Published by Brett on March 6, 2008
under Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya
Dates Traveled: January-February 2008
Uganda
Once again it’s time to put fingers to keyboard to outline what I’ve been up to during my most recent six weeks of adventure. I left the vessel on January 16th and flew to Entebbe, Uganda, via a night in Dubai. I met Rhona at the airport and we proceeded to Kampala, where we spent the next 2 days simply relaxing. One night we sat outside under the stars smoking a cigar and drinking rum she’d brought with her from her recent travels in Cuba. It’s a tough life, but somebody has to do it.
We had signed up to do a three-week trip with Intrepid through Uganda and Tanzania. I’m not normally one for organized trips, but it was the easiest way to ensure we could get permits to see the mountain gorillas. On January 20th we set out on what we thought would be the easiest part of the trip - meeting the group at the designated hotel. 
Wrong! We drove around for over an hour, asking locals every few minutes if they knew where the place was located, only to be met with blank stares. We finally got word that they had gathered instead in a parking lot of a supermarket…as you do. It seems the meeting point hotel is new, not completely finished, nobody answered the telephone, and none of the locals knew anything about it. Aside from that it was a great place to meet!
When we arrived at the parking lot we met the leader and other passengers for the first 2-weeks of the trip. The Africa trips are different to the trips I (and Rhona) led in that they have a maximum of 21 people/trip. Our trips had a limit of 12 people. However, we found ourselves extremely lucky in that, because of the regional problems with the post-election riots in Kenya, we only had 6 passengers. Our transportation for the trip rolled up soon after we did - a large overland truck, so we jumped on and proceeded to our campsite for the night. The first night was spent getting to know everyone and learning what was expected of us. As the trip was described as ‘participatory camping’, we were expected to pitch and break down our tents, help with the cooking, clean the inside of the truck, wash dishes, and help perform any other tasks that came up. We also learned that we’d be crossing into Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas rather than seeing them in Uganda. Bonus! Continue reading…
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Published by Brett on February 5, 2008
under Uncategorized
February 7th is Tibetan New Years
Losar Tashi Delek
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Published by Brett on January 10, 2008
under Seismic Vessels
One of our support vessels caught this swordfish yesterday. It quickly became Kilawin - a Philippine raw fish dish in vinegar, ginger, and peppers. It was excellent!
Continue reading…
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Published by Brett on December 22, 2007
under Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore
Dates Traveled: November-December 2007
Malaysia (State of Sabah) - Kota Kinabalu (KK)
We arrived in Kota Kinabalu (KK) around midnight, only to find that the airport transfer we’d arranged with the hostel was nowhere to be found. We eventually just grabbed a cab to the hostel, where we crashed long and hard. It had been a long day.
After a lazy start the following morning we finally ventured outside, only to find that the Sunday market was happening right outside our door. We enjoyed meandering through that for awhile before spending the rest of the day taking care of general stuff, since we were once again back in civilization. We were also lamenting the fact we were back in civilization - there were too many foreigners around! However, the good food and good vibe of KK made it worthwhile. I had been to KK 5 years earlier and enjoyed my time then as well. It’s a nice place.
We had been hoping to climb Mt. Kinabalu - at 13,435 feet/4,095 meters it’s the highest point on Borneo. Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is comprised of the Indonesian province of Kalimantan, the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the country of Brunei. Anyway, while in Papua and about 2 weeks prior to our arrival in Malaysia, we’d contacted the Kinabalu Park authorities to see if there was accommodation on the mountain. Unfortunately, there were no beds available until a week after we planned on being there, which was too late for us. I’d climbed Mt. Kinabalu back in 2002, but it became obvious that it wasn’t going to happen this time around.
The following day we spent trying to send all of our Papuan souvenirs back to our respective homes, before catching a cab out to the museum. Before actually entering the museum we took in the very good, and free, heritage village. There were representative homes from the various tribes in Malaysia, and it was an interesting, extensive, and informative glimpse into their lives and customs. When we later entered the museum we found it to be quite good as well.
Early the following morning we hopped a ferry for the trip to Brunei. Even the extensive rain couldn’t ruin the break we had in KK, but since we couldn’t climb the mountain we decided to move along fairly quickly. Continue reading…
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Published by Brett on December 20, 2007
under Christmas
Posts from a later date
