Because 2 weeks of traveling isn’t enough
-
Whine, whine, whine…
To recap: We arrived in Kigoma after a hellish 22-hour train ride. We spent 1 frantic day failing to get cash. We spent 1 day gallavanting with chimpanees. We had 3 options to leave Kigoma – MV Liemba – an overnight ferry ride – taken over by refugees Reboard train – already booked Many days…
-
Chimps
Had an excellent time at Gombe Stream National Park. Will write more after transportation woes. More: Our 2 nights at Gombe Stream were exactly what we needed: Beautiful sunsets followed by quiet starlit nights Sleeping to the sound of the lake lapping the shore Tracking chimpanzees through the forest Playing soccer with the staff and…
-
ARGGGH!
We expected to have a lot of transit time in Tanzania as the distances between places of interest are long and the infrastructure connecting them poor. We wouldn’t presume that Dr. Livingstone would complain about our ordeal to his expected source of the nile (since at no point did it include months of walking through…
-
Dear Serengeti
We head a wonderful few days together, and we will never forget you. Unfortunately, we must end our relationship. Even withstanding the ocean between our homes, we cannot afford your high maintenance lifestyle. So long and thanks for all the wildebeest, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, antelopes, jackals, hyenas, hippos…
-
The Great Khali Goes Down
Tanzania is a poor country. AIDS has reached epidemic proportions. Only 5% of students finish secondary school. In short, when we were in the United States and we envisioned poverty, this is what we envisioned, not the overwhelming squalor of Delhi or the near infrastructure-less Cambodia, but this dignified and developing country with a long…
-
Safari
We’re off to tour the northern national parks of Tanzania for five days. Tanzania is interesting in a mostly good way. The food could be better, and we’ve been a bit overwhelmed by touts in the hugely tourist areas, but the latter should get better while the former gets worse over the next few weeks…
-
DOH!
We didn’t intend to enter Doha, but when we arrived at the airport prepared for a night of fitful catnaps in the “Quiet Room”, we were offered a posh hotel room, dinner, and breakfast, as well as a 24-hour visa into the city. Who can say no? Doha is pretty quiet between 1AM and 6AM…
-
Qatar
On the 29th we travel from Kathmandu to Doha, Qatar. We had to resist the urge to foray into Qatar for a day or two, but in the end the lack of interest and costs involved in visiting the richest country in the world dissuaded us. Instead we get to spend the whole night in…
-
Strike One
In America, teachers go on strike and threaten to shut down schools. In Nepal, not only do they shut down schools, but they block all roads into and out of the capitol. Thus, if you happen to have a bus ride to Kathmandu during the day of a strike (any strike), your ride will end…
-
ABC – Easy as 123
After descending rapidly from Thorung La Pass, we realized we were not ready to leave Nepal without one more close-up of the Himalayas. Our two options were to reverse our circuit of the Annapurna range or hike into its center, Annapurna Base Camp. Yes, we decided to hike to a place where other people, people…
Got any book recommendations?