed out on a subway bench.  It is all part of the culture of working extremely hard during the day (often 12 hours+) and having lots of [intoxicated] fun at nights.  Many of the individuals would probably end the night in a capsule hotel and go straight back to the office the next day.

The following day I made my way around Tokyo on my own for a bit.  I went to an electronic town called Akihabara as I got lost the last time I tried to get there.  It was definitely an electronics and gadget person’s heaven.  There were floors and floors dedicated just to phones, games, or even kitchen appliances.  I also ventured into a Japanese arcade.   There I saw the individuals playing drum games and guitar games as if they were the star of some you tube video.  I took a video of one such person and will upload it when I get the change.  Also I took a quick stop at Rippongi…the club and going out center of Tokyo.  I was instantly mobbed with people asking me to go to their club or girls offering massages.  This continued for the next 20 minutes as I walked around and took some photos and eventually returned back to the hostel. 

That evening I felt something that was unique to me but apparently very common in Japan…an earthquake.  It was only a minor one which lasted maybe 7-10 seconds.  It woke me up and I felt like I was moving but then realized that infact the room itself was moving.  It was an an eerie feeling and I wasn’t sure if it was a dream.  Then in about 20 minutes it happened again and I was still wide awake for this one.  The rumble was gentle though and nothing moved in my room.

 On my last full day in Tokyo me and Masimo went around the city and he took me to a place called Harajuku.  I had been wanting to go since I first arrived as a girl told me I would fall inlove there.  I had no idea what the place was until I arrived.  It was full of youngsters who were fully dressed in either gotchic clothing, maid outfits, or something else you would in an anime film.  It was an interesting walk to say the least.  Then the weather gave out and it rained almost the entire remaining day.  I wanted to go to Ueno park to get some last photos of the cherry blossoms but was unable to.  Instead, I ate, did some laundry, and took it easy for the remaining time.

 Now it is getting to the time I should be headed to the Airport to catch my flight to Hong Kong.  I will send an update after I visit the highest population density place on the planet.