i hate snakes...

well i think we're all getting a little tired of addis. particularly, this place N9 1.854 E38 45.189.

well, the hoopla over money (shortage of USD) and visa (knock on wood) problems are hopefully behind me.

plus, i'm getting tired of the cheap lattes. 4 birr (50 cents US). that's farangi prices for chrissakes.

it's off to the great unknown again.

this time it's off to the north of ethiopia... i'll give you a moment to get out the atlas.

i go with great trepidation since i've heard all the grim tales about ethiopian buses in the north (the subject of forthcoming posts).

april
8) bus
9) bus travel - lalibela
10) lalibela
11) bus
12) gondar
13) gondar
14) debark
15) sankber
16) gich
17) chennak
18) sankber
19) debark
20) gondar - bahar dar
21) addis ababa.
22) addis ababa
23) addis ababa
24) on the road again.
25) man, this road is bumpy.
26) will someone please open a window on this stupid bus. it's really hot in here. and, who are you sitting in my seat...?
26) i think i see the burbs of khartoum... inshallah.

this itinerary is of course subject to radical change. because of the non-cooperation of the sudanese visa office i'm forced to backtrack to addis (i hate backtracking). from addis, it's off to the Sudan with my, hopefully, brand spankin' new 14 day transit visa in my hot little hands.

plan A: miracle on sand or anything is possible in africa.

Khartoum here i come!!!

wahoooo!!!

i went to the sudanese embassy this morning dreading the worst. instead i came away with overnight service for a visa (of course, after i forked over $61 USD).

the outcome just shocked the bejeezus out of me. i was expecting a long wait.

why was given expedited service? to tell you the truth: I REALLY DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS. ha! It's fun to speculate though. I think it was a combination of the following:

1. i looked like i was from the PRC - peoples' repub. of china.
2. i waited quietly for 2.5 hrs. watching 42 ethiopians ahead of me in the que jump through the bureaucratic hoops in getting their visas. i actually didn't see any visas granted to them...
3. i applied for only a transit visa (i.e. go straight through, do not collect my 200 dullah) which was purported to be much easier to obtain than it's rich cousin, the tourist visa.
4. i showered and shaved this morning and put on my only long sleeved shirt.
5. the man behind the visa desk thought, "that poor chinese bastard has patiently sat there for the last 2.5 hrs. without saying a word. he needs a visa today or tomorrow."

having hindsight now, the 4 days of pounding the pavement was worth it (ok, i fit in some museum time). 2 trips to the canadian embassy to pay 50 bucks for a letter of introduction -- i got to write jackass steve h. for a refund. 2 trips to the egyptian embassy for a $50 USD visa -- i got to write jackass steve h. for another refund. and, 2 trips to the bank to finance this debacle.

so this is plan A. it's a bit complicated. the sudanese visa will be valid for only 2 weeks. unfortunately, i need at least 3 more weeks to look around ethiopia (the very basics). to borrow time, I'm heading to Harrar (way out in the east) after taking in the Mercato in addis, in 2 days. harrar is home of the famous Hyena Man. should be brill watching him feed the hyenas. i'll probable spend 2 or 3 days out there. then it's back to collect my sudanese visa here.

from that point in time, the clock will start. I've got 2 weeks to reach the sudan border. on the way, i've got to find the Lost Ark of the Covenant. that's tall order my friend...

upon entering the sudan, i will have 2 weeks to clear the country. fortunately, the visa is extendable in khartoum if there there are any "unforeseen" delays (effectively making it a tourist visa). khartoum will be brill. look out Royal City of Meroe.

on top of all this I have 2 months to reach wadi halfa, on the shores of Lake Nasser, and enter egypt.

it's gonna be brill.

did i mention i love to travel (especially when things work out).

(by the way, the plan B i was contempting was sailing to yemen via djibouti, hiring camels to cross into oman and then jump the strait of hormuz and land in iran. not a bad itinerary, eh? maybe next time)

ciao.

out of touch...again.

middle: anna on the left and jeremy on the right. mercedes below. africans scattered in the rafters. desert outside marsabit all around.

hello my friends,

it's been awhile since i've been able to log in at all or when it's financially feasible.

let's get started. where did i leave off... yes, in kenya. the big crossing. suffice to say, the trip exceeded all expectations with regards to being bounced around. to summarize, i got to isiolo fine. from there i bumped into friends from nairobi, anna and jeremy. fantastic people. jeremy's from calgary originally. living in the uk now. anna a full blown english girl. their adventure involves driving their unmistakable yellow mercedes from capetown all the way home to london. last i heard from them in nairobi, they were trying to have the car shipped from to moyale on the ethiopian/kenyan border. there's no way the mercedes could have made it.

well, i'm in isiolo, another story in itself, and voila! there's this yellow mercedes in the back of this transport truck. i found anna and jeremy throwing back brewskies in a local watering hole and i ask for a lift.

half hour later, i find myself in the back of the truck riding in the backseat of the merc with 20 or so africans hanging onto the rails

the torture lasted through the night. the ride in the merc didn't help smooth out the jarring potholes. the saving graces were the brilliant starry night, outstanding music selection from jeremy's ipod (it played john lennon singin' imagine. how appropriate, eh?), and bottles of red wine and cheap whiskey to dampen the pain. let's just say everyone in the back was having fun.

i overheard one of the kenyans mention, "traveling's fun..." now that's hilarious.

we reached moyale within 48 hrs.

mursi woman. lip plate is not conducive to good kissing but will fetch alot of cattle for her family when she marries (if that hasn't happened yet).

from moyale, i and a couple of spanish guys, luis and antonio (also on the truck from kenya), headed for the Omo valley in SW ethiopia. the original plan was to head to Addis Ababa immediately, but i nixed that plan because of the anticipated rains. travel in the Omo Valley would have been impossible.

how can i describe Omo in the least no. of words? national geographic. it's a living ethnographic museum of sorts. there are 5 or 6 tribes there that still live traditionally. each having it's own language. in theory, they have the occasional dust up because of rustling each other's cattle, but it was pretty peaceful while i was there.

i can get into the subject of tourism and the effects of it on these and other tribes around the world but that would require me to write some kind of dissertation. but it's safe to say, the traditional ways will not last long in the Omo. the influx of outsiders, africans and tourists, and the bloody road they're building.

oh, i forgot to mention 2 birr for a photo. i would kill the first tourist to offer money for photos.

after 7 days in Omo, i'm in AA. my task is to try to get a sudanese visa. pronto. the canadian embassy is not expediting the process...

if i don't get the visa in a reasonable amount of time, it's plan B.

i have an idea of what plan B should be but i ask my loyal readers for their suggestions...

thanx.

update: anna and jeremy, spur of the moment, decided to marry yesterday. i arrived too late to video tape it. oh well... they hired a coptic monk to perform the ceremony.

i'm outta here...part 34

hello my friends...

tomorrow marks the beginning of perhaps the most interesting part of the trip.

i'm headed for ethiopia. for those with atlases or keeping score, i'm headed to the kenyan/ethiopian border via isiolo, marsabit, and finally moyale at the border. the tarmac ends at isiolo. public transportation ends at that point as well. thus, i will have to resort to hitch-hiking (in this case paying for a reportedly torturous bumpy ride on top of a transport truck all the way to the border.

after reaching moyale it's a 2 day torturous bus ride through the land of rock throwing kids to the capital of addis ababa.

i am so looking forward to getting there.

in the meantime, i'll be wrapping it up here in nairobi. you won't believe it but i had a great time here especially with the most interesting people/fellow travelers at the upper hill campsite. i'd like to mention a few of them. forgive me if i missed anyone. there was thomas (the german bicyclist - check out the link on the side bar), leonardo (the crazy kelownian who specialized in swedish chef impersonations), john (a true swede), claus (the mumbling dane), maria (the german girl), leo (the swiss marathon bike rider without a tent), frank and amanda from calgary, and tiffany (the american girl/burnt out lawyer cycling to capetown on the tour d'afrique - yes, the tour was in town).

well that's it from nairobi... i survived!

nairobi...

nap time in the school of hard knocks.


more school kids...

not much time today kids.

arrived back in nairobi a few days back. i must admit it was with much trepidation. i started my "travel career" back whenever here. it was not a positive experience. those who know me know that i spent the first 4 days back then sequestered in my hotel room immobilized by fear.

my observations so far have confirmed a significant improvement in the security situation.

such an improvement, i ventured, on a tour, to one of the ginormous shanty towns that surround nairobi.

local tradition has it that tourists are scammed in downtown nairobi and shot in the slums.

well, it's not that bad...

it's a long and heart tugging story that i will write, at length, about later.

suffice to say, it's a must do tour when in nairobi. a full on, in your face experience.

will be in nairobi for a few more days getting ready for the biggest road trip so far.

burnt

hello my friends,

first of all, shout out to my sis. she's having fun in NZ for the next 3 weeks. have fun BB!! you deserve a break today.

still in bujagali. yes, still.

everyone, from lydia, the watergirl, to simon at the bujagali chipati company knows intimate details about yours truly now. everyone greets me by name and asks about my mum's gallbladder operation.

seriously, i think i'm really burnt out from traveling.

good thing everyone's nice at the Ed. Rock (short for Eden Rock) Resort. AND, there's satellite tv for moments when i'm not reading a book.

i went to the Black Lantern last night. it's the poshest restaurant in bujagali. had their famous pork spareribs. not the baby back ribs exactly, however, the meat was tender and barely hanging on to the bone if you know what i mean. mmmm... good splurge for the M/C.

stay tuned for more blubberings.

couldn't resist...

thought i'd post some more whitewater rafting pics. looks like a riot, eh?

i forgot to wish my mum a happy birthday.

i'm still in bujagali falls. i've never stayed in one place for such a long time (goin on a week, eh). now i'm addicted to beer, women and mad rafting videos (not necessarily in that order). oh well, the addiction could have been to crack cocaine or something like that.

having been here for awhile, i feel the itch to move on. perhaps kenya?

note: i'm thinking of whitewater photography as my next career. too bad it entails something really terrifying: kayaking, eh.

another day at the office...

it seems every 10 years or so i must stare into the face of death. i dunno why.

you can cheat death so many times. one of these days death is going to win out. but in the meantime, i'll continue to raft rivers like the nile.

you heard it here, i'm chillin' out by the banks of the nile river at bujagali falls, uganda.

hey!! look!! some pix...

hello friends,

finally some photos.

l to r: silverback mountain gorilla, one tired monkey.

note: that silverback is the head honcho of susa group, the largest habituated group of gorillas in the park at a population of 38 (including 4 silverbacks). i'm something like 4 m away.

l to r: recovering traveler, local kinigi school girl.

note: met this girl while she was walking home from school. she was showing me her families craft store. everything was going fine until she asked me to buy her a french dictionary.

where's the king of scotland? or, a valentine's special edition of bubba goes to africa.

first, happy valentine's day...especially to all my female readers, if there are any.

so much for posting some photos. i had a nice pic of a silverback gorilla petting me on the head. this stupid computer is rigged not to accept new hardware. so uncooperative.

where am I? kampala, uganda.

so much has happened since the gorillas. not.

i made it to the meeting place for gorilla trekkers. unfortunately, i was all drugged up on anti-cold medicine. i did the humanitarian thing. i thought about the possibility of wiping out the remaining 308 mountain gorillas left on the face of the planet with my disease and i promptly reported myself to the authorities. they also with extra vigour withdrew me from the expedition. damn, that was hard to swallow.

for the next 5 days i convalesced at the kinigi guesthouse. the staff, god bless their souls, thought i was on my deathbed, imploring me to see the village doctor. instead i took out the real good drugs: the ciprofloacin, the world's most powerful antibiotic.

personally, i hate self-diagnoses of diseases. it's a good drug to have but i don't want to render it useless by overuse.

anyway, i couldn't have picked a better place to be ill. kinigi is situated on the edge of parc nacional des volcans. awesome mist covered volcanoes lie close to the north and west.

during my afternoon re-hab walks, dozens of village kids would approach me for money or to have their photos taken. i concurred with the latter but declined on the former. instead of being their sole financier, i would promptly cough on them.

eventually, i got better albeit days later.

the gorillas were spectacular. we saw the dominate silverback, numerous babies, and a rambunctious blackback male who kept taking enthusiasted, thundering charges at us. lucky none of us were eaten. anyway, it took an exhausting 3 hrs. to find them, including a final hour of bushwacking with a machete.

if you have an extra $375 USD burning a hole in your pocket, i deeply recommend coming over and seeing our closest relatives in the animal kingdom in rwanda.

from rwanda, i would travel over the border to the ugandan chill out capital, the beautiful lake bunyonyi.

for 5 days i chilled out at the "resort" of boonya amagara, run by jason, the american. it was more than just a resort, it was an experiment in environmental sustainability. solar powered and installed with special composting toilets.

my advice to others who plan similar environmental projects: have back up power.

the boonya had an excellent library and movie collection.

i managed to read "a walk in the woods" by bryson, and "swahili for the broken hearted". the latter documents an aussie wanka that did what i'm doing. i'm glad i didn't read it beforehand.

i saw 3 films: borat, death of a president, and donny darko. i'm still trying to figure out donny darko. at least, i'm part of the darko cult following now.

like i said, i'm in kampala now. i'm chillin' again. actually, i'm giving the recurring cough a rest. the smog here is abysmal. that doesn't help.

i'm thinking of booking myself into the local "western" clinic to have this thing fixed once and for all.

i've gathered valuable intell. on the next leg: ethiopia. it's going to be full on travelling. so, i better get my health in check, eh.

next? denial on the nile? or, do i just wanna go whitewater rafting on it?

stay tuned my friends.