Asia

Cairo Egypt July 10th, 2000
I have been gone only a few days and already there is so much to tell. My Virgin Atlantic flight left two hours late but I was still able to make my connection from London to Cairo. I got to Cairo at 11:00 pm and was at the hotel by midnight. I thought it might be a problem checking in so late but as it turns out there is a very active nightlife here because it is so much cooler at night. The days are very hot and humid. I am told it is worse then normal for this time of year. I got up a 4:00 a.m., rented a camel and went and saw the pyramids at Giza and Saqqara. I also made it to the Cairo Museum which is amazing. Everyone has seen the pyramids at one time or another on television but to actually stand in front of them and touch them is a unique experience. The city of Cairo is one of the worst ghettos I have ever seen. The people are really great and very helpful but the heat, smell of auto fumes and burning trash is starting to get to me so I am going to head to Dahab which is on the Southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula. There is supposed to be some great snorkeling there. I have to get off the line now as this is the only computer the hotel has. I will keep in touch.

Dahab Egypt July 12th, 2000
As it turns out there are a lot of cheap Internet cafes in Egypt. It is a dam good thing it's cheap because the keyboards have some extra Arabic keys on them and a few vital keys are not where they are suppose to be so it makes typing a bit slow. I left Cairo yesterday and took a bus to Dahab which is only about 20 miles away from Saudi Arabia. It is really nice here, you would never know you are in the middle of a huge desert. The Red Sea is absolutely beautiful and there is always a breeze so the temperature is much more pleasant then in Cairo. It is amazing how different the environment can be only 12 hour by bus away. Shorts are the norm here and everything is very relaxed. I got a cheap room, which looks more like a third world prison cell then a hotel. It is made of cement and is about 8 feet long by 6 feet wide and has a cement bed with a nasty mattress and pillow. There is writing all over the walls from past travelers but it has a small window with a fan so I get a nice breeze and can walk to the beach in 6 seconds. The room is a little alarming when you first see it but it has served its purpose and is only $3.00 a night. I actually really like it here and will stay for the remainder of my time in Egypt. I spent all of today hanging out at this restaurant which is on the beach in front of my hotel. It is made of fallen palm trees and blankets which are used to make little booths. It is hard to explain but it is very comfortable, you just kind of lay around. I read and did some snorkeling, which was fantastic here, maybe best I have seen. The coral in Australia is better but I have seen more fish here. I also learned how to play backgammon. It is very popular here. I have to run, I am paying for the Internet connection by the minute and this session has already cost more then my room thanks to this freaky keyboard.

Cairo Egypt July 14th, 2000
I met two Egyptian guys, Ashraf and Salla, who where also on vacation in Dahab. Ashraf plays for one of the biggest Egyptian soccer teams (Zamelic) and is recognized everywhere. Salla is an accountant and works for an oil company in Cairo. They invited me to go camping with them. While we where packing the jeep I ran into a New Zealand couple I met earlier at the hotel and invited them along. So the Bedouin driver, his girlfriend, Ashraf, Salla, the New Zealand couple and I packed into the small jeep at about 10:00 pm and where on our way. We heading off the road and into the desert. We set up camp (a blanket) in a valley about 40 minutes off the road. It was an absolutely beautiful night, clear skies and millions of stars. The driver's girlfriend is a belly dancer and put on a private show for us. At one point I remember laughing to myself as I realized I was sitting in the desert at 2:00 am drunk thousands of miles from home watching a belly dancer. How odd and cool. We had dinner which we all split the coast of and sat around and drank beer and talked until about 3:00 am. I got up early, around 5:00 am, and hiked up to the top of a nearby hill so I could get some video of the sunrise. I had to wake everyone up at 7:00 because I had to catch the bus at 8:30 back to Cairo. It is a 12-hour bus ride and the next bus would be to late for me to make my flight. They dropped me at the station and headed back to Dahab. The bus got delayed and just before it left Ashraf and Salla got on. They had decided to go back as well. I hung out with them for half the trip but had to move back to my assigned seat when we stopped in Suez to pick up more people. I was seated next to a young Egyptian and he and I discussed religion, customs and other cultural differences. We had a Fascinating conversation and he was a genuinely nice guy. When we arrived in Cairo Ashraf invited me to his house. He knew my flight wasn't until 1:00 am and it was only 5:30 pm. While pulling my luggage out of the bus I met an Australian (Steve) who was going to be on the same flight to Kenya. I asked Ashraf if he could come with us and of course this was ok so we said goodbye to Salla and went to Ashrafs apartment in Cairo. He lives in Alexandria but keeps a place in Cairo because it is where his family lives. The apartment is in a nice neighborhood close to the airport. His place was a huge three bedroom, three bathrooms that had little furniture and had obviously not been visited in a while. I took a shower as did Steve and then we watched a soccer game on TV. After the game we went out for dinner. At the restaurant Ashraf ran into an old friend (Shariff) who joined us. Another conversation about religion and customs. Shariff was also an accountant and was very educated. It is not uncommon for people to be well educated here as college is free even if you choose to do the extra time to become a doctor or a lawyer. After dinner we walked back to the apartment stopping to learn the history of a palace we passed and to watch a belly dancer who was performing at a hotel for a wedding party. Once we got to Ashraf's Shariff offered us a ride to the airport. We tried to refuse but it was no good. We walked to his house and he drove us to the airport. Steve and I where both amazed at the hospitality we where shown. Egyptians truly are some of the nicest people I have ever met. We checked in, met up with a friend of Steve's (Scott) who had just come in from London. The flight was almost empty so we each got a row to ourselves. I don't remember any of the 5-hour flight. With only a few hours sleep the night before and the 9-hour bus ride I slept the entire flight. This is the only time I have ever wished a flight had been longer. It is impossible to accurately describe most of the things that go on while I am here. Everything is so different and so much happens everyday. All I can do is provide a time line of sorts. My writing is so bad and doesn't come even close to what it is my mind wants to say.

Nairobi Kenya July 19th, 2000
We arrived in Nairobi Kenya at 6:00 am, went through customs and where once again off. We got a cab into town and hooked up with a tour. We booked a three-day safari and then a 5-day climb of Mt. Kilimenjaro. The safari company let us stay the night in tents they have set up on the 7th floor balcony of their office. I spent the rest of the day trying to get my laundry done. There is a water shortage in Kenya now so they have turned off all the water in the entire city. This makes getting laundry done difficult. I had to have everything dry-cleaned but they would not touch my underwear so I did that by hand in the sink with bottled water, what a waste. Despite the water shortage Nairobi is actually a nice city during the day. It is clean and the people are well dressed and polite and best of all speak English. At night however it can be very dangerous. There are no streetlights so it is very, very dark. The three of us decided to venture out to a restaurant, which was on the same block. While we where walking back we saw some people gathered around a shoplifter who had been shot by police and was lying dead on the street. We hurried back. Thanks to the water shortage there was no water to take showers so we went to bed. The next morning our safari van picked the three of us up out front. Four other people joined us in our van. They also filled another van which would be our sister van and stay close to us and camp with us for the full three days. We later found out why they travel in pairs. It was a 5-hour drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve. The Masai Mara is part of the Serengeti Reserve, it changes names once it reaches Kenya. Our tour was in both Kenya and Tanzania. On the way to the reserve we had a great over view of the Famous Rift Valley and had to stop for a giraffe crossing the road. We where only about 10 feet from it and from where I was sitting all I could see where legs. We arrive at camp at about 3:30 p.m. and unloaded our packs and gear into our tents. Camp consisted of 20 large two-man tents and a building with a kitchen and a covered patio to eat on. There was also a huge covered fire pit area where everyone gathers at night. They had an ingenious shower system, which gathers rainwater and runs it through a pipe that goes over a fire to make hot water. The toilets where less impressive. They put the top up on the safari van and we took off to do a little animal hunting before it got dark. The van is just that, except the top goes straight up about 3 feet so you can stand and see clearly in every direction. Right off we saw thousands of zebra and wildebeest. Thousands is not an exaggeration, July is the best time to visit Masai Mara as the animals are migrating there from the Tanzania. There are rolling hills of tall grass with patches of trees in the low-lying areas. Right away we saw a pack of lions stalking a heard of Zebra so we moved in for a better view. The lions where actually using our van as cover. The animals seem to completely ignore the vans. The zebras figured it out and ran away. Around sundown we followed the cloud of vultures to a pack of lions that had just killed a wildebeest. We got within 20 feet of the kill and I got some great video of them tearing into it. There are always a few lions on the outskirts keeping the vultures and hyenas at bay. Among the animals we saw that day where lions, vultures, hyenas, buffalo, ostrich, topihartebeest, impala, about a dozen types of antelope and of course hundreds of zebra and wildebeest. There are literally animals everywhere you look. As we where driving back our sister van got stuck in some mud while trying to cross the river. We ended up towing them out. All through out Africa there are Maasai. The Maasai are tribes' people who heard goats and cows and can easily be recognized by the red cloak they wear. Their reputation as fierce worriers kept them safe from slave traders. They roam around herding cows and are not touched by the animals. Even they fear them. They put animal fat on their skin so they have a certain smell that scares the animals. The Maasai roam as they please in and out of parks and countries without interference from the government. We had dinner at camp and sat around and talked for a while. Four Maasai stayed up all night and kept the hyenas and other animals out of the camp. The first night one of the Maasai wounded a buffalo that had gotten to close to the site. Buffalos are one of the most dangerous animals in the park to people and attack unprovoked. You can hear the animals all night long. The next day we headed out early and saw all the same animals and a few others including the endangered and rare black rhinoceros and a heard of elephants which we got about 25 feet from. We also saw warthogs and baboons. After lunch we crossed into Tanzania to see the place where the wildebeest cross the Sand River. They are often taken out by huge alligators while attempting the cross. Unfortunately none where crossing, but we did see the alligators and a bunch of hippopotamus lounging about in the water. My request to use the van to herd the wildebeest to the crossing went unanswered. By the end of the second day you are driving around looking for a kill. The best way to find the meat eaters is to look where all the vegetarians are looking. If the whole heard is looking in the same direction you can bet there is something around. We saw a huge stampede of wildebeest, antelope and zebra so we moved in to see what all the fuss was about and came across two cheetahs. The animals keep a little further away from these then they do the lions. The cheetahs are so hard to see in the tall grass but man when they start moving it is always exciting. On the third day we saw more of the same. We where specifically looking for leopards this day as it was the only one of the big 5 we had not seen. We stopped at a resort hotel in the middle of nowhere for some gas. It had a private airstrip and a fantastic buffet set up. I used the rest room even though I didn't need to go just because they where so nice. Unfortunately we did not see any leopards and went back to camp, packed and headed back to Nairobi. On the way back we stopped at a few shops. You can barter anything here. Steve got a candleholder for the T-shirt he was wearing. As soon as the trade was done the guy put on the dirty shirt and was so happy. Pens are also in demand here, wish I had known that. Children beg for pens and sweets instead of money. Once back in Nairobi we spent another night on the balcony of the safari office. A few of us went to Carnivore for dinner. This is the only restaurant that is allowed to serve zebra, wildebeest and other exotic animals meats. I had zebra and ostrich. At $11 it was the most expensive meal I have had on this trip. The safari was fantastic, I would recommend it to anyone and at $50 a day it is a bargain. The next day Steve, Scott and I boarded a bus and headed to Arusha Tanzania. This is where we were to prepare for Kilimanjaro. At the Kenya/Tanzania border they took all the luggage off the roof of the bus, put a chalk 'x' on it and loaded it back on. We went through customs and continued. We got to the hotel and of course no water. The showers on the safari where the only ones that had worked since Egypt. The next day the three of us boarded an old bus and took off. On the way we picked up a Dutch couple and two Canadian guys who had booked with a different company but who where going to climb Kilimanjaro with us. We got to Moshi which is the town just before you enter Kilimanjaro Park. In Moshi we rented cold weather gear and picked up the rest of the support crew. For the seven of us: (Me - American, Scott - New Zealand, Steve - Australia, Ty - Canada, Mark - Canada, Dick - Dutch, Carol - Dutch) there was one guide, two assistant guides, one cook, and 10 porters. Now with the bus full of gear and guys we entered the main gate to the park. You can't see the mountain as it is totally covered in clouds. Moshi means clouds in Swahili. After getting everything together we started hiking up the trail. Within 20 minutes we saw a 4 wheel drive ambulance coming down in a hurry with someone in it. The trail thinned out and became a nice 2-foot wide slightly uphill hike through a beautiful rain forest. This would be the end of the road for trucks. We saw several silver back monkeys and a couple of those long black and white haired monkeys. We hiked 4 hours and came to the first camp called Mandara Hut which is 8,856 feet above sea level. The camp was nice with a large 'A' frame huts, each sleeping 4 and porter quarters. They had out houses, running water and a large meeting hut where everyone ate dinner. The temperature at night was pleasant but moist because we where still in the clouds. For dinner we had rice and bread, which as it turns out is what we would have for dinner for the next four nights. This was after all the cheapest tour we could find. The next day we started at 7:00 am. We cleared the clouds at about 10:00 a.m. and saw the mountain for the first time. It was so far away; it looked like we would have to hike 20 miles just to get to the base of the actual mountain. The terrain turned into rolling hills of grass and would stay that way until we actually got to the steep part of the mountain. After 5 hours of easy uphill hiking we came to the second camp. Horombo Hut, which is 12,200 feet, has water in the day when it is warm but not in the morning due to freezing. We where starting to feel the altitude, breathing was getting difficult and our pace slowed way down. The temperature had gone down and everyone was now wearing long pants. Diner again and we played cards. I slept well and everyone felt good but the mountain still looked so far away. The next day, up at 7:00 a.m. for a little breakfast (bread and an orange). Steve and I went down to the river and broke through the ice to get water for the next two days. We filled every bottle we could find. We then purified the water and put them in the big packs so the porters would carry them. We where back on the trail at 8:00 a.m.. The trail got noticeably steeper and the air thinner. We where starting to run into people who where coming down. They looked like the walking dead. Some had made it to the top but most had not. We continued on as it got colder and colder and the wind started to pick up. The trail was steep and several people started to get headaches including myself. I took some prescription altitude medication I got from someone at the bottom and started to feel better. After 5 hours of very slow, cold hiking we got to the last camp. Kibo Hut is at 15,400 feet. Kibo is right at the base of the steep part of the climb. It looks endless and very steep. There is no water that is not frozen. There is only one hut which everyone shares. No one could sleep due to the altitude and none of us where hungry. We put on all the clothes we where going to wear to the top to keep the cloths and us warm. We slept on top of our water to keep it from freezing. It was a short sleepless night. We got up at midnight. Forced ourselves to eat and drink. This is where the porters stopped. We each carried our own daypack and the seven of us and two guides headed up. There was a full moon so we didn't need lights. The trail is very narrow and cuts back and forth endlessly through loose rock. We walked single file holding on to each other to stay straight because the altitude makes you dizzy. It is at this point I started to really regret this whole thing. The wind was blasting right through us. Fortunately I had rented a fantastic jacket which made me look like Kenny from South Park but keep me warm. Unfortunately I had not rented boots and was wearing tennis shoes so my feet where freezing. We would take three very slow steps up and stop. If you started to loose your breath the only way to get it back is to stop for several minutes at which time you start to freeze. With in three hours the Dutch couple and one of the Canadians where sick to their stomachs. I had a terrible headache as did the other two. Walking straight was very difficult. It feels like being drunk to the point that things are spinning. Another three hours and it's getting colder still and harder to breath. We reached Gilmans Point which is 18,600 feet. We rested, watched the sunrise over the Indian Ocean. At this point the two Canadians and the Dutch had had it. They where still sick and decided to head down. I had had it as well but wanted to make the Peak and was to stupid in the head from the altitude to know any better. We walked along a crater on the top of the mountain. There where ice caves in the crater and a truly spectacular view. The climb continued up but was not as steep. After two hours we reached Uhuru Peak, which is 19,300 feet above sea level. We where all sick to our stomach, had headaches and where hallucinating. I was seeing little white dots flying around in front of me and the clouds which where well below us seemed to be moving in different directions. We stayed on the peak for 5 min. My video camera would not work due to the cold which was -25 below zero with wind chill. I did manage to get some video at Gilmans but not much as I had to have my gloves off to do it and that's not fun. I did get a photo of me with the sign on top with Steve's disposable camera which was the only one that would work. Our water had been frozen for about 5 hours now and we where getting really scared because Steve's lips turned purple which made him look like he was dead. We headed down and where back at Kibo Hut in 3.5 hours. We meet up with the others there and continued down to Horombo. All in all that day we hiked 6 hours to Gilmans, 2 to the Uhuru Peak then 3.5 down to Kibo and 2.5 down to Horombo for a total of 14 hours. Back down at 12,000 feet everyone felt better and slept really well. The next day we continued our decent and started to notice we had not showered or even washed our hands for 3 days. We got to the bottom and waited for the bus to pick us up and bring us back to our hotel in Arusha. The 3-hour bus ride flew by and we checked in and showered. The climb was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life and would not ever do it again. That night we went to a car repair shop that does a barbecue every night after they close and got diner. I was really in need of meat. I ordered a lot and ate a little which was all I could manage. I am sure I lost 10 pounds on the trip and tightened my belt two holes. We all got our laundry done as everything was covered in mud and dirt.

Dar Es Salaam Tanzania July 30th, 2000
You should note that I have just finished reading my fourth book while on this trip. For some reason I believe all that reading has helped me learn to express myself a little better and with this new confidence (real or not) I will proceed to tell you the tale of the last 10 days. After finishing the Kilimanjaro climb I said good-bye to Steve and Scott and hoped a Bus to Dar Es Salaam. Dar is the capital of Tanzania and I was happy to have pizza for dinner. I went to the dock to buy a boat ticket to Zanzibar for the next day. I got my ticket started looking for somewhere to stay. I ended up staying at the YWCA because the YMCA was full. The next day I got the boat to Zanzibar which is a large island off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. The boat arrived in Stone Town which is a fantastic maze of old building all between 3 and 4 stories tall and built so close to each other that there is little more then a small alley between them. The alleys are to small for cars and are loaded with shops and services. It is simply impossible to navigate as they are not in any format, it is literally a maze. The locals are so use to people asking how to find places that they often will just take you there as it is not possible to give directions as none of the alleys are named. The buildings are stone and cement with weathered wood and rusted metal and have more character in 1 block then all of L.A.. Zanzibar has a fantastic history and was originally a slave trading port and later gained its fame for spices which are grown on the island. It is now often referred to as the spice island. I spent one night in Stone Town and then headed North to the less traveled and less crowded town of Nungwi. It took about an hour and half to get to Nungwi and the roads you have to take to get there are horrid but once you get there it is easy to forget the dusty, bouncy overcrowded bus. I checked into the first hotel I came to. My small room had two twin beds that took up 90% of the room and there are shared cold water showers and toilets. There are Mosquito nets over the beds and a little window near the door which opens up to beach. The water is only 30 feet away and down the cliff about 10 feet. The view is fantastic, the water clean, clear and warm. The hotel is also a dive school and scuba charter and has a nice restaurant and bar which is on a cliff over looking the ocean. Breakfast is included and at $10 a night it's a bit pricey but after Kilimanjaro I needed it. I decided to also get my Open Water Scuba certification and booked that as well. They immediately gave me the book and quiz's and I spent the entire day reading the whole book and doing all the quizzes while sitting in a chair looking out at the water I would soon be in. The next day I met my instructor Pete who is from South African and runs the dive school. I was the only one to sign up that day which is unusual for this time of year so I got a private lesson. He made me watch a couple of videos and then we headed out to the ocean. We geared up, went over all the equipment and walked down the 10 stairs to the water. He had me do some basic safety things I had learned from the books and some which I have been doing for years as an avid snorkeller. Someone else had signed up for a discovery lesson which is for people who want to learn a little and do a dive without becoming certified. I had to sit through two of the videos again and then go back in the water with him to do the safety stuff again. Pete said he would make it up to me. Then Pete, Allat (discovery person) and I went for a dive. We entered from the beach in front of the hotel and I was actually diving for the first time on my second day. We swam out to the wall where the water goes from 12 feet to 30 feet. I had no problems and was at the bottom in no time. Unfortunately I was the only one. I was so occupied breathing and decompressing and checking depth that I had failed to notice I was alone. Although the visibility was fantastic I could not see where the other two had gone so I swam around looking for them for a few minutes and then headed up checking my assent and stopping for 3 minutes at 15 feet to decompress which is really a formality for a dive that shallow but is recommended so I did it. I surfaced and saw that they had drifted about 70 feet out from where we went down. I swam out to where they where. Pete was of course relieved to see me. Allat was not able to get down and Pete had gone up for him. Pete gave him his entire weight belt and he still could not submerge. We went back to the dock and Allat left. Pete debriefed me asked me what I had done and was happy to hear I had followed procedure. The next day I went on a dive with one of the other instructors who was taking out advanced students for a navigation dive which is where you swim to a location using a compass in low visibility. I followed along with the instructor as my dive buddy. I did the navigation as well even though I had not done the paper work for it. While on the dive my primary regulator broke and I had to move on to my secondary for the rest of the dive. The regulator is the part you have in your mouth. The mouthpiece that you bite on to keep the regulator in your mouth slipped off the actual unit so I was left with rubber in my mouth and no regulator. In diving there are backups for everything and going to the second regular is easy and practiced often. Because of the visibility I didn't see much but they let the dive apply towards my advanced open water because I did all the skills. I watched the video and did the test when I got back. As soon as the video was over I went out on another dive with Pete. This was also just a charter and Pete was my dive buddy. Finally I could enjoy the dive and not worry about buoyancy and equipment. It was fantastic. We saw octopus, trumpet fish, lionfish, blue spotted stingray, crocodile fish, rockfish and hundreds of other colorful and amazing fish and coral. After 35 min. at 50 feet we surface. Another class was starting as we got back and Pete had me teach them how to set up their tanks and regulators as part of my final exam. I went out again with Pete after a two-hour rest. It took 30 minutes by boat to get to the dive site but was another fantastic dive. The next day I did another morning dive with yet another instructor. On this dive I finally saw a sea turtle which is something I really wanted to see. The instructor was pointing to a rock that I was over so I came on it from above and when I got there I could see the head. As soon as he saw me above him he swam out. When I got back I took the final written exam which I aced, and went on another dive. The course requires you to do all the tests and videos and 4 dives. I had completed my videos and test and was now on my 6th dive in three days. The next morning Pete woke me up and said they were going on a deep dive which is one of the requirements for the advanced certification and asked if I wanted to go. Of course I did but it would cost $70 because I would have to do the video and tests for this one as well. He suggested I ask the owner for a discount because I had completed the five-day Open Water course in 3 days. While negotiating I offered him help with his computer. As it turns out he just registered an Internet name and was looking to have a web page made. I told him that I do web sites and he told me to just go on the dive and we would work something out later. At 9:00 am after rushing through the book and tests and skimming the video I left for my first deep dive. The deep dive was along a cliff that dropped from 23 feet to 98 feet. It took an hour to get there by boat. As we where on our way there the weather got bad. It started to rain and got really windy. There where two groups of us each with 6 people. I was again Pete's dive buddy. We dropped into the water and immediately went down to 10 feet to find each other because the rain and waves make it difficult to get together on top. We started down in two groups and the other group was out of sight in a few minutes as we go caught in a drift. We passed through the drift and hit bottom right next to the wall. At 100 feet there is very little light especially with the weather being so bad above. Reds and oranges turn gray as colors disappear the deeper you go. You have to shine a light on it to see something's real colors. You only have about 13 minutes at the bottom at this depth because you consume much more oxygen as it is so dense that deep. You take a full breath and still feel like you could use a little more air. Very odd feeling to have a full lung of air and it not be enough. We did a few skill tests to see the effects of nitrogen narcosis which is also caused by the depth. It is really cool, we tried doing one of those children's puzzles where you put the plastic pieces into correct spot. You know square hole, square block - circle hole circle block games. It is timed and then compared to the time you did it in at 10 feet. Although I felt fine it took 2.5 times longer. It is so cool to be floating around with 100 feet of water above you. After the test we swam along the wall a little and then headed up. For a dive this deep there is a mandatory 8 min. safety stop at 15 feet for decompression. There are weights and a tank of air with a bunch of regulators on it hanging from the boat a 15 feet underwater where you stop because by this time some people may not have enough air left to make the 8 minute stop. We had enough air but used the safety air just to practice. By the time we got up the sun was shinning and the sea was calm. We where up before the other group. We waited on the boat and then they started to surface and where all laughing, yelling and excited. While they where at there safety stop a whale shark that was 25 feet long passed 6 feet under them. These sharks are regular visitors of the area but it is a little early for them. They are of course harmless. I was really disappointed I didn't see it. Because I learned to dive here I do all my depths in meters and have to do the math to figure out the feet and not the other way around. Once I got back I started talking to the owner of the dive school about a web site. He also owns the restaurant, bar and hotel. I did a site map for him and we agreed on a price. He gave me back my credit card slip for the open water course which was $330 gave me the deep dive for free. He paid for my room for the whole time, excused my tab at the bar and gave me free meals for the last day, 4 T-shirts and still owes me $300 plus another $130 for hosting. Keep an eye out for www.divezanzibar.net coming September 2000. I took plenty of great photos that I can use on the site. He gave me a ride back to Stone Town so I could prepare for my departure from Zanzibar. While in town I ran into 4 of the people I climbed Kilimanjaro with and we got together for diner. I have a ticket to leave tomorrow at 1:30. I am really going to miss this place especially the Nungwi. I will head towards Malawi as soon as possible by train. This country is much cheaper and much more remote and underdeveloped so please don't panic if you don't hear from me. Having a fantastic time.

Victoria Falls Zimbabwe August 12th, 2000
It was difficult to leave Zanzibar. I had really enjoyed my time there and was just starting to figure out the maze of buildings that make up Stone Town. I got to Dar at around 4:00 p.m. and got a room at the YWCA. I took the cab to the train station and booked a ticket to Mbeya which is the closest town in Tanzania to Malawi. The train didn't leave for two days so I would have to stay in Dar Es Salaam. I spent the time looking for another book to read. It is amazingly difficult to find good paperbacks here in Africa. I finally settled on a used copy of The Deep which I started and finished reading that same day. Dar didn't particularly interest me so I didn't do anything except eat and read. Before my train left I traded The Deep for The Island which is by the same author. It is a good thing I got a new book as the train took 26 hours to cross Tanzania. The train which is as older then I am, only not aging as well, left 1 hour late. Not too bad for these parts. I had a second-class box which I shared with six other people. There was also a bed for each of us and the room was equipped with a fan. The window opened completely giving a spectacular unobstructed view of the scenery which was really great. We traveled through one of the game reserves and I saw elephants, giraffes, monkeys, zebras and of course a barrage of antelope and wildebeests. I also saw several birds and hippos in the lakes we passed. The train seemed to stop every 1/2 hour at which time village children would walk along the windows and sell eggs, chickens (live or dead), wood carvings, variety of fruits and other travel necessities. The villages are what as you would expect a village in the middle of Africa to be. Many of the children where very thin. I have seen poverty, and even extreme poverty but this was the first time I have actually seen starving people. I tried to give one of the kid's money but some older kid quickly scooped it up. It is difficult to understand is how a starving child can be so close to people selling food. Unfortunately Tanzania has suffered a major drought and it has taken its toll on there crops. It seems to me that they are selling food that they themselves desperately need. The people in my compartment changed a few times as some had reached their destination and new arrivals got on. At one point I shared my car with 5 nuns. The conversations where as always, interesting to say the least. I slept well and actually enjoyed the ride. I spent the time looking at the animals, going to the dining car for meals and reading my book. The train arrived in Mbeya at around 2:00 in the afternoon. I hooked up with four other tourist who where also heading to Malawi and we shared a mini bus to the boarder. Once at the border we went through Tanzanian customs, which was nothing more then a man in a small grass shack. We then would have had to walk a mile to get to the Malawi customs office if it were not for some enterprising young kids who gave us rides on their bikes for $1.00. We passed through Malawian customs and where attacked by black market moneychangers. Malawi is one of the poorest and most under developed countries in Africa making any foreign currency a commodity. We changed our Tanzania Shillings for Malawian Kwatch and where on our way, so we thought. There is no town where the customs office is. In fact the nearest town was another 4 miles down the road. A mini bus pulled up and offered us a ride to Karonga which was the first decent size village. We had no options so we boarded and where off. As we went we stopped to pick up people who where walking along the road. Soon there where 19 of us in the mini bus. A mini bus is the size of a standard mini van with four bench seats each sitting 4 comfortably if there is no luggage which was not the case here. Karonga was not really what we had expected. There were no money changing service, hotels or anything else people just arriving in a new country would need and it was getting dark. We decided to push on and try to get to Chitimba, which was another 2 hours south. It took us 1 hour to find a minibus that was willing to make the trip this late at night. Before we left we fueled up, added air to two of the tires, stopped at the drivers house, stopped to urinate on the side of the road, stopped to pick up more people, stopped to check the tires again and then again stopped to pick up more people. We got in the mini bus and 1.5 hours later we where finally headed to our destination, all 29 of us. Imagine 29 people stuffed into a van. I was all the way in the back and had someone literally sitting on my lap. All the roads where dirt and the bumps where very painful and plentiful. We stopped to help someone change a tire. We did not unload to do this, we all just sat stacked up waiting for the driver to get back in the van. Soon after we started up again we hit a rabbit. Normally this would not be a problem, but nothing about this was normal. We stopped, backed up and then everyone poured out of the van as if they had planned this and started looking for the rabbit. They found it along the road, finished it off and brought it into the van. A clean kill considering. As we continued I couldn't help but wonder who would get the rabbit. We arrived in Chitimba at 10:00 pm. As it turns out the only thing in Chitimba is a backpackers hostel and nothing else. The cabins and dorms where all full so we set up tents on the beach in front of the hostel. We had dinner and drank, a lot, and went to bed. I woke up early enough to watch the sun come up over the lake and got my first look in the light. The beach was well manicured, long and wide. There was almost a football fields distance of beach before you get to the lake. The hostel was a nice little place with cabins and a nice tropical looking bar. I did a check and found I would have just enough money to pay my food and bar tab. The next town with money changing services Mzuzu, was another two hours south. I packed my gear and headed to the main road to try to get a ride. The only way to get around Malawi is to hitch hike or flag down mini busses as they pass. It was Saturday and there was no traffic along the road. I waited 4 hours, only two trucks passed and they where so full they did not stop. I gave up and went back to the hostel. I set up my tent and spent the day on the beach reading, taking pictures and playing soccer with some local kids and some other guests from the hostel. That night I was talking to a driver of a safari tour who was staying at the hostel and he offered me a ride to Muzuz in the morning. I arrived in Muzuz broke and being Sunday the only bank in town was closed. I was not looking forward to bush camping and another day of not eating so I hiked to the nicest hotel in town and begged them to take travelers check. Thank God they accepted. They are very difficult to unload here as it takes months for the people to get their money and often have to pay a commission to the bank. I got a mini bus to Nikhata bay which was only an hour away and one of my intended stops. I talked to the young guy whose lap I was sitting on and found out he was going to Nikata Bay to visit his parents. We had a nice conversation and once we go there he recommended a nice, cheap place right on the beach. We went to lunch and then back to the hotel. He taught me how to play a local game called Bowa. We also played with the hotel owner's pet monkey who ran wild around the grounds. The monkeys name is Mongo and the source of never ending entertainment. When I first arrived he was sleeping quietly with a cat. By the time I got my camera out he and the cat where attacking each other in a playful battle. By far the funniest video I have ever taken. Mongo would wrestle the cat and the cat would pull that ever so popular move among felines where they hold you with the front paws and dig you with the back ones. The game soon got out of hand and it turned into a full-blown fight complete with hissing and jumping around. My room had two beds, looked like a grass hut and was built on stilts right by the water. I invited Bright (my friend from the bus) to spend the night and we stayed up until 2:00 a.m. talking about our cultures and comparing childhood experience. Not much happened the next day, spent most of it shopping for food, playing Bowa and watching Mongo make a pest of himself. I also bought a ticket on a boat the Lla1a which is a boat that goes south once a week and stops at every sizable town along the coast of the lake which runs nearly the entire distance of the country. After my recent transportation problems it would be nice to make some ground without all the fuss. The Llala arrived at Nikata Bay and stayed for 14 hours. It is a huge three-floor steamer which was originally built by the Germans, then sunk by the Germans after W.W.II and then brought back to life by the English. I purchased a first class deck ticket which allowed me on the deck on the top floor. The options where a cabin, first class deck, or 3rd class which was terrible. The third class was the water level deck and had all the cargo on it. The cargo included cars, motorcycles, pigs, goats, rice and other supplies and worst of all boxes among boxes of dead dried fish. The smell was choking. On top however you got a nice view and fresh air. I would be on the boat for 21 hours before I got to where I was going and much to my surprise and delight it was ok to set up tents on the deck. I don't think there is much you would not be allowed to do. I set up my tent and went to bed. The boat made several stops through out the night and when I woke up we where stopped at Lomback Island. There was no dock so everything was transported to and from the boat in the two large lifeboats. People came in dugout canoes from the shore. I had a few meals and soon was at Nkhotakota. Once again there was not dock. As they stated to lower the lifeboat it was a rush to the rail. It was as if the boat where sinking. People where getting into the lifeboat before it even hit the water. They where climbing down the railings, handing kids to people in the boats, rushing, pushing and literally fighting to get in. They load their boats like they load their mini vans. I had a good position at the start so with a little pushing and shoving I made the first boat. It really is ridiculous as they just keep making trips until everyone is where they want to be. As our overloaded boat approached the tiny dock I realized the people on the dock would try to board even before we got out and sure as sure that is what happened. A boat load of people trying to get off and a dock full of people trying to get on all with an unjustified urgency you can't imagine. Once on shore I got into another mini van which was going to Lilongwe which is the capital of the country. It was to be my last stop in Malawi before I would cross into Zambia and continue towards Victoria Falls. Once again we squeezed 24 people into a van, this one had an engine of a car in the middle and was missing two of the bench seats. As we went along some people got out and others in but more out then in and in two hours there was only two of us left. It was nice to have room and that is when the driver announced that this was as far as he was going. We were in a tiny village still two hours from Lilongwe at 7:00 p.m. and he was not going any further because there where not enough people in the van. The only other guy in the van packed his stuff and walked away. I pointed out the sign in the window which said Lilongwe, told him I had paid the fee, and expressed my disapproval of being abandoned in a little town in the middle of nowhere. He refunded half of my money, after all we had come half way, unloaded my bag and left. I started walking and attempted to flag down every car or truck going my way. After an hour and a half a truck stopped. He said he was going to Lilongwe but that he would be stopping to pick up some cargo along the way. I had no options so I got in. In the truck was the driver, his brother and the client whose cargo they where going to pick up. They squeezed me into the cab where it was warm and we where off. We pulled off the main road and started to head toward the client's house where there was a load of lumber waiting to be picked up. The driver had a beer in his hand when I got in and had finished two more by the time we got to the clients house which was a mere 50 min. out of the way. By the time we got there it was almost 9:00 p.m.. I helped load the lumber while the driver had another beer. After we loaded the lumber the client had his wife make us some dinner. We had a very popular local dish called Nsima which consists of two ingredients, flour and water. You roll it into your hand and dip it into a pumpkin leaf sauce. It is not as bad as it sounds and is extremely filling. The driver had another beer. Now we where ready to head to Lilongwe with no interruptions and it was only 11:15 pm. The driver was not able to drive or walk or anything else. They decided to stay the night. I asked why someone else couldn't drive. I don't know why it surprised me but it was because the other two didn't know how to drive. Almost no one here owns a car. I told them I knew how to drive which seemed as surprising to them as I was that they couldn't. So we carried on. The truck was a 5-speed stick shift which is similar to the studio trucks I use to drive. The difference is the wheel is on the right side and the stick on the left and that whole driving on the other side of the street things which was really not an issue as we didn't pass a single vehicle the entire 2 hours it took to get to Lilongwe. Once in Lilongwe I drove to the market where I helped unload the lumber and then the brother directed me to a cheap place to stay. At 1:10 a.m. I arrived at my hotel. They asked for money for gas at which I just laughed and walked away. I think they sleep in the truck but they where gone when I got up. I checked out of the hotel first thing in the morning and headed for a bank to get some money. Finally, in the capital there where some service. It took 5 hours to get $100 from my visa card as they had to fax London and wait for approval. While I was waiting for the approval I picked up another book (Misery - Stephen King) and saw a sign for Air Malawi. After all the problems I had traveling and running short on time I decided to book a flight to Victoria Falls saving me several days of bus time crossing Zambia. The only flight I could get left the next day, would fly to Harare (capital of Zimbabwe) then head to Victoria Falls the following day. With the memory of my recent travel I booked the ticket. I spent the rest of the day purchasing the only souvenirs I have bought so far this trip. I packed it up and sent the box home. It will take some three months to arrive and I have to say I have my doubts it will ever arrive. Low on cash I spent the rest of the day reading. I got to the airport 2 hours early and found my international flight would be 5 hours late. They gave us a free dinner. My connection was not until the next day so I didn't worry about it and just enjoyed my free meal and continued my book. I got in an argument when I tried to pay my $20 departure tax. They would not accept the payment in Kwatcha. They insisted I pay in US dollars, which is apparently standard for all foreigners. I could not believe they would not take the equivalent in local currency. I had to exchange Kwatcha back to US dollars of course paying a commission to pay my departure tax. Eventually we got to Harare Zimbabwe and I got a room for a few hours and returned to the airport at 6:00 a.m. for the short 1-hour flight to Victoria Falls. This one was on time and I got the seat right behind the co-pilot of the small twin-engine 15 passenger Cessna. As it turns out they don't use a co-pilot and the pilot offered the co-pilot seat to me which I accepted with delight. It was cool to be in the front with the headset on watching as the pilot did the preflight and talked to the tower. I could not believe they would allow this on a commercial flight. Once in the air the pilot actually offered me the controls and started explaining the aircraft as if I where a student. We practiced turns, leveling off, gaining and dropping altitude and reading the guidance system. I flew most of the flight and even started the approach to the runway. He took over at 600 feet and made the landing. I know you will not believe any of this but I have video to prove it. I had one of the passengers video tape me while I was at the controls. What a great country. Still excited from my first time at the controls of a commercial airplane I got a cab to Victoria Falls and checked into a cheap dorm. Finally able to get on a computer first thing I did was e-mail. I have 10 days to play around here and may travel into Botswana or Nambia a bit if I can't keep myself busy hear. Dam I love traveling. I spent my first day in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe in the National Park. The falls are incredible and you can walk right to the edge of the cliff and view the falls. There are walking paths going all over the place but there are not any railings so you can go right to the edge of the cliffs and right to the water. I can only imagine what David Livingstone was thinking when he crawled out of the bush in the 1800s and saw the fall for the first time. The current political problems here have really killed tourism in the country. I have a 15-bed dorm all to myself and the campground is nearly empty. The shops are all suffering as many tourists have made a wide circle around Zimbabwe. With the exception of the lack of tourists the only signs of trouble I have seen is a little tension between the local whites and blacks. The next day at breakfast I met a Zambian Guy (Andrew) who was driving to South Africa for business. He was going to be going through Botswana on his way so I asked if he would give me a ride to Chobe which is only a few hours into Botswana. He told me he was going to take a shower first. He was staying at the Kingdom which is a huge resort hotel right near the falls. I told him I would meet him in the lobby. I had not planned on going to Botswana for a few days but the free ride was enough to justify the change in plans. The hotel had a casino near the lobby so I was playing video poker while I waited for him. I was on a $1 machine playing of course $5 and losing when he showed up. I was explaining the game while I played out my credits. With 20 credits left I got a Royal Flush which was a progressive and paid $8150. Before you get to excited it is Zimbabwean dollars called Zims and at the current rate the $5 bet is an 8 cent bet and the $8150 payoff is about $150 U.S.D. They still made a big deal about it and came over and filled out the papers and paid me in Zims. The largest bill here is $200 which is $4.00 U.S.D. so I got a huge wad of bills which make it feel like more then it was. We hit the road in his new Land Rover and where in Chobe in three hours. Chobe is one of the best animal reserves in Botswana. I checked into the Chobe Safari Park Hotel. I got a campsite which cost $6.00 U.S.D.. Botswana is very expensive compared to the rest of Africa. Andrew and I had lunch at the hotel and then we went to the park. We drove around looking at the animals and talking. This park is famous for its large elephant herds and we where not disappointed. We had a heard of about 20 elephants pass right in front of the truck. All but one had passed and the one that had not was still a ways away so we started to continue. The elephant now separated from the heard by us freaked out. He started making that noise they make and was coming at us fast. We of course took off and he ran down the road after us for a few seconds. The noise alone was enough to scare the crap out of me. Lesson, don't get between one elephant and the heard. The rest of the drive was very pleasant and I got lots of video of elephants and hippos and several birds. He drooped me at the hotel and headed out. I took a river cruise at sunset which left from the hotel and went along the Zambezi River. At times we where in Namibia depending on where in the river we where. The next day I walked around the hotel grounds and took pictures of crocodiles, monkeys, birds, huge lizards (5 feet long) and mongoose all of which where plentiful. You can't swim in the river here because of the crocks and hippos. That evening I got a very nice mini bus back to Victoria Falls. I booked a rafting trip for the next day and went to bed. The next morning I got up early and headed for the river. There where 15 of us separated into 3 boats. They gave us wet suit tops, life vests, helmets and a lengthy safety talk. We hiked down to the river where the boats where waiting. After some practice rowing we headed out. Along with the three boats they had two kickers to help with rescues. I was surprised how into safety they where considering the fact that we are in Africa. It didn't take long to find out why. The area we where rafting was just below Victoria Falls. We where going to be going through 15 sets of rapids most of which where rated 4 and 5 which didn't mean much to me until we hit the first rapid. We where not in the class 4 rapid for 10 seconds before we flipped over. The front of the boat hit the wave went straight up and over. We managed to keep the boat upright for 11 of the 15 sets of rapids. Many of them several people had been washed out but the boat remained upright. As we where the strongest boaters of the three we would go first and then pick up people from other boats who had fallen out as they came down. People would come down before the boats as the boats would often get stuck surfing in a wash. It was the job of the kyakers to collect people and get them back in the boats before they got to the still water. This is important because there are crocks in the still water. It was a blast and at times really scary. Several of the rapids had 12-foot falls followed by huge waves and more falls. After boating we watched the video they had taken and spent the night drinking, talking and laughing about getting thrown from the boats. The next morning I headed to Jungle Junction Zambia. I hitched a ride to the Zambia border, went through customs and then hitched a ride to Livingston. From there I was loaded into a wooden canoe. The guide stood up in the back of the boat and navigated the small offshoot streams with a stick. There was high grass on either side making it impossible to see what was around the next turn. After we where clear of the grass I could see several islands out in the middle of the river. At this point the river was about a mile wide and shallow with rapids between the islands. We started across for one of the big islands. As we got closer I could see there where huts which where so well camouflaged they where hard to make out. A few of the huts where floating on pontoons. We came ashore on a very small beach on the south side of the island. From the beach I could see there was a trail, which headed inland but the foliage was so dense I could not see anything else. We walked up the trail only about 30 feet and came to the main hang out on the island, the bar. It like everything else was made of bamboo and palm leaves. There was also a fire pit, a kitchen, and a small store. I was given a complimentary beer and shown around. Everything on the island is made of natural materials and is connected by a network of very thin trails which cut through the dense jungle. I saw several huts along the way which where built near the river at different points. Each one was unique. Some of them where floating, some on stilts, others in trees. They had hot water showers if you where willing to work for it. You have to fill a kettle with water, heat it up on the fire which was kept stoked all the time. Then there are buckets on a rope and pulley system. You have to fill it with the hot water and then use the rope to raise it over the shower. A great little system and well worth the effort. Hot showers are rather rare in these parts. There are also several swimming holes which they have built fences around to keep out crocodiles and hippos. It is very easy to get lost but the island is not very big and sooner or later you will end up somewhere you know. There are little tree forts all over the island which have hammocks and chairs so you can watch the sunrise or set or just sit and read. Everything is done on a tab system. They cook regular meals but also sell food at the little shop. There is not really anything much to do except relax, swim or read. They do offer free fishing trips, hippo watching tours and bird watching tours as part of the admission to get on the island but I had seen plenty of hippos and birds and didn't partake in any of the tours. I did read a lot and explore the island. While I was out I found a rope bridge that lead to another island. On the other island I got some great video of some monkeys and a few lizards. I saw a few hippos on one of the small beaches but keep my distance as they are really mean creatures. My hut sat along the river and had a nice view of the rapids. In the morning I could hear the monkeys playing around and came out to find my laundry which I left outside because of the smell scattered all over the place. They will get into anything that is not tied down. I spent three days on Jungle Junction and had a great time doing absolutely nothing. I went back to Victoria Falls to prepare for my departure from Africa.

London England August 23rd, 2000
I did some laundry and had dinner. The next morning I got my flight to Johannesburg South Africa, waited 8 hours then got a flight to London. I got de loused on both flights. The Johannesburg to London flight was 12 hours long and then I waited 6 hours for Naomi to show up. Her plan arrived early and we went through customs, got on the train and headed right to Bristol. We checked into our room, which was much nicer then my accommodations in Africa, and headed out for some food. I had been traveling for over 28 hours and was tired so we went to bed early. The next day we had breakfast and got the train to Bath. After a bit of walking around we found the B & B we had reservations at. The room was really nice and located close to everything. We took a little float trip down the River Avon and then got a bus to Bradford on Avon which was where Naomi was born. It was a cute little town with a very traditional small European town feel. We spent some time looking for some landmarks Naomi remembered as a child but where not able to find them. After all it has been 24 years. We went back to Bath had some diner and went to bed. We had a great breakfast and went to the Roman Baths which where very nice. Then packed up and headed for London. We had made reservations at City Hostel which is right next to St. Paul's Cathedral. It didn't take long for us to figure out the fantastic tube system and headed out for some sight seeing. We had heard about some Museum of Torture which we figured might be the London Dungeon so we waited through the hour-long line to get in. Not quit what we expected. It was more like a London dark history wax museum. Despite the cheesy displays, long lines and hot stuffy rooms we had a good time. We spent most of the time in the museum laughing at it and wondering if we had arrived at the right place, the place Guy had recommended. Then we headed across the wonderful Tower Bridge and had some Indian food for diner. We went back to the room and took a nap. We got back up at 11:30 p.m. and went to Leicester Square to check out the nightlife. We tried to get into a club called Home which was recommended to me by some guys I met in Kenya. It was to late to get in so we opted for another club. We where both fairly tired so we had a drink and left. We notice the English don't dress up at all to go to clubs. Most of the people where in jeans and T-shirts, not the trendsetters I had expected. There where also a large number of drunks on the street. We even saw one guy crawling around with his keys in his hand to drunk to stand. We took a taxi back to the room and went to bed. The next day we had to change rooms. This time we would be in separate dorms. The rooms where really nice and the free breakfast was excellent. I could tell Naomi wasn't into the dorm accommodations but for me they where much nicer then many of the ones in Africa. We got tickets for a double decker bus tour of London which we did because they went everywhere we wanted to go and had better schedules then the regular buses. We also went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels, saw Big Ben, the Parliament, and the Abby. We spent some time going cloths shopping and then decide to try to get tickets for the Lion King which is the hot new play in London at the moment. We where not able to get seats together so we got tickets to see Les Miserables instead. The play has been here in London for 15 years and was beautiful. The show ended at around 11:00. We got some diner and went back to our separate rooms and went to bed. That is I went to bed, Naomi stayed up and read until 4 am. She woke everyone in her dorm up as she attempted to find her bed in the dark. The next day we managed to get tickets for The Lion King. We where in the last row in the upper deck off to the right but we where together and they where cheap. We spent the day shopping and walking around. We moved to a different hostel which was out of town a bit. This is the busy season for London and rooms are hard to get. Fortunately Naomi had made reservations for us in advance so we didn't have to deal with looking for rooms. Unfortunately from L.A. it is difficult to know how far thing are from each other. We took a nap waking up just in time to dress, catch the underground to town and get to the theater. The costumes were great and the stag work was fantastic but the songs and performances needed work. We did enjoy the show but decided we liked Les Miserables better. After the show we went to the club Home. It was hot and smoky so after about an hour we left. On our last full day we went to a flea market in Greenwich. Naomi did some shopping. After lunch we went back to town and went to the Taft museum and Buckingham Palace. Naomi still had some money left so we got a cab to Salone St. which is an up scale fashion district. Unfortunately most of the store where closed as it was Sunday. Tired from our several days of walking we had diner and went to bed. We managed to get up in time to get our free breakfast, pack and head to the airport. We got there only an hour before our flight and boarded the plane. An uneventful flight, I didn't get to fly or anything, and eleven hours later we where back in L.A.. It is nice to be home but I could have stayed another month or two. Time to start planning the next trip. South America or Central America I think, I'll keep you posted.