The group dynamics in "the truck" - which is our mobile, east African equivalent to "The Loft" - is going smoothly. Although, there are a few annoyances. The main one was from one of the Australian who feels it is her duty to tell everyone that what she is looking at is better than what they are (even though everyone is looking at the same thing) and then proceed to loudly describe what the animals are doing:
"Oh look everyone, the lion is washing itself like a cat"
That's because it is a fucking cat, woman!
(Just in case there is any doubt, I did not write "fucking catwoman", which brings up all sorts of lewd images of Michelle Pfieffer in a skin-tight leather cat costume, which is not appropriate for this family-oriented blog)
Even more interesting was when whatever cute animal baby was spotted. I didn't do a thorough investigation, but the "oohhs" and "aahhs" that came from the childless women on the truck were inversely proportional to the following:
a) The distance there boyfriend was standing from them on the truck
b) The distance between them and their boyfriend on the subject of marriage, kids and family
c) The amount of time left on their clock, so to speak
That's it for now...but here are some pix for those who still have to reach the boredom limit:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=9s4cmvvd.41d8hvnd&x=0&y=-2n3nz9
Monday, November 05, 2007
Serengeti & Ngorongoro I
Just got back to the closest equivalent to civilization offered in Tanzania after a week game driving through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro national parks.
All in all it was a very interesting time, having had the opportunity to disrupt the lives of every animal we met by stopping a huge Mercedes truck in front of them and proceeded to take as many pictures as possible, in the hope that the animal I saw would be more than just a little brown speck next to green speck once I get the photos. Of course, soon as one tourist truck stops, within a few minutes there will be 5 more there because the true art of viewing wildlife in the parks lies in spotting stopped vehicles; they are much easier to spot than the animals themselves, and if they are stopped, there must be something worth looking at.
So, for example, since you can't spit without hitting a zebra, a truck would never stop at a zebra sighting, unless something special is going on. Like there is a lion nearby which may try to make a kill...unless of course everytime the lion is close, the zebras get frightened away when yet another big, loud 4x4 full of trigger-happy camera owners comes by. To be honest, I'm not sure how any of the predators survive anymore since every ambush they set seems to be foiled by tourists. On the other hand, tourist dollars are the only thing that keeps the game parks going, so if that means that lions have to deal with extra skittish zebra, so be it. They should just be thankful that none of game in park have been smart enough to figure out that whenever a bunch of trucks stop together, there's probably some animal waiting there to pounce on them.
Anyhoo, here is a partial list of animals I thoroughly annoyed in the above method:
elephants, lions, cheetah (which we almost ran over), leopard, hippo, zebra, gazelles, dikdik, impalas, rhino, ostrich, monkeys, baboons buffalo, wildebeest and about a billion different birds (yes I know that ostriches are birds, but I mean the smaller, flying kind)
Of course, it's forbidden to get out of the trucks at all unless they are in designated camping areas. I couldn't help but compare the game park I visited years ago in Nepal, where we went hiking on foot in search of tigers. Then again, I was also chased up a tree by a rhino, so I guess staying the vehicle is not that bad an idea.
All in all it was a very interesting time, having had the opportunity to disrupt the lives of every animal we met by stopping a huge Mercedes truck in front of them and proceeded to take as many pictures as possible, in the hope that the animal I saw would be more than just a little brown speck next to green speck once I get the photos. Of course, soon as one tourist truck stops, within a few minutes there will be 5 more there because the true art of viewing wildlife in the parks lies in spotting stopped vehicles; they are much easier to spot than the animals themselves, and if they are stopped, there must be something worth looking at.
So, for example, since you can't spit without hitting a zebra, a truck would never stop at a zebra sighting, unless something special is going on. Like there is a lion nearby which may try to make a kill...unless of course everytime the lion is close, the zebras get frightened away when yet another big, loud 4x4 full of trigger-happy camera owners comes by. To be honest, I'm not sure how any of the predators survive anymore since every ambush they set seems to be foiled by tourists. On the other hand, tourist dollars are the only thing that keeps the game parks going, so if that means that lions have to deal with extra skittish zebra, so be it. They should just be thankful that none of game in park have been smart enough to figure out that whenever a bunch of trucks stop together, there's probably some animal waiting there to pounce on them.
Anyhoo, here is a partial list of animals I thoroughly annoyed in the above method:
elephants, lions, cheetah (which we almost ran over), leopard, hippo, zebra, gazelles, dikdik, impalas, rhino, ostrich, monkeys, baboons buffalo, wildebeest and about a billion different birds (yes I know that ostriches are birds, but I mean the smaller, flying kind)
Of course, it's forbidden to get out of the trucks at all unless they are in designated camping areas. I couldn't help but compare the game park I visited years ago in Nepal, where we went hiking on foot in search of tigers. Then again, I was also chased up a tree by a rhino, so I guess staying the vehicle is not that bad an idea.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Kilimanjaro - the photos
I forgot to inlcude the link to my photos in last posting. Sorry.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=9s4cmvvd.6kxx4vo9&Uy=18p921&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1
And this site lets you order prints on a variety of formats...nothing says "I'm Cool" like a coffee mug with a photo of some other person in some place you've never been.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=9s4cmvvd.6kxx4vo9&Uy=18p921&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1
And this site lets you order prints on a variety of formats...nothing says "I'm Cool" like a coffee mug with a photo of some other person in some place you've never been.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Kilimanjaro
Veni, vidi, vinci!
OK, it wasn't that easy, but I can say that I managed to get to get to Uhuru peak...and on my birthday no less! It was a rather difficult 5 days, even though we were on what's commonly known as the Coca-cola route, but it wasn't because of the 17 hour hiking on the summit day, the lack of oxygen or cold; it was the urination, plain and simple.
You see, out of fear of getting altitude sickness - which in it's worse case, every orifice releases what it is meant to hold in, your lungs fill with water and pressure builds up in your brain cavity and your head explodes - our intrepid group of hikers decided to take Dimox, which can counter-act altitude sickness. In addition to this, we were told to drink plenty of liquids to keep our kidneys working at altitude.
Unfortunately, Dimox is a powerful diuretic. Even more unfortunately, it only seems to strike at night once you are in your sleeping bag and fending off the cold. In the end, we could have just removed the door to our hut since people were coming and going to relieve themselves all through the night. The average was 3 times a night, but it could reach 5. The game everyone played was to see how long they could resist before having to go. Could they make it to morning on one shot. Was the release worth the cold trip outside?
In the end...the mountain broke everyone!
I was lucky in terms of altitude sickness, while climbing the summit, it seems my stomach was in constant negotiations with my esophagus and colon as to decide which way to send it's contents. After hours of debate, they could not come to a resolution, and the contents of my stomach stayed where they were, to the benefit of both myself, and all those around me. Unfortunately, some of the other hikers were not so lucky.
The group I went up with was quite fun; an Argentinian lawyer with a very precise and thought out way of speaking. We though this was do to poor English skills, but it seems he's the same in Spanish. A British uni student who was in Tanzania to study and save turtles - or cook them...I can't remember - and her mom who seems not to have noticed that British colonialism has ended some time ago (and who at 57, also made it to the peak). An ex-London Barrister, who gave up his job to become a barrista. At first I thought this meant a lawyer for gangstahs, but it seems that a barrista is actually someone who works in a coffee shop. A Canadian on her way to do volunteer work in Zimbabwe, and finally a young London couple.
We (the couple, Canadian, and barrista) will soon join the rest of the truck that are heading off to the Serengeti.
OK, it wasn't that easy, but I can say that I managed to get to get to Uhuru peak...and on my birthday no less! It was a rather difficult 5 days, even though we were on what's commonly known as the Coca-cola route, but it wasn't because of the 17 hour hiking on the summit day, the lack of oxygen or cold; it was the urination, plain and simple.
You see, out of fear of getting altitude sickness - which in it's worse case, every orifice releases what it is meant to hold in, your lungs fill with water and pressure builds up in your brain cavity and your head explodes - our intrepid group of hikers decided to take Dimox, which can counter-act altitude sickness. In addition to this, we were told to drink plenty of liquids to keep our kidneys working at altitude.
Unfortunately, Dimox is a powerful diuretic. Even more unfortunately, it only seems to strike at night once you are in your sleeping bag and fending off the cold. In the end, we could have just removed the door to our hut since people were coming and going to relieve themselves all through the night. The average was 3 times a night, but it could reach 5. The game everyone played was to see how long they could resist before having to go. Could they make it to morning on one shot. Was the release worth the cold trip outside?
In the end...the mountain broke everyone!
I was lucky in terms of altitude sickness, while climbing the summit, it seems my stomach was in constant negotiations with my esophagus and colon as to decide which way to send it's contents. After hours of debate, they could not come to a resolution, and the contents of my stomach stayed where they were, to the benefit of both myself, and all those around me. Unfortunately, some of the other hikers were not so lucky.
The group I went up with was quite fun; an Argentinian lawyer with a very precise and thought out way of speaking. We though this was do to poor English skills, but it seems he's the same in Spanish. A British uni student who was in Tanzania to study and save turtles - or cook them...I can't remember - and her mom who seems not to have noticed that British colonialism has ended some time ago (and who at 57, also made it to the peak). An ex-London Barrister, who gave up his job to become a barrista. At first I thought this meant a lawyer for gangstahs, but it seems that a barrista is actually someone who works in a coffee shop. A Canadian on her way to do volunteer work in Zimbabwe, and finally a young London couple.
We (the couple, Canadian, and barrista) will soon join the rest of the truck that are heading off to the Serengeti.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The beginning would be a good place to start
Unfortunately, the beginning was a very long time ago and I seemed to have forgotten most of the important things that happened. I guess that makes perfect sense since I wasn't around for most of that time. You would think that that would make me quite young, but the fact that I forgot much of the stuff that happened since "my own" beginning would indicate otherwise.
So the beginning isn't a very good place to start after all. Perhaps I should then start with something worth writing and go from there, but I doubt either of us want to wait around that long. Now there was a time, no long ago when I did have something to write about. A time when anything was possible, so long as it remained in the realm of possibility. I was to begin a travel adventure unheard before...except from those who already did it and even managed to write guides to tell me what to see and do (because I wasn't really qualified for that sort for thing). Even more importantly, these guides gave something to focus my anger and disdain should things not turn out the way I had not planned but hoped would turn out anyway.
This sort of safety net would not be possible if I went at it alone. So on the course of this trip I wrote back to select few on a rather regular basis. These emails were long-winded and cost me a fortune in Internet cafe fees. These emails were quite insulting to most people involved in the venture; fellow travelers, local culture, I think I even take a few pot-shots at the flora and fauna. But foremost, I think these emails insulted the reader by stealing from them precious minutes from their boring lives they will never get back again. And this is what I plan to give to you free of charge.
So although this is original material, it is not new; more like a re-release. Think of a forgotten, scratchy old record re-issued in CD format and for all it's digital remastered wizardry, it's still bad. But like the old records from the past, I'm hoping that all the people that could possibly sue me due to the content or send some rather nasty gents to visit me with form-fitting cement shoes, would have either forgotten....or died.
I realise that this is not the standard way for posting content to a blog, but well it's my blog, so, um, there.
OK...at some point I'll get around to actually posting the first installment of the trip.
So the beginning isn't a very good place to start after all. Perhaps I should then start with something worth writing and go from there, but I doubt either of us want to wait around that long. Now there was a time, no long ago when I did have something to write about. A time when anything was possible, so long as it remained in the realm of possibility. I was to begin a travel adventure unheard before...except from those who already did it and even managed to write guides to tell me what to see and do (because I wasn't really qualified for that sort for thing). Even more importantly, these guides gave something to focus my anger and disdain should things not turn out the way I had not planned but hoped would turn out anyway.
This sort of safety net would not be possible if I went at it alone. So on the course of this trip I wrote back to select few on a rather regular basis. These emails were long-winded and cost me a fortune in Internet cafe fees. These emails were quite insulting to most people involved in the venture; fellow travelers, local culture, I think I even take a few pot-shots at the flora and fauna. But foremost, I think these emails insulted the reader by stealing from them precious minutes from their boring lives they will never get back again. And this is what I plan to give to you free of charge.
So although this is original material, it is not new; more like a re-release. Think of a forgotten, scratchy old record re-issued in CD format and for all it's digital remastered wizardry, it's still bad. But like the old records from the past, I'm hoping that all the people that could possibly sue me due to the content or send some rather nasty gents to visit me with form-fitting cement shoes, would have either forgotten....or died.
I realise that this is not the standard way for posting content to a blog, but well it's my blog, so, um, there.
OK...at some point I'll get around to actually posting the first installment of the trip.
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