Category: RTW Trip

The trip of a lifetime…

Mombassa

9/8/05

the most famous thing to see in Mombassa is fort Jesus, a huge old fort built by the Portuguese on the coast. we hadn’t seen all that much of town yet, so we headed out to the fort by foot as to see all the random stuff along the way. we had been wanting to see a movie for a while now, so when we came across an old movie theater, we decided to step inside to see what was playing. to our surprise, we heard music coming form inside the theater and an excited lady motioned us to go on inside. inside the theater, we saw a large group of people all standing in front of their seats with a woman on stage singing. it turned out to be a church service held in a movie theater! everyone in the audience was super into it and waving their arms, swaying back and forth, clapping to the beat, and singing as loud as they could. this was totally not something we had been expecting to see, but we were really glad that we saw it. it was really cool to see just how much fun these people were having and how excited they were. after a bit of singing, it was time to pray, so we quickly made our exit.

by the time we got to fort Jesus, the three of us were sweating like crazy. it was a ridiculously hot day, and if this was the “cool season” here, I cant imagine what the hot season must be like. yikes! when we paid for the fort, we bought a pamphlet so we could learn a bit about the fort’s history, but the pamphlet turned out to be excruciatingly boring. it was so painful just to read this thing. we ended up giving up and just wandering around the fort. I still don’t know any of the history of the fort, but oh well. the fort ended up being pretty interesting to walk around though. we climbed the ramparts, descended random concrete staircases, and checked out old canons.

after the fort we tried to find something called the “Leven steps”. the guidebook didn’t really tell us anything about these steps other than that they were an interesting thing to see. we wandered about the old town for a while, walking through the random streets, and being watched by curious locals. we had a tough time finding the steps though. at one point we turned sown a small alley and were told by an old man that we “didn’t belong there” and that we should leave. at another alley, a man walked up to us and told us we should avoid that area because there might be shady characters there who do might want to rob tourists. another man walked up to us and told us that nearby there might be a lot of drug users and to be careful. all these thing got us to thinking that the old town might be just a bit shady. maybe we really shouldn’t be exploring it on our own w/out a map?

we were just about to give up, when we saw a little alley that seemed to lead to the ocean. we followed it and then walked down a few old crumbling steps. we stood there looking up and down the coast. where the hell were these “Leven steps”?? we stood around trying to figure out what to do. we kind of didn’t want to continue searching around the old town any longer. so we decided to give up. we walked back up a few steps, and then asked a random man sitting at the top… and it turned out that the steps we were on *were* the Leven steps. honestly, I have no idea why the book would have even mentioned them because there wasn’t anything even slightly interesting about them. they were just boring old concrete steps. not ornamental in the least.

later on that afternoon, I decided to call home. it had been ages since I had talked to my parents and I had been wanting to call them for a long time now. it was the perfect time since they should both me home right before work. we went to a place where you could make international phone calls, but it turned out that we had to go to a different place many blocks away. as the lady led us to the other building, a large group of 6 or 7 street kids ran up to us and started begging for money. these kids were young. probably only 5 or 6 years old. they were ran after us and wouldn’t take no for an answer. whenever one of the kids would drop back, another would take the lead and ask us for money. around Africa, we had seen many posters warning people not to give money to street kids.. it just encourages begging and sadly enough apparently a lot of the money is used for the kids to buy glue to sniff. we were determined not to give any money. the kids were determined to break us down. only after several blocks did they finally give up.

my phone call was only partially successful. my parents weren’t home. i luckily did get to talk to my brother though. unbelievably, the phone call cost 50 cents per minute… and turned out to be over the internet. so, basically they were having me call for *free* and yet charging 50 cents per minute. the connection sucked and it was almost impossible to have a normal conversation.

for dinner, we went to a restaurant called the pleasant view. it was said that it has the best tandoori chicken on the coast. the waiter came and took our order without writing it down. that seemed a bit surprising seeing as it was a long order, and I was pretty impressed that he could remember it all. well, I wasn’t impressed for long. he ended up having to come back several times to ask us what we had ordered, and he got every single thing in our order wrong. I don’t think a single thing was correct. after the waiter went back and forth a million times, we finally did get our correct food… and it was sooo damn good. the tandoori chicken was excellent, perfectly cooked, juicy, and spicy. the prawns were good, and even the salad we had was simple but delicious. all of us were really excited about our meal, and decided that we had to come back here to eat again.

we ate our meal at an outside table, and while we ate, all sorts of random people marched past us trying to get us to buy their wares. people holding large stacks of cds and dvds; people selling shorts, pants, and football jerseys; people holding handfuls of mismatched shoes and sandals; and bizarrely enough, a guy with 2 huge wooden model boats, and a guy with a 2 foot by 3 foot painting. what the hell is this guy doing walking around town trying to sell a huge framed painting?! we shook our heads no to each of these people but as each one left, a new one would just take his place. as someone at a neighboring table said “even if you don’t go to the market, the market comes to you!”

in between these vendors, dirty alleycats would crawl up to us and beg for food. the bigger cats would attack the smaller ones and then sneak up to us, hoping to be fed. the cats weren’t the only ones who wanted something from us though. the gang of kids that we had seen earlier were back. they would come up to the table, one or two at a time and ask for money. we shook our heads no. once in a while they would run off laughing with their friends, but then they’d come back. if one of the waiters came out, the kids would run like hell… I’m sure they would get a beating if they were caught. I keep thinking to myself, what kind of life do these kids have?! they are literally like 5 or 6 years old. how many years have they been on the streets already? do they even know how to talk? were they taught to speak by the other street kids? what did they do with their time when they weren’t begging? in a lot of ways, these kids live just like the alleycats: a hectic life on the dirty streets, sleeping in alleys, begging for scraps, and getting beaten by others. or maybe life was nice? no homework, no school, no chores. no parents telling you what to do. walk around and play w/ your friends all day. get free spending money from strangers. have fun sniffing glue…

regardless of what the kids thought of their life now, what would become of them as they grew older? with no education whatsoever, and no skills, the chances of them ever getting a job, especially here where unemployment is already high, is very slim. they probably go from being streetkids, to grownup beggars, or worse yet, getting into crime and other bad situations. with no medical care of any kind, I cant imagine these kids living very long lives. in fact… it seems like nobody here is living a very long life. there are few old people in Africa. life expectancy here is short, and 50 years old is considered a long life. aids is rampant and killing people left and right. not too mention malaria, other diseases, and crime. I’m currently reading a book about life here and the situation is definitely grim… and everything I see around me on the streets definitely is as mentioned in the book. I feel so sorry for these kids on the streets… only 5 years old and their life is already ruined.

after dinner, we dropped caryn off sat the hotel, and then Joey and I went out. we decided to try out a casino here. we walk inside the small building, and being used to las vegas, my first thought is that this place is really small and really empty. we go up to a roulette table, and buy some chips. minimum buy in: 13$. I feel awkward here. since the place is empty, I feel like every employee there is staring at us. what will the foreigners do? we start making bets. I lose pretty much all my money right away, and then get some more chips. Joey does a little better. still, within 20 minutes, our money is gone. I contemplate buying more chips, but I have very little money in my pocket, so I decide against it. so hard to fight the urge to “win it all back”.

after the casino, we walk to a club called Casablanca. we’re nervous, cause we have a feeling of what the place will have in store for us: hookers. and lots of them. when going to clubs in east Africa, the hookers are unavoidable. they are everywhere. and if you don’t have a girl with you, then you will definitely be approached and not left alone. as we walked up to the club, a girl ran up to us, started chitchatting, and then asked if we wanted “company”. we said no. she kept asking us why not etc etc, but finally left us alone. we knew our troubles were only beginning.

inside the club, we found an empty table and sat down. looking around, the whole club was only prostitutes. prostitutes dancing, prostitutes sitting lazily at tables, prostitutes talking to each other, and here and there prostitutes with customers. the place was practically empty as far as non-prostitutes, but there were probably almost a hundred girls there. competition must be fierce. we ordered beers, and before they even arrived, we had two girls sit down next to us. *sigh*. they start talking about this and that, when all of a sudden the girl from outside walks up to us. “oh!!! I thought you said you didn’t want company!!” we just shrug and try to look innocent. she’s pissed off. after bitching for a while at us and at the other two girls, she leaves. the other two girls stay, and I’m feeling uncomfortable.

after a while though, I think to myself, who cares? why the hell should I let them make me feel uncomfortable? I didn’t ask them to sit with us. they’re imposing on me, and there’s really no need for me to be nice to them or polite. instead of spending the rest of the night sitting in my chair, squirming and afraid, I figure I’ll just entertain myself by wasting their time. the girls start asking for beers. I say no. why not? I just say I don’t want to. I tell them I lost all my money at the casino. I tell them my girlfriend knows karate and she would beat me up if I did. they keep pestering, but I just keep saying any random excuse that comes to mind. she says she really wants a beer and I say that she’s probably already drunk and probably doesn’t need anymore.

she still wont stop asking for beer. I say no, why should I buy you beer? she says for the company. I say that I don’t need or want the company. she says that I *have to have it*. “if I leave this chair. the second I leave, there will be another girl here.. or maybe 5 other girls. you have no choice”. it was true. what could I do? there was no way out. even as we talked, I saw other girls staring, ready to come in for their chance as well. eventually, she figures she’s not gonna get any beer from me, so then she asks if I want a “massage”, even being as explicit as pointing to the areas that would be massaged. I say no. she tries to put her arm around me and I say I have a sunburn. this goes on for a while, and finally she stops asking and starts talking about other stuff. these prostitutes are hella annoying… but they’re people too, and eventually I start feeling pretty bad for this girl. she works down at the dock, but that’s not enough money to get by, so she has to come here every night and compete against the other hundred girls just to earn a living. due to competition, she usually only manages to give 2 “massages” a night, making her a total of 40 bucks. what kind of life is that? earlier on, when she had countered my “I have a girlfriend” with the usual, “well your girlfriend isn’t here”, I asked her how she would feel if her boyfriend went to a club and cheated on her w/ a hooker. she told me that she used to have a boyfriend in Nairobi for years. one day she showed up for a surprise visit. she walked in on him having sex with someone else. she hasn’t dated anyone since then because she is too afraid of men, despite her parents urging her to get married.

this person is just some poor screwed up girl struggling to earn enough money to live. her, the streetkids, the touts, the beggars, everyone… all these people are annoying as hell. they bother you when you don’t want to be bothered. they infringe on your vacation time, and don’t leave you alone. they are constantly hounding you. sometimes you just want to turn around and start screaming at everyone to just GET THE HELL AWAY… and yet you don’t. cause from the other side, you see that they are just desperate people doing what they have to do. ruining your vacation *is their job*. and if they don’t do it, they wont have money for rent or food or whatever else they need.

eventually, she gets up and walks away, but leaves her beer cup behind. seconds later, another girl is in her spot. sheez. and then yet another girl come up and sits down next to her. now I have two girls pestering me. but then… the first girl (who’s name is ironically Purity) comes back. she stares daggers at the other girls. she wants her seat back. it turns out that by leaving her beer cup, she hoped to have her place saved. furious, she points to the beer cup “that’s MY mug”. the other hooker glances at her with a wry smile, “then take it”. the girls start bitching at each other, but the new girl wont budge. Purity, then sits between the other girls and me by sitting on my armrest. the air at the table is tense as hell. the two new girls seemed arrogant and kept laughing to each other, and in a way, I kind of felt bad for “Purity”, who eventually finally gave up and stormed away. not that it really matters I guess… none of them was getting any money (or beers) from me anyway. eventually, we paid our bill and got the hell out of there. it had been an interesting night. funny in some ways, sad in others…

*v

on the way to Mombasa

another day, another bus ride. today we were traveling from Dar Essalam in Tanzania to Mombasa in Kenya. as usual, we had to get up early, rush to the bus stop, only to get on the bus and have it then sit there for almost an hour at the main bus stop. grrrr, i cant even imagine how much extra sleep we could get if we weren’t always getting up so ear5ly for buses that didn’t leave on time. as we sat on the bus, a guy walked up to the front and put in a movie. nice! we would actually be entertained! and, lo and behold, it was actually a movie in English. of course, our luck only made it that far and not much further. they ended up playing the movie so quietly, that we were unable to hear anything at all. damn! *every* bus ride we’ve taken, they play the music or movies at a million decibels. so loud that your head is aching after a few minutes and you feel your brain start to ooze out of your skull. but the *one* time that they actually play an English movie happens to be the one time they turn the volume down to nothingness. *sigh*.

halfway through the trip, we stopped for a “toilet and lunch” stop. we walked back behind an old and decrepit soccer stadium, to find some concrete rooms that had little concrete partitions. between each partition was just a tiny little drain to pee into. only meant for those w/ good aim, i guess. we then searched for lunch. for some reason, the area we were in had no restaurants. the only thing resembling one, was a small building that had a table with a bunch of saran wrapped plates. in each plate was some sad looking fries, a slice of cucumber and tomato, and a piece of chicken that reminded me of some of the withered shriveled up mummies that we saw in Egypt. we were desperate enough to buy a plate each, and the attendant threw them one by one into a microwave that he had borrowed from next door. if the food was unappetizing before, now it was even more so. hot steamy microwaved cucumber slice?
as we were about to board the bus, we saw yet another guy selling cashews. i don’t know what it is about cashews, but here in Africa, there are hundreds of guys on the streets selling them. everyone is selling cashews left and right. i think we literally get asked if we want to buy cashews at least 30 times per day if not more. i don’t know if there is some huge monstrous warehouse somewhere filled to the brim with cashews and trying to get rid of it’s product or what. the one difference w/ this guy, is that alongside the regular cashews, he also sold spicy cashews. so, for the first time in the last month, we went ahead and actually bought some. they were actually pretty good.

the rest of the bus ride was fairly uneventful. we crossed the border, where everyone got out, had their passports stamped, bags searched, and got back on. we also exchanged some money with one of the random guys wandering around who had a huge wad of cash. surprisingly, he actually gave us the right rate. later, we go to this place where the bus had to get on a ferry to get across. everyone was supposed to get off and take a separate ferry, and then get back on the bus on the other side. well, we and the other tourists were all confused, and in the end, they told us to just stay on the bus. when we go to the other side, i totally wondered what the locals must think of us. here, they had to get off the bus, in their own country, while the rich pampered foreigners got to sit inside and relax the whole way. we must look like such bastards.

finally we go to Mombasa, one of Kenya’s largest cities. we walked though town trying to find a hotel, and looked around at the hustle and bustle. there were a lot of people out on the streets, some of them selling random clothing, others sitting on the sidewalk and frying little dried fish to sell. ever7y few minutes, someone would ask us if we wanted to buy some Cd’s.. probably the next most popular thing to sell next to cashews. as we walked, hundreds of Matatu’s raced by us, making everything even louder and more chaotic. Matatus are minivan taxis and are one of the most popular ways of getting around town here. people must take huge pride in their Matatus, cause they are almost always decorated in crazy neon colors, all glittery, with random slogans written on them or spray painted pictures. these vehicles look like they pulled out of “pimp my ride” on MTV. as they race by you at top speed (death by Matatu is a common occurrence here), one guy will be leaning out of the van and yelling incomprehensible words as loud and as fast as he can, hoping to get customers. we navigated through all the chaos, the people, and the rubbish, and finally made it to our hotel.

our hotel was named “the excellent hotel”, but it actually would more aptly be name the “so-so hotel” or maybe even the “not so great hotel”. the ro0m itself was nothing special, but the real “treat” was the bathroom. the tub looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the 1500s, and had grayish blackish yellowish streaks *everywhere*. joey was afraid to even let his flip-flops touch it. the toilet had no lid, which wasn’t unusual, but it also had no seat either. funniest of all was that the hotel promised hot water, but later we found out that the hot water is turned on… from 6am to 7am. yes. we only get hot water for *1* hour, and it’s at a ridiculous hour. unbelievable. i always find myself wondering, why is Africa so expensive?? i traveled through tons of countries in Asia, and there a small room would go for 3$, maybe 5$. everything is cheap. yet here, we’re paying a whopping $25 for this room. yeah, yeah, i know that back home you couldn’t find *any* room for $25, but this is a developing country!! there aren’t any nice 1st world amenities.. like toilets that you can actually sit on. and yet, they charge like 5 times what we would be charged in Asia. *sigh*. as we sat talking about this, the power in our room went out. not surprising. ahh Africa!

*v

Zanzibar

8/30/05-9/06-05

we spent a week chilling on Zanzibar island. it’s a large island about 3 hours by ferry away from Tanzania. the time we spent there was divided between two cities: Stonetown and Nungwi.

Stonetown, on the southern side of the island is a rather large city, with the most interesting part being its core right next to the ocean. it is filled with old narrow mazelike streets that wind their way around crumbling colonial buildings. the main attraction here is to just spend time wandering around and getting lost, which we did. the atmosphere of the city is a cross between colonial and middle eastern. there is a large Muslim population so you see a lot of people walking about wearing robes of various kinds. and on the west side is the ocean, a brilliant absolutely pale blue color, with wooden boats bobbing up and down in its waters. the shore is lined w/ sand and palms. Stonetown is definitely a picture-perfect vision of an old city by the sea.

the city is filled with all sorts of nice restaurants and we visited many of them. we had good African food while sitting on cushions on the floor. we had western food at a place called Mercury’s, name after Freddy mercury who surprisingly was born on Zanzibar island. we ate at a delicious seafood restaurant, where our table was literally in the sand on the beach and we were waited on hand and foot. in the end, we kind of went overboard and spent too much money on food, but it was worth it.

while we were in town, we checked out some of the old landmarks like the old palace and the infirmary. these buildings looked really cool on the outside, but the inside wasn’t nearly as interesting.

one night, when we were leaving a restaurant, we saw this large millipede, and then right afterwards, I saw the biggest snail I’ve ever seen. this thing was as long as my hand. humongous.

after a couple days, we left Stonetown to go to the beach town of Nungwi. the previous night, we had an altercation w/ the owner of the hotel we stayed in. he wanted to arrange us a taxi, but we didn’t want to go at 8am when his taxi was leaving. he got totally pissed off and started bitching at us saying we only care about money and basically accused us of being cheap bastards. we told him that it wasn’t about money and that we just didn’t want to wake up early, but he wouldn’t listen since he was totally drunk. the following day, we got into an altercation w/ our taxi driver. I wont bother going into details, but he was flaming pissed, totally yelled at us, and said that we would see what happens to people that piss him off. ahh, sometimes it’s so nice to interact w/ the locals! 😉

Nungwi is a small village, and is roughly divided into a small town where only locals hang out and tourists hardly venture, and the strip of coastline that is packed with tourist guesthouses, restaurants, and bars. it’s a great place to spend some time, relax, and get away fro it all. we were totally lazy for the next few days. we slept in. we hung out on the beach and did nothing. we ate at the local restaurants which actually pretty much all had crap food and were overpriced. we spent every night drinking for hours at whichever bar we chose that night. not being much of a drinker, caryn stayed in most nights, so Joey and I would just head out on our own. it was nice to be able to just hang out w/ a friend and have some drinks.

the most popular bar on the beach was a place called chollos which was next door to us. one night, out of nowhere, like 30 people all showed up wearing costumes made out of black garbage bags. it was like a crazy whacky SF costume party, but instead it was here on the beach in Africa. so random! turned out that all these people had been on an overland truck tour and were celebrating the end of their tour. one night the “world famous dj Marvin” played and practically everyone on the island came to dance to cheesy music. even the Masai were rocking out and showing off crazy dance moves.

we found a scorpion in our hotel room one night. for the next several days I was afraid of walking around inside w/ the lights off.

one day we walked down to the local “aquarium”. this was a place where there was a closed off natural lagoon, and there were a bunch of sea turtles inside. you could feed the turtles kelp and they were huge. you could even swim w/ the turtles if you wanted to, but we didn’t. some old guy did, and totally manhandled the turtles, holding on to them, and pulling them out of the water. “look at them!! they’re so beautiful and docile!” he would yell as the turtle frantically struggled to get away from him. it was painful to watch.

we walked back along the beach and just took in the beauty all around us. I’ve never really been a beach person and don’t care for the beach too much, but sometimes I really understand why everyone loves it. there’s just something about the sand, waves, and sky that blend perfectly together. as we walked, we watched the waves come crashing onto the shore. we saw tons of little local children racing around the beach. we saw large wooden boats, most of them only partially built just laying on their side waiting to be finished. little Muslim girls, covered almost head to toe, giggled and jumped around near the water trying to avoid getting wet. tiny white crabs scrambled along the beach, ducking into their little homes when we approached. it really was a nice walk…

our last night there we ended up meeting up w/ dan, a guy from America who I had exchanged emails with a long time ago. this was back before either of us had left on our rtw trips and we had been so excited and couldn’t wait to get started. and here we were, me one year into my trip and him 7 months into his, here on Zanzibar island. we talked a ton about how our trips had gone, what we had seen and done, and what we still had ahead of us. it’s always cool to cross paths with people on the road. we hung out w/ him and his friend Alex, ate at an all you can eat barbecue on the beach, and then caught a taxi with them on the way back to Stonetown the next day.

our last night in Stonetown, we realized that maybe we left Nungwi a bit early. all of us probably could have used some extra time on the beach. oh well, there’s still more time for that. our last night in Stonetown, we went out to the night market. a bunch of people set up food stalls near the water. the whole area is smoky from all the grills going at once. people yell to try to get your attention, selling their small skewers of food. each grill was loaded w/ a variety of different skewers, each a different color: pink lobster, light grey tuna, brown beef. all of it was quite good, and the atmosphere made it even better. the whole time in Zanzibar, we had been really sheltered, eating at places specifically designed for tourists, so it was nice to eat w/ the locals the way they do. the next morning, we walked around Stonetown for the last time, and then we took the ferry back to the mainland. The ferry ride back was much smoother than on the way there.

ahhh… it had been a really nice week on the island…

*v

not much happening

arggghh. ever since Ethiopia, I’ve been so behind with my blog. I still haven’t been able to catch up. damn. anyways, after the 2nd safari, there were several days when not much happened. here’s a quick summary:

8/25/05 continued..

after returning from the safari, we treated ourselves to a more expensive room w/ a TV and everything. we went out to eat at an indian/italian restaurant (weird combination, eh?) across the way which was very good. at night, Joey and I went to the hotel bar and had some drinks, and by the time we got back to our rooms, we were too tired to take advantage of the TV. doh.

8/26/05

we spent the day in moshi, a small town near the base of Kilimanjaro. our main priority was to figure out what we would do about climbing Kilimanjaro. what company would we go with? what route would we take? how would we get our gear? well, in the end, the more research we did, the more we realized that kili would be an impossible undertaking for us. the cheapest route, Marangu, was 700$ and this exhausting strenuous 4 day climb turned out to have an only 10% success rate!! everyone else ended up giving up due to the extreme altitude. the next easiest route, one where we would actually have a good chance to get to the top was over $1000. OUCH! we just couldn’t afford that kind of money. there was the possibility of trying to go w/ some cheap independent operator, but we read a bunch of horror stories about that. apparently, sometimes these guys take you up the mountain, and then just ditch you!! you wake up, crawl out of your tent, and there you are all alone with no guide, gear, or porters!! also, a lot of the cheaper companies give you total crappy gear that doesn’t fit, sleeping bags that are too small, etc etc. climbing Africa’s tallest mountain was a serious undertaking, so we decided we just couldn’t risk this. so we gave up. it really sucks cause we were actually really excited about climbing. I had wanted to climb the mountain for months now. *sigh*. oh well… maybe some other year.

for a funny account of someone’s climb on the mountain, check this out: http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/humor/lansky_kilimanjaro.htm

Moshi, the town we were in, would almost be a pleasant place, except for the millions of touts. every person in town works for a safari company, a climbing company, or another tourist agency. every step you take in town, you are bugged by people who want to sell you tours. it drives you crazy after a while.

other than being really depressed by our decision regarding Kilimanjaro, we didn’t do much that day. ate at the Indian restaurant, twice I think! and ended the night in the hotel bar, drinking our troubles away. we heard about some club in town which sounded interesting, but were too afraid to go there in case it would be swamped w/ hookers.

8/27/05

since we weren’t climbing Kilimanjaro, we decided to do a quick hike around the area just for fun. we made an arrangement to hire a guide, but he ended up trying to rip us off, so we backed out. in the end, we decided to just do it ourselves. we took a taxi to this hotel that was several kilometers out of town, and then just started walking. it actually turned out to be a pretty fun hike. we had no clue where the hell we were headed, so it was kind of like an adventure. we walked and walked. we passed coffee plantations, and then eventually got to a more jungleish are where we walked through large banana trees. we found a small village and walked through that, waving at children and other people who lived there. eventually, we ended up walking by more coffee bushes, and then out of nowhere we saw this huge compound in the distance.

at first we thought this place was a hotel. we thought we’d go there, have a drink, and then make our way back. as we got closer though, we noticed that this definitely didn’t look like a hotel. instead, it was all surrounded by barbed wire, had lookout towers, and looked more like a prison than anything. we thought about turning back, but we were now curious, so we walked closer. after getting through all the trees, we got to the front of the compound and saw a girl sitting on the porch. she yelled out “karibu” (meaning “welcome” in Swahili). I yelled out “do you speak English” and she answered in Swahili, though I don’t know what she said. she yelled out a few m ore things, and then as Joey and I approached the place closer, she yelled out something that sounded like “please, no!” and grabbed a rifle that had been sitting behind her. oh crap! we decided to not stick around and see what she meant to do w/ the rifle. we turned around quickly and got the hell out of there. we still have no idea what that place was. prison? military camp? al-queda?!

we returned back to town, ate at the Indian place again, and went to sleep.

8/28/05

the next morning, we took a bus to Dar Essalam. it was a 7 hour bus ride, but the roads were paved, so it wasn’t that bad. actually, this bus ride was really cool cause they gave everyone on the bus free sodas. at one point, we stopped for the usual bathroom break where everyone, both men and women, scrambled into the bushes. it’s funny how I’ve gotten totally used to this and it’s totally the norm for me now. what’s the big deal, right? but then I was thinking, could you imagine if this happened back home? if a greyhound bus just stopped in a field and told people to go to the bathroom behind bushes?! people would be so angry! eventually we had a lunch stop. we asked how long it would be and it turned out to be only 10 minutes!! everyone had to get there chicken and fries in a sack, and then squirted tons of hot sauce on it and ran back on the bus. the whole bus slowly munched their chicken and fries on the bus.

hours later, we got to dar Essalam. we had dinner at a hamburger place called Steers where we had eaten in Kenya. the one in Kenya had been so damn good!! this one sucked though, and I had lots of bone chunks in my burger and the whole thing was just nasty.

8/29/05

didn’t do too much today. had breakfast in a tasty cafe. across the street they sold t-shirts that said “mzungu” on them. we had no clue what that meant, so we asked our waitress and she started giggling and then said she didn’t know. well, it was obvious she knew but wouldn’t tell us. later we found out that it means something like “white man” or “foreigner” or something. it’s not meant to be an offensive term either, I guess that’s just what we are called.

Joey and I spent the rest of the afternoon running errands. we went to the post office. we got a bunch of money from an atm, since we were going to Zanzibar the next day and there would be no atms there. we bought ferry tickets. we exchanged money for dollars (on Zanzibar you have to pay for hotels rooms in dollars, not sure why.). eventually, when joey and i were ready to leave the post office, it started pouring like crazy.we decided to run for it. we ran full speed through the downpour, jumping over puddles and dodging cars that gor in our way. we got lots of funny looks by everyone else who stoff under overhangs keeping dry. we got so totally soaked, but it was all kind of funny. later on we went to a bookstore. big mistake. we left there $100 dollars poorer with 6 new books. we unsuccessfully shopped for shoes. we eventually ate dinner, did more internet, and went to sleep.

8/30/05

in the morning we took the ferry to Zanzibar. 3 hour trip. the ride was hell. probably one of the most rocky ferry rides ever. caryn came really close to vomiting and Joey and I felt awful as well. luckily, we survived the trip since the sea settled down eventually.

there’s this tribe that lives here in east Africa called the Masai. they are very recognizable because they still wear their traditional red checkered robes and loads of silver dangly jewelry. it’s pretty crazy that we can just be sitting on this ferry, and there will be a few Masai tribesmen just chilling on deck talking to each other. we randomly here and there see them in the city as well, walking down the street and whatnot. it’s pretty cool that these guys have preserved their own unique heritage, even when they live amongst the much more modern dressed Tanzanians. later, on Zanzibar, we would even see these guys in bars and clubs. so funny. a huge dancefloor full of tourists and locals, and then you’ll see these dudes in tribal robes totally rocking out to American pop songs.

… so that’s it for those several days. yeah, yeah, I know this is kind of a boring entry, but not that much happened on those days, so what can ya do?

*v

safari #2

8/24/05

we woke up in the morning and it was time to go on our next safari. this time we would be going to Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania. this place was supposed to be really cool because not only could you see lots of animals, but the scenery was supposed to be amazing as well. also, in this crater, there was a good chance of seeing a black rhino which is super rare. there was some confusion at our hotel, and for some reason, when our driver arrived, the hotel staff told him that we had left at 5am and had never come back! well, eventually things were sorted out and we were on the way. Joseph, our guide/driver, was the nicest guy you could ever meet, but he was also totally disorganized. he had to call back to the office to figure out our lunch situation. then he had to borrow money from Joey to pay for the lunches. he wasn’t sure how we would get the sleeping bags that we needed for the night, etc etc etc.

eventually, we picked up our box lunches and were off. we made the mandatory stop at a gift shop on the way, and refused to buy any souvenirs for the insane prices they were offering (about *10* times more than what they should be!). after more driving, we soon entered the park and were on the crater rim. the inside of the crater was quite hazy, so photos of the view didn’t come out so great, but the view was still amazing. the crater itself was HUGE, and you could just barely see to the other side. inside, you could see that the landscape was quite varied. some parts had lots of trees, others were dry gravel, and there was even a huge dry encrusted soda lake in there too. we slowly descended down the bumpy road into the crater, avoiding several overturned trucks that had been unlucky.

when our driver paid our park admissions, I realized that we had way overpaid for the safari. we had paid $120 per day per person, which comes out to 720$. it turns out that park/camp fees were a meager $210 for all of us! the remaining $510 seemed a bit much to pay for renting a van for 2 days and food. *sigh*. oh well. we finally got to the crater floor, and started exploring the place. I really enjoyed the park. there wasn’t as many animals as the Masai Mara, and the animals there were much more spread out, and in a way, I think I may have actually liked it this way better. it felt more real and natural that way. each time we spotted an animal, it was much more of an event, since we weren’t seeing them every 2 feet. also, the other really nice thing was that there were much less vans here than in Masai Mara. often times, we’d be the only van that we could see, and it felt a lot more peaceful and pleasant that way. the cars here were required by law (and monitored by rangers) not to drive off the tracks, so our presence didn’t seem as destructive here either which was nice.

after driving around some more, we spotted two lions who were hunting some wildebeest. the wildebeest were just standing around, not having a clue, and the lions were slowly but surely creeping up closer and closer. the scene was *so* intense. the lions moved ever so slowly, each paw cautiously stepping forward so as to not make any noise. earlier, we had been really hoping to see a kill. what could be more exciting than to actually see a powerful lion attack its prey? but now that the scene was actually playing out in front of me, I really didn’t want it to happen. the wildebeest just looked so innocent, meek, and oblivious… I really didn’t want them to be slaughtered. the scene became more and more tense as the lionesses got closer, but then something happened… I dunno, maybe the wind shifted or something, but all at once, the whole herd of wildebeest bolted. lions cant run fast for very long, and the wildebeest were still out of range, so the lions didn’t even attempt to give chase. the situations were hopeless.

the lions stopped their slow careful stalking, and trotted forwards looking for more animals. the vans followed, and soon enough, there was another small pack of wildebeest. the lions decided to attack from both sides this time. one lion went right, while the other circled around to the left. once again, everyone was totally tense. as the lion on the left got closer and closer, finally the wildebeest picked up on it, and all of them dashed frantically to the right… towards the other lion. this one caught them totally by surprise, and they swerved trying to escape. the lion, now within striking distance, gave chase… but it wasn’t fast enough. once again, the wildebeest got away. in the end, we never saw a kill, which actually is probably a good thing.

later on we took our lunch in this area that had tons of monkeys. these guys were brave, and honestly, a bit menacing. they kept running at the car to try to snatch our food. these guys weren’t afraid of humans either. if you tried to scare them or stomp at them, they would just lunge toward you and bare their teeth. at one point, one of them actually got in our van, and we all freaked out and jumped out. it jumped to the roof of the van and wouldn’t leave, instead it kept baring its fangs at us. sheez, if these things were a little bigger, I’m sure they’d fully take us on and probably win.

eventually, we headed to where we would be camping, and there was more confusion. our tents hadn’t arrived, and there were still no sleeping bags to be seen. finally, we got our stuff, but then, our food wasn’t ready. all the other people were being fed by their cooks, but we had to just stand there in the cold and dark waiting. we didn’t even have any chairs to sit on! when we finally did get our food, we ate fast, since we were quite hungry and then went to bed, a bit nervous that wild animals might come to our tent.

8/25/05

the next day we set out again, back into the crater. this was our last day on safari, and we were really hoping to see the remaining two of the big 5, a leopard or a rhino. we were in luck, in just a few minutes, our guide got a phone call from his brother who was down in the crater. he had spotted a leopard and told us where it might be. unfortunately, the leopard had been seen several hours prior, so there was a good chance that it may have moved by then.

we were lucky though. when we arrived on the scene, there it was… a leopard. it was sitting on this bent tree trunk, just relaxing. leopards are very solitary animals who usually kill their prey and then pull it up into trees. they really don’t like to be disturbed, so it was a bit surprising that the leopard didn’t make a run for it. unfortunately, the leopard was kind of at a distance, and it was a bit hazy out, so my photos of it didn’t come out all that great.

we spent the rest of the morning driving around the crater, and after several hours, we drove up to the place near a lake where someone had spotted a rhino. at first, we didn’t see anything. but eventually, after peering into the distance, we finally saw a little black dot, that may possibly have been a rhino. the guide said it definitely was a rhino, but honestly, I wasn’t convinced. we didn’t have any binoculars with us, but luckily we were able to borrow some from another van. looking through the binoculars, I was able to focus on the dot a little better, and finally a small rhino-esque shape began to form. it was still tiny, and very difficult to make out, but finally I had to agree that it had to be a rhino. I took a photo of it through the binoculars. the photo came out fuzzy and pretty bad, but sort of kind of you can make out a rhino shape.

we had done it! we had been able to see all 5 of the big 5. it had been a really exciting safari. very different than the Masai Mara. I’m still not sure which safari I liked better. the Masai Mara definitely had more animals and it was really exciting, but Ngorongoro had somewhat more of a relaxed feel, and the scenery was definitely better.

*v

in between safaris

when we returned from our safari, our first stop was Sana Travel. we talked to the agent there and she wrote out a paper that she signed stating that the $380 that was unused for our safari (for ending 2 days early) would be applied to a new safari of our choice. we would just have to pay the difference since most safaris are over $380. since now we had signed receipts, we really didn’t expect there to possibly be any problems. unfortunately, we were wrong. very wrong.

8/22/05

most people who are familiar w/ lonely planet, know that they have forums on their website called “the thorntree”. this is one of the most important parts of the lonely planet website, since this is where everyone goes to chat, get advice, and ask questions to other travelers. well, i never before knew this, but this messageboard is actually named after the thorntree cafe in Nairobi. this cafe is legendary in it’s own right, and is a very popular meeting place for travelers in Kenya. in the middle of the courtyard, stands a large thorntree planted over 50 years ago, and people can ping message cards to the tree… the tree is a message board of its own!

so, we were excited to go check out the cafe, and sadly, we weren’t impressed. the guidebook had said that the cafe had recently undergone a sterile renovation, and it really showed. there definitely wasn’t anything all that exciting about it. also, the 60 year old thorntree had been dug up, and instead of it there was a new one, which was quite small. a bit of a letdown.
our main goal for that day was to get all of our safari questions figured out. we wanted to do a safari to Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania, but we planned to do this one without the help of Sana tours. the only other big thing we wanted to do was to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. this is actually a very serious and difficult undertaking, and it takes 6 days to do (at least). Sana does a trip up the mountain for $630, so we decided to book it through them. we went through all the arrangements, but then all of a sudden, at the last minute, the woman said that she wasn’t sure if we would be able to apply all the $380 due to our next trip. huh? she said that the park fees for Masai Mara, had already been paid for us, and that we can not have that part refunded.

we told her that that couldn’t be right. we had been told over the phone, that we would get all *380* back. if we hadn’t been told that, we wouldn’t have come back 2 days early. plus, their company had already signed documents that we would get $380 back. it was unfair for them to go back on their word. she said that maybe it was all a misunderstanding, and she would check on it. we then left, wondering what would happen in the end…
that night, we decided to go out and celebrate joey’s birthday. we went to this Italian place that was recommended to us and it was hella good. my parents had sent me money to get birthday champagne, and this seemed like the perfect night to go for it… but i didn’t have the cash on me, and it’s not a great idea to walk the dark streets of Nairobi at night to use an ATM. well, the armed security guard from the restaurant ended up walking with me all the way to the ATM, watching over me, and then walking me back. how’s that for safety? back at the restaurant, we had the champagne, and we toasted to joey’s bday and to my belated bday. it was cool to get to celebrate.

after the restaurant, Caryn was tired and went back to the room, but joey and i decided to check out this club called Florida 2000, apparently the hottest club in town and nicknamed “the madhouse”! although the club was only like 2 blocks fro the hotel, we had two security guards from the hotel walk us over, and then they told us that they’d come back to fetch us later. heh, it really makes you feel like some VIP to have armed guard escorting you everywhere.

when we walked into the club, i walked up the stairs first, and literally within seconds of reaching the top step, i had a hooker literally rubbing up against me. yikes!! only after repeatedly telling her that i was uninterested and had a girlfriend, did she finally leave. phew! but i wasn’t safe for long. from the moment joey and i walked into the bar area, we were attacked nonstop. seriously, it seemed like this place was 80-90% hookers, and only like 10% other people. and these girls used crazy tactics just like the touts on the streets.

the touts on the streets will tell you “aww, who me? nahh! i don’t wanna sell you anything! I’m just giving you free information!! just practicing my English!!”.. but then you talk to them a bit, and right when you’re not expecting it, bam!! you get a sales pitch! well, same thing pretty much here. the girl comes up, starts talking. i interrupt with “not interested, i have a girlfriend”. girl looks sad and offended.. “girlfriend!! i don’t want anything like that! i just want to talk! i like to talk to foreigners! tell me, what do you think of Kenya!”. so warily, i start to just chat.. and everything is chill.. for a bit and then they start trying to bump and grind and whatnot and say shit like “your girlfriend’s not here! who cares. she wont know!!” yikes!!! so yeah, the club actually had potential to be really cool. drinks weren’t all that expensive, the music was alright, and LOUD. the place looked nice too. all the makings of a good night… but seriously the hookers wouldn’t leave us alone.. and then we made our escape… quickly trying to leave while random girls would literally jump out at us and try to grab us and keep us there… and then from out of nowhere… we were rescued! out of the crowd, the tall form of the armed guard from the hotel appeared. we sighed w/ relief, and followed him back to the hotel. phew!

when we got back to the hotel, we were surprised to hear that Sana tours had called. 4 times! and this is after midnight. they wanted us to call back no matter how late. uh-oh. we tried to call, but got no answer, so we went to bed.

8/23/05

early in the morning, our phone rings. the clerk tells us that someone from Sana tours is there to see us. crap. this couldn’t be good. the woman pulls us into a cafe to talk. she says that basically, the way things work is that all the park fees are paid in advance, and that since Sana already made the payment, they couldn’t refund us that part of the money. not only that, but she says we would have to pay for the food that was allegedly preordered for us. sheez. now this was utter bullshit. honestly, i kind of doubt the park thing. i think that Sana sends people to that park every single day, if we came home early, Sana could have sent someone else in our place and still used the park entrance fees even if they were paid. and as far as the food? that’s bullshit, if we checked out of the camp early, there’s no way we should have to pay for the food that we never got. well, then the girl started going into this story how, since it was her mistake, if we didn’t pay for the park fees etc, it would be taken out of her salary or she would be fired. *sigh*. what the hell do you say to that? the thing is, if it’s true, i would totally feel bad for her, but honestly, i don’t really think it’s true. so we asked to speak to a manager.

a couple hours later, we’re in Sana’s office. now, not only do they not want to reimburse us in the amount of park fees and food, but they also want to not refund us for the lodging. each time we talk to them, they keep chipping away at our $380. this is unbelievable. basically, the way i see it is this: if we would not be reimbursed for these things, we should have been told this right away. if we knew that, we wouldn’t have canceled our safari. but, since two people had told us we would be reimbursed, not to mention that we had signed papers from them, it was absurd that we couldn’t get our $380 back!! and.. it’s not like we were even asking for the $380 back!! we were just asking for it to be applied towards Kilimanjaro which costs $1260 for the two of us!! we were giving them over a thousand dollars worth of more business, and they couldn’t just stick to their promise.

after arguing for a long time, the manager said that she would call her boss, and we said we’d come back later. so basically, we spent all afternoon walking back and forth to Sana tours. when we came back, we argued w Sana some more. in the end, they agreed to give us back 240$ cash. so basically they stole $140 from us. i was SO pissed. how could they do this?? when we had *signed* papers from the stating that they would refund us $380. unbelievable. well, at least we were able to get the money back in cash, without having to do another tour with them. the last thing i would want is to trust those bastards to take us up Kilimanjaro!!

by then it was midday and we caught a bus to Arusha. arusha is in Tanzania, so we had to cross the border which was straightforward and quick. the ride to arusha was only like 6 hours, but we were still tired when we arrived. we went to this Chinese restaurant which was really good, and then crashed out.

*v

we’re on safari!

8/19/05 – 8/21/05

we had shopped around for a few days to choose a company to go on safari with. in the end, we chose Sana Tours, a choice that we would come to regret several days later, after the safari was over. but, more on that later. anyways, this morning we were bursting w/ excitement. our first safari!! we were heading to Masai Mara, which is the most famous of all the game parks in Kenya. it’s rather small park, but it’s on the Serengeti plains and is bursting w/ wildlife. we had booked a 5 day safari, giving us 4 days in the Masai Mara, and then one day in Lake Nakura. everything was provided for us by the safari company, so all we had to bring was water, toilet paper, and our clothes. we were picked up from our hotel around 9am, and after a bunch of shuffling back and forth to the company’s office etc, we finally left Nairobi around 10:30 with 6 other tourists in our van. the ride to the park wasn’t very eventful, other than stopping at a lookout point to see an unimpressive view and eating at a small restaurant.

eventually, we arrived at the park and went on our first game drive right away. holy crap!! i was so totally blown away by this place. despite having been told that the park is totally full of animals, i wasn’t prepared at all for how many of them there were. TONS. animals *everywhere*!! on just the very first 2 hour drive, we saw gazelle, wildebeest, zebras, ostriches, elephants, and lions. the other thing that i was not expecting was just how close all the animals were to each other. the wildebeest would be eating grass with the zebras, totally intermingled. just several hundred yards away, you’d see elephants, and near them there would be lions. i guess i somehow expected all the animals to totally keep to themselves very far apart, but they were actually all so very close to each other.

another thing i wasn’t prepared for was just how close you could get to the animals. the vans would drive on the roads and go basically right *through* herds of zebras or wildebeest. the animals would sometimes bolt, but other times, they would just stop chewing grass for a second to peer at the van, and the go back to eating. when we saw lions, the lions would walk by *right next to* the vans often.. like literally within a couple feet! if you wanted to (and were stupid) you could probably reach your hand out the window and grab one! the vans we were in had pop-up roofs, so that you can stand up in the van and have a 360 degree view in all directions, and yet be safe from any animals nearby.

the other cool thing was just ho big the herds were. when you’d see zebras, you’d see huge amounts of them… up to 100 or so, all gathered around. it would literally be a sea of black and white stripes. the same with the wildebeest, but even more so. we had come to the park at the perfect time, during the great migration. at this time, the wildebeest travel through here looking for water, and they travel in the *thousands*. you look out over the hills and they are completely covered w/ wildebeest. sometimes, a bunch of wildebeest would decide to cross the road, and then the rest of their herd would follow.. soon there would be this endless line of hundreds of wildebeest rushing across the road. the wildebeest look really funny when they run too, often they skip and prance around!

when going on safari in Africa, people always talk about the “big 5”. this is the main attraction, and everyone always is dying to see all of the big 5 which is: lions, buffalo, leopard, rhino, and elephants. it kind of seems like a rather arbitrary list doesn’t it? for instance, it kind of surprises me that buffalo is on the list, while something exciting like giraffe or cheetahs are not. weird. it was cool that after just the first day out, we had already seen 2 of the big 5. hopefully, we’d see the other 3 soon! one of the craziest things we saw that day though, was when we saw this lioness walking near a herd of elephants. we weren’t exactly sure if the lioness was actually trying to hunt the baby elephant, or if it just got too close, but all of a sudden, the mother elephant lets out this super loud trumpeting sound and then charges the lion!! the lion spun around and started running away as fast as it could, and the elephant chased it for a while till the lion was sufficiently far from the elephant herd. it was pretty crazy to see this intense animal interaction. you wouldn’t think there would be many animals a lion might be afraid of!

the camp we were staying at was actually a really pleasant surprise. i thought they would just throw us into tiny little two man tents and feed us some toast or other slop, but the campsite was really nice with large spacious tents with beds in them. the place even had hot showers to use! all of the food that we would be fed over the next few days was quite tasty as well. wow, i couldn’t believe we were getting all this for just 60$ a day, when so many other safaris were so much more expensive!

the next day we set out in the morning and drove all day. once again, there were tons of animals. one of the coolest things we saw right in the beginning of the day. we saw a lioness with 3 lion cubs. once again, the van we were in got within a few feet of them. these things were so damn adorable. the mother would wander around and the cubs would go explore, and then after a while run back to the mom and tumble around. we were so lucky to see such a thing! the only bad thing was that, although this park has more animals than any other park, there are also more tourists. so when you find something exciting, like lion cubs, next thing you know there are like 15 other vans all driving up and soon, instead of it being a tranquil outdoors setting, it becomes like an afternoon at a crash-em up derby. when the animals move away, the vans all sputter on and race after them, only to surround the animal again. it’s hard to tell whether the vans really bother the animals, or whether they are just an annoyance that the animals are used to and don’t care about, but it still bothers me to see so many damn vans. also, though the vans are supposed to stay on the roads, none of them follow the rules, and they all drive over the landscape, doing damage to the grass. *sigh*.

later in the day, we were lucky enough to see a cheetah, which it seems are much more rare than lions. at first we saw it from pretty far away, so without binoculars (which we didn’t have) it was a bit difficult to see, but later on we saw another one just chilling on this dirt mound.

in the middle of the day, we took a hike near a river that had hippos and crocodiles in it. we only got to see the hippos from a distance, but it was still cool. the crocs weren’t very thrilling though. one crazy thing thing that happened was that we stopped at this marker that marked the border between Kenya and Tanzania. people were just wandering about and getting their photos taken. i had to take a piss, and the guide just told me to go behind some bushes, which i did. then we all got back in the van and drove off, just like 60 yards away or so, we stopped next to some trees.. and there was a huge lion under them. whoa!! i cant believe there was this lion just chilling there, that close to people who were all wandering around outside their vans! what if there had been a lion behind the bush i peed at?! yikes! so yeah, there are lions all over this park. we’ve seen both males and females, and even at one point saw two lions mating (which lasted all of maybe 6 seconds!!). we also saw a large wildebeest carcass that a lion had killed with two sleepy lions relaxing near it. it’s crazy how the male lions really do nothing. the lionesses do the hunting, and when they bring back the kill, the male eats first. the lionesses raise the cubs. the males do *nothing*. just sleep and eat!

later on in the day, we drove by this huge herd of zebras and gazelle. the weird thing was that every single one of them was facing the same direction and holding perfectly still. it was really an eerie sight.. a huge animal army, all at attention. eventually, we saw the reason, a hundred yards away, there was a lioness slowly walking through the brush. from looking at her, we could tell she wasn’t really hunting, just wandering about, but just the scent had alerted the zebras, and so they all just stood and stared, not moving, all animals acknowledging the king of the jungle.

eventually, we had enough animal viewing for the day, and we headed back to camp. on the way back, we were lucky enough to have joey spot a group of giraffes walking off in the distance. i had been looking forward to seeing giraffe, and was psyched that we finally got to see them. the coollest thing about the giraffes was seeing them run. their legs are so long, that when they run, it looks like they are moving in slow motion. it’s a pretty spectacular sight.

eventually, we made it back to camp. it had started pouring (the rainy season is coming soon) but luckily we could hang out under a roof and it was fine. once again, the food was good, and we went to bed early since we needed to get up at 6am the next day.

the next day’s game drive wasn’t all that spectacular. because of the previous night’s rain, the animals were all hiding, and there wasn’t all that much wildlife to see. we spent 3 hours or so driving, and didn’t see much. oh well. by this point, we had decided that we wanted to end our safari early. the Masai Mara had been *spectacular*, but we had already done 4 game drives now, and any place we went in the park from now on would have been redundant. we figured it’d be better to end this safari now, and then book another safari elsewhere in a nother park, just for something different. also, joey had not been feeling well (he claims it was from the goat bolognaise!) so driving around in a safari van didn’t seem all that appealing to him. so, we called the main office and talked to a few people there who agreed that we could just come back now, and apply our two remaining days worth of money to another safari.

so we drove back to Nairobbery, tired, and yet still excited by everything we had seen. we had seen 3 of the big 5, now if we could just see the final two: leopards and rhinos!!

(a few other photos)


baby zebra


buffalo


ostrich with eggs


these huge storks are meat eaters and they are *enormous*. about 3 feet tall and with a 6 or 7 foot wingspan!


vervet monkey w/ baby

*v