Archive for June, 2011

WTF?!

This is the first of many WTFs from India.  Most days, at most moments, I can look around and find something in my line of vision that makes me say, WTF?!

Here, we start with the squatting position, a pose we westerners are none-too-comfortable with (try it!  Squat all the way down, but keep those feet flat on the ground.  Not as easy as it looks!).  But these Indians, they can do anything squatting.  Most popular squatting activities – using the toilet, having a chat with some friends, drinking chai, eating dinner, and…raking?  It’s not that they can’t make their rake/brush a stand-up length – Indians just prefer to squat.

Squat and rake


Delhi’s Doin Alright

Our first day of touring in Delhi took us to two famous sites recommended by Sasank: Humayan’s Tomb and Lodi Gardens.  He also recommended a nearby lunch spot we couldn’t miss – I tell you, this guy is good.  Imagine our surprise on our first auto-rickshaw ride through New Delhi as we took in the busy but not too busy street scene, the slow but not unbearable traffic, and the trash-ridden yet tree-lined streets of New Delhi.  India wasn’t overwhelming at all – what was all the fuss about (we asked our innocent selves on Day 1 in the country)??  We were momentarily convinced that our 7+ months of traveling had broken us in and that we were not feeling the intense reactions that many travelers report upon arrival to India.  We were just incredibly naïve – but more on that later.

Auto-rickshaw ride #1

Humayan’s Tomb is an incredible architectural masterpiece.  Built by a Mughal emperor in the 1500s, the tomb was once left to ruin but is actively being restored and has earned the designation as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It’s is surrounded by a dozen other interesting buildings and the grandeur of the central building is accentuated by the beautifully manicured grounds.  Lots of picture-taking ensued.

Humayan's Tomb

Amazing stone work at the Tomb

The actual tomb

After an amazingly delicious lunch featuring our first of many orders of butter chicken, we found our way to Lodi Gardens.  Situated in central New Delhi, Lodi Gardens is a lovely green oasis featuring beautiful flowers, old-growth trees, ponds, as well as, several architecturally impressive monuments dating back hundreds of years.  Families, old folks, young lovers and tourists alike stroll through the gardens, nap on the grass and enjoy the peace and quiet that is rare in this raging metropolis.

Lodi Gardens

Lodi Gardens

Lodi Gardens

When we got back to Sasank’s that night, we were feeling quite comfortable and accomplished.  All this talk of Delhi’s intensity and challenges – shenanigans!  That is, until tomorrow…


A Soft Landing in India

We had heard a lot of intense things about India before our arrival, so we didn’t quite know what to expect.  Overall most people liked the place, but no review of the country was without some obvious cautions.  Some of the most common warnings we heard had to do with lack of personal space on a daily basis, the general dirt and filth of the streets and public spaces, the fact that you are being stared at by someone at all times, and the glaring and depressing poverty.   Someone once told me that India stands for I’d Never Do It Again.  Wow, what were we getting ourselves into?!?

Despite all of these warnings, our arrival to the Indian sub-continent was actually quite smooth.  Delhi, known as an overwhelming big city that most people try to get in and out of as fast as possible, turned out to be a place we rather enjoyed, thanks to an old friend.  Sasank is a friend from high school who learned of our round-the-world trip via Facebook.  He saw our travels were taking us to India and he invited us to stay with him.  No, we hadn’t seen him since high school graduation, nor had we emailed or spoke on the phone, but that didn’t stop him from offering us a gracious invitation and didn’t stop us from happily accepting.  It was great to catch up after all these years – in no time we felt like we’d been in touch all along.  He was an amazing host and a wealth of information about the city, Indian culture, religion, food menus, and more.  AND he’s got a sweet pad in a cool area of the city, complete with full-time domestic help – a super nice guy named James.  James whipped us up breakfast, did our laundry, and made the most delicious chai in India.  Delhi”s not so bad…

Sasank and Sarah

James and Ted

A huge thank you to Sasank and his roommate Brian for hosting us twice as we toured the country, and for telling James to take care of us!


Slideshow – Bolivia

Slideshow #3 of our Best of albums.  This time, jumping back to the amazing few weeks we spent in Bolivia.  Check out some of the highlights:


Industry Bloggin’

On our Northern Circuit Safari, our guide opened our eyes to the harsh realities of the education system in Tanzania.   Check out the blog post I wrote for World Nomads’ on the subject.  Original can be found here, or copied below:

Investing in Education in Tanzania

Education is something we take for granted.  Sure, some of our public schools aren’t the best, but it is not only a given, it is a law that all children must go to school.  And, everyone has the opportunity to finish high school at little to no cost.  Many places around the world do not have this luxury.

Learning about the different education systems in our destination countries has been fascinating.  Every place does it slightly differently, from when kids start, to when they finish, to what is required of them to move on to a higher level of schooling.  While every country offers some form of free education, most of the time the free ride ends after about grade 7 or so.  To continue on to high school (or the equivalent), a student must score well on an entrance exam, and the family must pay for the schooling.  Though this price is quite small (by our standards), it is often cost-prohibitive for the family.  More of an issue, however, is that the child is often needed on the farm or the family business.  The idea of using very precious savings to send a kid to school when they could be producing for the family is one that most parents can’t justify.  Particularly for girls.

Working hard at a young age in Tanzania

Amani, our safari guide in Tanzania, is one of the lucky ones.  He comes from a poor farming village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro where most children finish their education after “Standard 7”.  Amani had to plead with his parents to send him to secondary school, but as subsistence farmers, they simply did not have the money.  Amani was very fortunate that others in the community saw his promise, and with the financial help of neighbors and extended family, he was able to convince his parents to invest what little they had in his education and his future.  Upon finishing secondary school, Amani scored high on the national exam, and wanted to go to university to become a safari guide.  His parents could certainly not afford this, but Amani’s uncle, a guide himself, put up the money to cover the university costs.

The community’s investment in Amani’s education paid off many times over.  As a successful safari guide, Amani makes a wage that is many times that of most of his peers.  He has fully repaid those who lent him money.  But more importantly, he has invested back in the community that supported him.  After building his parents a brick home (a luxury they could have never dreamed of), he has installed a number of wells to bring safe and clean drinking water to the whole village.  Others in the village have relied on him to make similar loans as those he received.

Tanzanian children

Amani’s story isn’t an anomaly, but it’s not the norm either.  Education is the key to a more prosperous future in every underdeveloped country, but with such limited resources, most families simply cannot unlock their kid’s potential.  Fortunately, more and more families are realizing that investing in their kid’s education is a way to secure their own future.  This is a paradigm shift from the traditional approach, where it is accepted that kids would be working in the field as soon as they are able.  But once the shift has occurred, the impacts will be felt for generations to come.  You can be assured of one thing – Amani will be sending his daughter to school, all the way through university.

Want to contribute to education on your next trip to Tanzania?  Consider volunteer programs like African Impact and Cross Cultural Solutions, or support local education NGOs like Rhotia Valley and IEFT.


Africa – The Numbers

Here are some interesting figures from our 2nd continent:

  • 3 – Months we spent in Africa
  • 46 – Number of beds we slept in
  • 8 – Countries Visited (South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Kenya)
  • 39 – Days we spent in South Africa
  • 3 – Hours we spent in Lesotho
  • 7 – Cars we rented in South Africa
  • 5900 – Kilometers we drove in South Africa (3600 miles)
  • 30 – Number of deeply discounted or comp’d hotel nights through Ted’s tourism connections
  • 26 – Days spent with family in Africa
  • 35 – Percentage of nights we paid for accommodation (thanks Moms and Dads, and tourism connections!)
  • 38 – Hours on a bus (nothing compared to the 182.5 in South America)
  • 14 – Beaches visited
  • 45 – Number of game drives
  • 50 – Number of lions seen on game drives
  • 2200 – Photos taken (and kept)
  • 12 – Number of guides and porters assigned only to us for our Kili hike
  • 13,393 – Vertical feet climbed on our summit hike of Kilimanjaro
  • 19,341 – Highest altitude in feet we’ve ever climbed to
  • 6 – Flights on big airplanes
  • 6 – Flights on small airplanes
  • 10 – Visits to the Johannesburg airport
  • 1 – Number of police reports filed

Check out our Best of pics from Southern Africa, East Africa, and African Mega-Fauna for some visual highlights.  Now, on to the Indian Subcontinent…


Eastern Africa Wrap-Up

I think you know the drill by now, but let us start by saying that Tanzania is one of our trip superstars so far.  Below are our favorite things, our least favorite things, as well as some good eating memories and animal sitings (Africa exclusive!).  Check out the Best Of East Africa photos to go along with lists.  Here we go:

The Best

  1. Private Plunge Pool on Zanzibar

    Private plunge pools – A perfectly symbolic representation of being spoiled totally rotten on Zanzibar; we stayed in several spots with private plunge pools alongside our rooms.  This was totally ridiculous and we loved it.

  2. Wind-surfing in the Indian Ocean – This was a Ted-only activity but it was fun to watch him and I know he dug his first ocean wind-surfing experience.
  3. Exploring Stone Town alleyways – Fascinating and fun.
  4. Welcome to camp song and dance – Upon reaching camp on Kili some days, the porters would gather together to sing us a congratulatory tune.  Not everyone’s porters did this so Ted and I couldn’t help but appreciate the sentiment.
  5. Views from Baranco Camp on Kili – We arrived when it was cloudy but it proceeded to clear up and the views were stunning.
  6. Summiting Kilimanjaro at sunrise – The coolest thing I’ll never do again.
  7. Visit to a Masaai Village – Talk about a unique experience, we got to spend an afternoon learning about the indigenous and nomadic Masaai people who still live as traditionally as modern society allows.

    Masaai Village Visit

    Yes, some folks now have cell phones and venture into the city, however, polygamy is still practiced, cow blood is a staple in the diet and cow herding is the primary occupation.

  8. Safari sunset – Watching the sunset from the swimming pool on the first night of our Tanzania safari was perfect.  I knew we were in a for a good time.
  9. Getting off the tourist grid – Camping with the Browns at Lake Chala was something we never would have heard about or come up with ourselves.  What a treat.
  10. Another (relatively) incident free continent – After all the warning and precautions, we are happy to report that we had no illnesses, no transport hiccups, no car accidents, and only one minor theft (for which we were reimbursed).  Africa wasn’t so scary after all!

The Worst

  1. Budget accommodation – When we weren’t living the high life, the budget options in Tanzania left much to be desired. And the were stupidly expensive for what you got.
  2. Missing out on Kenya – What can we say?  We’ll have to go back.
  3. Too many jeeps

    Visa fee – A hundred bucks per person is a lot and when they wouldn’t take one of our bills because it was dated before 2006 (wtf?), it led to a stressful search for more money upon arrival.

  4. Food on Kili – It started off fine enough, but on day 4 after eating a different version of the same thing, it was rough.
  5. Safari jeep overload – When there was a good animal siting, you could be sharing the view with literally two dozen other vehicles.  A little intense and unfortunate for us and, more importantly, the animals.

The Delicious

  1. Zanzibar’s unique and flavorful food – Banana curries, avocado-orange juice, cinnamon, cardamom and clove coffee, jackfruit, coconut coleslaw, and dozens of different sauces made from the local spices for which the island is famous made for lots of incredible eating.
  2. Seafood market in Stone Town

    Seafood dinner market and Zanzibari pizzas – A memorable night perhaps more for the experience than the quality of the food, but still a favorite.

  3. Kilimanjaro beer – Our first beer post-Kili summit with our new Australian friends.  The drink was appropriately named and rightfully enjoyed.
  4. Indian food in Moshi – Post-Kili hike we dined at an AMAZING Indian restaurant in Moshi with our Australian mates.  We felt a little guilty filling up on Indian food as we knew we had a lot in our future, but that didn’t stop us from going back a second time.
  5. Fancy camping food – When Ted and I go camping, dinner usually involves adding water to a pre-mixed pack.  When we camped with the Browns, we had vegetable pasta, chicken curry, wine and gin and tonics.  That’s pretty impressive.

The Animals

  1. Lions in a tree!

    Overall quantity – We realize that this isn’t a specific animal, but the sheer quantity of animals we saw in Tanzania on safari was over the top.

  2. Momma Lion and her cubs – Pretty much the cutest thing ever.
  3. Lion stalking zebras – We saw a bunch of zebras hanging in a watering hole and upon closer look, we saw a lion watching them intently.  Though it didn’t go for the kill, it was exciting thinking it might.
  4. Zebras and wildebeest on migration – Tens of thousands at one time.
  5. Tree-climbing lions – Lions apparently don’t hang out in trees very much, but we saw a group that appeared to like it up there.
  6. Thousands of Flamingos – Every day they fly miles to hang out in Ngorongoro Crater and at the end of the day, they fly somewhere else to sleep.
  7. Packs of male lions – Adult male lions don’t usually hang out together but we saw a large group in the Ngorongoro Crater that proved it happens.
  8. Cheetahs!

    Lotsa cheetahs – Big cats are always a thrill to see and cheetahs had been very rare on our previous safaris.

  9. Black and white colobus monkey – We didn’t see a lot of wildlife on Kili but we saw some unique monkeys on our hike the last day.
  10. Ostriches – What a trip!  I challenge you to watch a group of ostriches running and not giggle.

Don’t forget to check out the Best Of East Africa photos here.


WTF?!

Check out these stylin’ sandals, worn by many of the Masaai people (who are one of the last nomadic cultures on earth).  Made out of used car tires!  In Africa, everything gets reused (though nothing gets recycled).  Our cultures could stand to learn a bit from each other.

Cut straight from the tire

At least you know they won't lose their tread


Kenya Got Jipped

If you talked to us before we went on our trip, we would have told you that we had a month to spend traveling between Tanzania and Kenya. However, what actually happened is that we spent 30 days in Tanzania and just one in Kenya on our way out of the continent.

That’s not to say there isn’t loads to do in Kenya, however, the country highlights are very similar to what we had just experienced in Tanzania. For island paradise, Kenya has Lamu where Tanzania has Zanzibar. For mountain climbing, Kenya has Mt. Kenya (the second biggest mountain in Africa) and Tanzania has Mt. Kilimanjaro. And for the ultimate in safari, Kenya’s Masaai Mara National Park borders Tanzania’s Serengeti. Though we would have loved the opportunity to compare and contrast these country highlights, our timing and our budget simply didn’t allow it.

As a result, we had just one night in Kenya and we spent it in the notoriously unsafe capital of Nairobi. Nairobi is up there with Johannesburg as one of the most dangerous cities in Africa and though I’m sure it has earned that title for a reason, we were pleasantly surprised by the place. We comfortably and easily walked from our hotel into downtown. The buildings were proper sky-scrapers and thousands of business professionals, as well as the to-be-expected touts were out on the street going about their business. It was the most urban city we had visited outside of South Africa and we were happy to see that it felt modern and we felt safe.

We don’t have a lot to say about Kenya (nor do we have any pictures to share), but it is certainly worth a much longer visit when we can give it the time that it deserves.


Industry Bloggin’

During our Northern Circuit Safari, we had the opportunity to visit a cool tented camp lodge that is doing amazing work with the children of their local community.  Check out the story I wrote about it for World Nomads here, or copied below:

Tanzania – Two Hills, One Goal

Tented camps are my favorite.  They offer a uniquely intimate interaction with your surroundings, while also providing the necessary amenities of any standard (and sometimes luxury) hotel.  Only a piece of canvas and screen separate you and the great outdoors (which in Africa may mean wild and dangerous animals).  I’ve had the opportunity to visit nearly a dozen such camps during my travels on on this continent, and I’ve seen some pretty impressive eco-initiatives associated with these properties.  But nothing impressed me more than my final tented camp experience, the first to use a community development project as the basis for their tented lodge.

Rhotia Valley is a property perched atop two adjacent hills, overlooking the rural village of Rhotia, along Tanzania’s famed Northern Safari Circuit.  On one hill sits the Rhotia Valley Children’s Home, a safe home and school for local children in need.  Due to a very high rate of HIV/AIDS in the region, many children are orphans, and along with issues such as malnourishment and family breakdown, the Children’s Home has become a key piece of the village’s social support network.

Rhotia Valley Children's Home

Atop the second hill is the Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, an eco-focused property with 15 spacious tents.  Environmental initiatives abound – from solar thermal and photo-voltaic installations to an organic garden providing most of the veggies for the on-site restaurant.  Most importantly though, the lodge exists primarily as a funding mechanism for the Children’s Home, with a minimum of 20% of lodge revenues going towards operating costs for the home.

Lodge organic garden

What impressed me the most about Rhotia Valley is that the owners set out to create a community development project, with a tourism component.  Most of the time, the opposite is true.  As a result, the focus on all aspects of Rhotia Valley’s operation are geared toward the Children’s Home and the local community.  It is the community’s support for the project that has made it a success.  Children chosen to stay at the Home – those most in need – are determined by the community council and village elders.  All staff for operations on both hills come from the surrounding communities, and all of the children boarded at the school are only from Rhotia.  Village elders participate on the board of the Children’s home, and the owners are actively engaged in community discussions and decisions.  In their words: Our aim is to give support to the people – and especially the children – of the Rhotia area – in such a way that the entire village is committed and the villagers feel part of the project and embrace it.  Two Hills, One Goal.

Heading to the Serengeti?

You can be part of the Rhotia project – guests to the lodge are encouraged to interact with the community on guided walks, as well as visit or volunteer in the Children’s Home.  Even a night’s stay at the lodge provides direct financial benefits to the children.  Learn more at www.rhotiavalley.com.


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