Scuba Day 3: Certified!

I learned my lesson on day 2 the hard way, but at least I learned it. Today (day 3) I took a motion sickness drug and wore two smaller (proper fitting) wet suits. It was still cold and rainy outside, but I felt infinitely better and survived the final two dives necessary to get certified.

There were actually only two of us (tourists) on the boat and the other girl, Katie, got sick. (This made me feel like slightly less of a wuss) Since the weather was just about as bad as yesterday and we were at a dive site MUCH closer to the hotel, we actually came back after the first dive to warm up before going out again at 3 when the weather cleared up - as it always does at 3. My last dive was just off the beach and very enjoyable since I had finished all of the tests and we could just play around in the water.

Tomorrow I meet up with the Stanford crew on the opposite side of the island (about a 3 hour drive). Maybe the weather will be better there. Although, Brent - if you're reading - I will definitely dive again with you but I'm not sure I'm up for the advanced course. Think I'm going to save that for the warmer (and hopefully less choppy) waters of the Caribbean.

Scuba Day 2: SCUBA SICKNESS

The second day of the SCUBA course consists of two open water dives. We got all of the skills out of the way on dive one so that dive two could be fun.

That being said, what do you think is wrong with the following picture?

• Our Boat: Our boat was a little wooden thing with an engine probably equivalent to what would power an ordinary lawn mower back home. It was also leaking pretty badly - so much so that we had one local with us whose sole purpose was to bail out the boat as we went along in the rain
• Equipment: Apparently, everyone in Nungwi decided to dive yesterday which meant my wet suit was too big for me and my flippers looked like they were purchased at K-Mart some 20 years ago. Moreover, for some reason I was the only person (out of 20) not wearing two wet suits (if you're laughing I should just add that one local was wearing 3!!!). As I learned in Day 1, a wet suit that is two big is not going to keep you very warm.
• Bad Weather: Zanzibar is not tropical island. Zanzibar is not a tropical island. Zanzibar is not a tropical island. Sure, it tries to be in brochures to lure tourists here following the Kili climb, but I'm pretty sure I wrote about how it has been cold and rainy from about 10 to 2 here every day (ok, I know it's winter - but still!). You would think the dive company would plan around this... but then you would also think it shouldn't take 45 min to scramble an egg when you're the only person in the restaurant.
• Bad weather (e.g. Rain and high winds) + Small boat + Being freezing in poorly fitting wetsuit = Severe sea sickness. All my worrying about altitude sickness - and reading Dan's blog on sea sickness in South Africa - I still didn't take any motion sickness drugs. (In fairness to me, this was my third day out on these boats with no issue, but I still should have taken the precaution.)

I survived the two hour boat ride to the first dive site and my stomach settled a little under the water. However, after dive one, we had an hour and a half surface interval where our tiny wooden boat (with the bailer working overtime in the rain) got tossed around. Generally I was ok if the engine was on and we were moving, but we were just anchored and bobbing. Seriously - to the point where if you weren't holding on a big wave could (and did) knock you off your feet (Sam and Jared if you're reading and think I'm exaggerating it was MUCH worse than when we were out for snorkeling - same location). If I'm generous with time estimates, I made it 15 minutes before I started puking

An hour after the sea sickness started it was still going on as I was suiting up for the second dive. New Found Talent Number 1, I can put on a wet suit and dive equipment while sick in a rocking boat. Since I was so eager to get under water, I took an extra weight and sunk like a rock about 60 feet without equalizing properly which gave me the worst ear ache all last night... but that's another story. I was underwater again and we were swimming with the current. I was cold in my oversized wetsuit, but my tummy was happier and I was happy because I saw a massive sea turtle, some huge lobsters, tons of eels, octopus, and of course thousands of fish. The relief lasted for exactly 47 minutes (I know because had to record my bottom time in my dive log)

We surfaced again back in the stormy seas (just me and Conway) and our boat was a mere speck in the distance. Guess that current was stronger than he thought. I'm not sure how much of the 30+ minutes we bobbed around in the freezing cold water was the boat trying to locate us or the boat trying to maneuver it's little lawn mower motor against the current to come pick us up. Probably more the latter. While we waited and tried hopelessly to swim a little to keep warm, I discovered New Found Talent Number 2: The ability to vomit and swim at the same time.

FINALLY the boat picked us up. While this helped warm my core temperature a little my stomach was still rebelling. Over an hour into our journey home, where with forward movement I was feeling slightly better, we had to stop at another resort about two miles from our final destination to drop off some tanks. This meant anchoring the boat and bobbing again while the guys tried to maneuver the tanks off in the rocky water. I decided instead to leverage New
Found Talent Number 2 and abandoned ship. I swam to shore and then proceeded to run the 2 miles back to the resort where we started. (It was necessary to run since the tide was coming in quickly and I never would have made it around the rocks if I tried to walk) I managed to beat the boat and save a little face (at least that's what I told myself) since no one could believe I ran back so quickly after throwing up the better part of the afternoon.

I did not make it out last night - although I did manage to keep down some crackers... and still somehow loose my shoes again. By this point, I've been here longer than 95% of the tourists and I definitely know more locals - so I have just decided that part of completing the transition to beach bum means to stop wearing shoes all together since either drunk or sober, I seem to keep leaving them places.

Suba Day 1: BORING

Today I finished my three-day open water SCUBA course. For those of you considering doing something similar, I would not recommend Zanzibar - or I guess I should say I wouldn't recommend Zanzibar in July. The SCUBA itself was easy, but everything that came with it was an adventure (as expected in a third world country I suppose). For the sake of the blog, I will start at the beginning.

The first day was actually boring. Five hours of videos followed by several tests and then a bunch of practice doing random stuff in the pool. It was a solid 8 hour day. Luckily, I was the only student which expedited the process. My instructor's name was Conway, a 25-year-old from Kenya. Since I have actually been on five dives before, and it's hardly rocket science, I was able to breeze through Day 1.

Day 2 on the other hand, or as I like to call it "SCUBA Sickness" was a whole other story. See next entry for details.

Accounting 101

Accounting for Dummies:

• Assume the Tanzania shilling is equivalent to the US dollar
• Only conduct business in amounts less than $10 or 10,000 shillings.
• Make sure you never have small bills on you so that you can't give the customer change. They'll usually just let you keep the extra dollar or two. (Unless it's Sam and he decides to buy 5 beers at once since he doesn't trust the bartender to remember the credit)

Advanced Accounting:

• Demand everything in US dollars (only the new US dollars)
• Paste a picture of the new US dollar on your wall followed by a sign noting that it is a federal offense to pay in anything other than US dollars. (Remain fully aware of the fact that the closest atm is 2 hours away and only dispenses Tanzania shillings.)
• Insist on all payments up front (this is especially important with hotels before the customer can check to see if the water and/or electricity are actually working)
• When customer has no us dollars, say that just this one time you can make an exception to the law.
• Take 10 minutes to look up the exchange rate. When you see that it is currently 1.1, proceed to charge no less than 1.3. If the customer protests, say your next best offer is to charge a 10% commission on a cash advance from Visa only

Marketing 101

There are two types of marketing rules that apply here. One for the wandering Masai people (local tribe - or at least people who dress up and pretend to be local tribe people since we were told there actually aren't any on Zanzibar), and one for the people with a store front. The following are best practices even though we have yet to see anyone purchase anything.

For the Masai

• Say "Jambo" (hello).
• Thurst bag of trinkets in front of tourist as they walk along the beach
• Say "Mambo Poa" (what's up, cool?)
• Thrust bag of trinkets in front of tourist and follow as they try to walk away
• Say "Looking is free"
• Thrust bag of trinkets in front of tourist and continue to follow
• Since they don't appear to be interested in the trinkets, say that you can help arrange a snorkeling excursion
• Follow about five steps behind for at least 50 meters in case they change their mind

For those looking to set up shop

• Check out your buddies store where he is selling typical tourist items (wooden carvings, paintings, t-shirts)
• Rent the space next door to his shop
• Solicit the exact same merchandise - but - realizing that product differentiation is important, change a line or color on a painting here and there. Maybe even put the elephant carvings next to the rhinos instead of next to the hippos
• Recruit customers into your store. Start off by asking if they have climbed Kili or done a safari to get them talking
• Then repeat verbatim the same sales pitch used by your buddy next door. It didn't work for him, or the 10 guys before him, but believe that it will work for you because your merchandise is better than the other guys. You are so confident that you should even attempt to charge a higher price
• If the customer refuses, or keeps walking, try offering some weed.
• If they still refuse, make them promise they'll come back later for a "free look" and that they will buy trinkets from you before anyone else
• Smoke a joint and wait for around for the next group of tourists walking down the beach

Restaurant Management 101

After four days in Zanzibar, I am delcraing myself an expert on the weather patterns. From 10 to 2 every day it is overcast with periods of rain. During this time (assuming I am not in my scuba course) I am studying the art of doing business in Zanzibar and sharing the wealth with those of you who might be considering opening a business here. This first entry is on restaurant management.

Like most areas of the world. The wait staff here has to go through training before working at a restaurant. The following is an excerpt from the training manual we think they follow.

Wait until customer has been seated for about 20 minutes before bringing menus. Allow them ample time to peruse. Take order. Go smoke a joint. See if the kitchen actually has the food. 20 min later, take order again either because the kitchen didn't have food or you forgot to put the order in. Stop to watch the sunset for a while. Bring drinks... to the wrong table first. If you don't remember what they ordered, Kilimanjaro beer is a safe bet. Check to see if the second order of food is available. If meat was ordered, locate animal to kill (if beef was ordered, stray dog is an acceptable substitute). If eggs are ordered for breakfast, consult with at least five other chefs on the appropriate method to scramble an egg. Run out to help your buddy tow in a fishing boat. The sun has set now, so stargaze for a while. Pulling in the boat was tough work, smoke another joint. Get food from the kitchen and carry the plates around to every table except the table who actually ordered it. With a confused look, walk back into the kitchen to consult and figure out where the food is actually supposed to go. Bring food to the appropriate table. If they ask for anything extra (e.g. ketchup), just smile, nod, and hope that someone else will deal with it. After dinner, attempt to prepare the bill. If the calculator is broken, just forget it and hope someone else deals with it since the customer will inevitably ask everyone else in the restaurant the same way they did with the ketchup. It's been a long night - be happy you're not working for tips.

On Being a Beach Bum

I have a ridiculous amount of time in Zanzibar. Two weeks to be exact, which is at least a week longer than I have been on a "beachy" vacation before. I am definitely worried about going a little stir crazy, especially without some decent books to read. The following has been our plan to adjust to the art of living in Nungwi (small town on the northern tip of Zanzibar).

• Realize we're not in a first world country anymore: A minimum of two hours, sometimes three, needs to be allotted for every meal. This means sitting down and ordering well before you are actually hungry. Check the next blog entry for restaurant management 101. With so much time dedicated to meals, the day actually fills itself more quickly than I anticipated.
• Complete a day excursion: It is important attempt at least one activity a day; any more might be too ambitious since I have two weeks to fill. Yesterday we went snorkeling; today we were supposed to be sailing. Unfortunately, with hangovers and no wind outside, our group (now of 5 since we made new friends) opted instead to practice the art of being lazy. In addition to getting my scuba certification, I intend to be a certified master of the art of laziness by the time I leave on August 5th.
• Rock the 'stache: For the boys, to complete the beach bum look, it is necessary to shave the beard that has grown over the last two weeks on Kili and safari, but keep the mustache. Give it a comb before going out and try to use it to pick up girls. (Our new friend, James, was working this last night... I don't think it was very successful.)
• Adjust the internal clock: Our first two nights here, we tried to stay awake until midnight and sleep in later than 6:30 a.m. We failed miserably. Yesterday after snorkeling, we discovered the key: pre-dinner power nap(or at least rest). We dominated (yes, Leems, I threw that word in for you) Cholos, the local beach bar, until 3 a.m. I was very proud of us.
• Determine the necessary tactics to deal with locals who never have change for large ($10) bills: Jared accepted a credit last night. Sam at some point decided he didn't trust the credit and it was better to just get 5 half-liter beers for $10 all at once and then drink them quickly before they got too warm. I'm not sure, but this might have been the start of our downfall last night.
• No shirts, no shoes, no problems: I woke up this morning, rather reluctantly, and did the usual check after a night of drinking. Purse? Check. Wallet? Check. Money in the wallet? Not so much, but luckily I didn't bring much out to begin with. Fleece? Check. Camera? Check. Shoes? ummm... Shoes? Definitely missing. I must say, it is the first time I made it home from a bar with everything but shoes. Since the journey home included jumping several fences and a detour for a 3 a.m. swim, I guess I should just be grateful nothing else was missing. (Mom, don't worry, our new friends--the same guys we met on the safari--are firefighters and paramedics in LA and have decided it's their job to look out for me once Sam and Jared leave tomorrow. I told them it was a shame we didn't have them with us in Arusha.)

All things considered on day three of being a beach bum (in a third world country no less), I think I am adjusting rather well.

Never Returning to Arusha Might be Too Soon

Now that we are safely in the sun at our resort in Zanzibar (complete with tropical drink in hand), I can write about Arusha. I will preface this by saying that I have spent a decent amount of time in dozens of third world cities. While some of the large, overcrowded ones are low on my list for return visits, you would have to pay me to go back to Arusha.

We paid for three nights in lodges for the safari, but given all of the screw-ups made by our guide, he finally claimed he ran out of money and dropped us off two nights ago at a hotel in Arusha. In addition to being frustrated with having to pay for this night, we also quickly realized that we were in the middle of the worst area of town--as in, "the State Department has warnings issued about staying away from this area of the city." To make matters worse, the hot water wasn't working and I had really been looking forward to a shower. We considered changing hotels, but it was already growing dark, and even the boys were scared walking more than 20 meters from our hotel. I honestly had never felt more uncomfortable in any area of any city in which I've been.

My stomach got the better of me, though, and we decided to set out for dinner. Needless to say, we took a cab to a restaurant that our guide book recommended, even though the restaurant was only four blocks away. It turned out to be a good decision to take the cab since the restaurant had since shut down and we ended up eating at the hotel... Jared actually didn't even venture out again until we went to the airport.

We agreed that we needed to leave ASAP, so Sam and I set an early alarm to go to the Precision Air office as soon as it opened, with the hope of changing to an earlier flight to Zanzibar. Following our then-current streak of bad luck, everything was booked, and we were stuck with our 3:30 flight.

The city was only slightly less sketchy in daylight, but at least we felt less likely to be jumped while we were walking around; we managed to kill a couple of hours while I dragged Sam into every store that could possibly sell books, since I had finished the five or so that I brought along. (The quest for one book in particular actually started back in Sapa, but by this point, I was willing to take just about anything.) Sam claims that now I am probably the most qualified person in the world to write about locating book shops in Tanzania. Unfortunately, even after finding two stores that sold English novels, it took us only 15 minutes or so to read the back of EVERY book they had, and the best I could come up with was $15 for a John Grisham book (it was seriously that or random romance novels). Zanzibar hasn't been much better for books, so my tactic for the next week--until I meet up with the Stanford kids and can hopefully borrow-- is going to be to check out what other tourists are reading and beg for their books once they're done with them.

We felt like we had been in the dilapidated city fending off over-eager locals for hours, but by this point, it wasn't even 10:00. We decided we were probably safer sitting next to the dirt runway at the "airport" (read: little shack with no roof, lights, computers, etc.), so we said goodbye to Arusha, hopefully for good, and are now enjoying ourselves at the beach. More on that later.

Animals Gone Wild

When I last left off, we were having issues with our car. After a 4-hour delay in some town, the guide came back with an even worse car. Since we are not yet at the point where we can laugh about everything that went wrong after that, I am just going to say that the "new'"car also broke down and our guide royally screwed up in almost every way imaginable. It was also just painful to listen to him since he rambled constantly, trying to pass the blame onto other people.

Needless to say, we never made it to the Serengeti, but we did manage to salvage the safari and get in two solid days of animal watching. We also stayed at a great (albeit freezing cold--40 degrees in the rooms at night!) lodge above the Ngorogoro Crater. This crater is known to have one of the largest concentrations of animals in all of east Africa. After shelling out money for a different driver and arguing with numerous authorities, we finally got clearance and spent all day yesterday in the crater and today in another national park. We came up with the following awards for the animals we saw:

• Best body: Cheetah
• Most likely to get caught with its pants down: Baboon
• Most playful/entertaining: Baby Elephant
• Floppiest ears: Daddy Elephant
• Strike a pose: Lions (they also win the "sleepiest" award)
• Scrawniest legs: Wildebeest
• Best synchronized swimmers: Hippos
• Most likely to get in the way while driving: Tie between the thousands of zebras and wildebeests in the crater
• Elle Woods of the watering hole: Flamingos
• Closest resemblance to Bambi: Impala
• Ugliest animal: Warthog (with wildebeest a close second)
• Most likely to be mistaken for a rock: Hippo
• Most likely to be on drugs: Hyenas
• Missing in action: Rhino and Leopard
• Weirdest noises: Our driver, Frederick. He sounded like a cross between Kermit the Frog and Jar Jar Binks (first Star Wars movie). Jacks, remember our Money and Banking prof at school? This guy was worse, and louder.
• Most likely to win a staring contest: Giraffe (ok, we saw 15 of them next to each other and none of them moved)

And finally,

• Best in show: Lion. To quote Sam, "She really strutted her stuff by the car quite nicely."

The safari is over... Let the water sports (and, hopefully, warm weather) begin!!! Sam and I are optimistic about trying kite boarding.

Off to Zanzibar tomorrow.

The Other Side of Kili

As I write this, we are in the midst of our first technical malfunction of the trip. Our land cruiser (constructed circa 1970) broke down on the way to the Ngorogoro crater today and we have been dropped at a "campsite" to wait while a "mechanic" fixes it. I have no idea how long this will take, but after breaking down for almost 8 hours in the middle of the dessert in Senegal last year, this doesn't seem so bad yet. We have plenty of food and water, and it is a perfect 70 degrees out. Worse things could have happened (knock on wood).

Yesterday we had a much needed day of rest after the Kili climb. After a shower and 8 hours of sleep in an actual bed, I felt like a new person. My stomach also recovered nicely since I was able to not only keep down but actually enjoy our lunch, which was an overly well-done burger with a fried egg on it. (Yes, I know how that sounds, but I hadn't eaten much the previous 24 hours.)

We spent the afternoon exploring the Marangu village at the base of Kili. It is also the starting point for one of the popular routes to the top (nicknamed the "Coca Cola" route since trekkers stay in huts on the way up and can purchase Coke and beer). After wishing luck to the trekkers about to start the climb, we let a local boy lead us through his village. We walked through the fields where they grew bananas, beans, coffee, cassava, avocado, sugar cane, and several other crops. With a crew of kids following our every move, the boy also led our group to a decent-sized waterfall fed by one of Kili's glaciers. It was a perfect day of rest in between the climb and the safari.

Assuming the car gets fixed at some point, we are all excited to start seeing some animals. Personally, I am hoping to see a (herd?) of elephants (giraffes and lions a close second and third). Sam wants to see a show of zebra and wildebeest at the watering hole. At this point, Jared, the ever cynical one, just wants to see any animal that is not a donkey, cow, or chicken.

Stay tuned, and, as always, thanks to Mom for posting since I am clearly in the middle of nowhere off a dirt road. Thankfully, wireless infrastructure has yet to fail.

Things Remembered, Things Forgotten

The following is a list of things I'm/we're very happy we brought.

For those of you who intend to take this journey, including the Stanford crew tomorrow!

• Camelback: more helpful than I imagined (as were the crystal light/Gatorade packets so you have something other than warm water to drink)
• Gaiters: I didn't know what they were before I came, but they have come in handy keeping my main pair of pants slightly cleaner. (Unfortunately I totally forgot to wear them on two of the muddy days)
• Wet wipes (even though, as discussed in the previous entry, they only remove the top layers of dirt)
• Tissues: The porters ran out of toilet paper on day 4.
• Sam: sleeping pad and eye shades. I also think all of us are happy we brought our own sleeping bags because it gets SO cold!!!
• Other misc: headlight, Tylenol pm, deck of cards, sunglasses and sunscreen, books, and a funny safari hat with the Vietnamese flag that I bought in Vietnam for $1. Oh, and pretty much wear everything you brought on summit night.

Things I/we wish we brought:

• A flag: One of the obnoxiously large groups here, who undoubtedly spent at least $4000 on their climb, had this massive mess tent with a full table and chairs where they ate three meals a day. They also had a flag. While we spent a lot of time making fun of it, the truth is that we were kind of jealous and wish we thought to create a flag and lay our claim to part of this mountain.
• Trivial pursuit/Mindtrap cards: Since we are spending 24/7 together, we quickly exhausted the realms of traditional conversation. On day 2, we dedicated the afternoon to riddles, such as "Two people walking in the woods came across a cabin. Everyone inside was dead. What happened?" We have since run out riddles and trivia, and, given the slow pace we walk, believe it would have been great to have some additional material to occupy us
• Snickers bars and/or other chocolate and candy snacks (like I said, Sam thinks the porters ate what was supposed to be ours)
• Lisa: Lightweight gloves. The massive swany toaster mittens were overkill except for summit night, when they weren't toasty enough. A pair of 99 cent Duane Reade stretch gloves (or something similar) would have come in handy.
• Sam: Pee bottle to prevent having to get out of the tent at night. I told him that since he was sharing our small tent with me, I wouldn't appreciate it. Although he does claim they have a similar 'hose' contraption for girls (since I have complained numerous times about not having a penis this trip). I have heard of no such contraption. Perhaps he will find one and give it to me as a house warming (or should I say dorm warming) present when I move out west.
• Lisa: Shoes other than flip flops to walk around the camp site. Boots were too dirty, flip flops too cold. This actually crossed my mind when packing, but given limited space, I opted against it.
• Jared: is too tired to answer this question right now.

Things we could have done without:

• Bug spray: too cold for bugs (at least this time of year) and even in the jungle, we wore long pants and long sleeves
• Face wash: Yes, I brought a little bottle. Yes, they gave us bowls of seemingly clean water to wash. But it was too cold to make things wet unnecessarily, especially when there were no towels to dry off
• A razor: see above. And, after the first day, you just have to embrace being dirty.

What Goes Up Must Come Down

The summit, as previously described, was amazing. I think one of the things that slipped all of our minds, or at least mine, was that we had almost 20,000 feet to walk down after the 4.5 day climb up. This was arguably more dangerous than ascending, since it rained for a majority of the descent and we were on a steep, muddy, rocky trail and completely exhausted. Immediately after the summit, it took us about 3 hours to descend back to the base camp where we started. We had 2 hours rest and a little food before descending 4 more hours to another camp, where we spent the night. I must have been exhausted, delirious, or both, because even though I pointed out numerous times that we were descending back into the thick blanket of clouds, I forgot to wear my rain jacket. The porters also forgot to cover our backpacks, which meant everything got pretty wet. We camped the last night in the cold pouring rain, which was less than ideal since we had managed to ward off sickness until that point. Needless to say, this wasn't the highlight of the trip. However, to make light of the situation, we crafted the following quiz over the course of dinner last night and tonight to shed some light on the conditions of our last 48 hours.

Percentage of our group that fell on the way down the mountain

A. 0%

B. 33%

C. 66%

D. 100%*

*Jared would like it noted that he only wiped out in the scree (loose rocks and dust/dirt into which we sank 6 inches) while Sam and I both wiped out in the wet mud.

Our first meal following the 8 hour summit hike (keep in mind we hadn't eaten since 5:00 p.m. the day before) included

A. A whole chicken brought up in a special cooler because they knew we would need some protein

B. Traditional beef stew over rice

C. Power bars

D. French fries and something that resembled coleslaw*

*Sam is willing to bet his firstborn child that the porters ate all of our chocolate. We would also like to note that we ate all meals on the slanted, rocky ground of an undersized tent)

Sleeping conditions after being awake 36 hours (22 of which were spent hiking in altitude):

A. One person tents (that leaked) into which we crammed two people and all of our stuff

B. Tents that were around since the original Kilimanjaro expedition (as evident by the scrawl "Hans Mayer war hier")

C. Paper thin sleeping mats over jagged gravel

D. All of the above*

*Note: These were actually our conditions every night, but the rain and exhaustion made everything worse.

After descending in the rain (and wiping out in the mud trying to go to the bathroom), I just wanted something relatively clean (i.e., not completely mud covered) and dry in which to sleep. Since none of the three of us had any clothing that fulfilled these two characteristics, I slept in the following:

A. My birthday suit

B. Boxers and a tank top

C. One of the burlap bags given to me by the porters

D. My snowboarding pants (once black but turned brown from all the dust--but dry) and every dirty, mostly dry shirt I owned.*

*I would like to note that despite my -15 degree sleeping bag, it was NEVER warm enough on the mountain, at least for me, to sleep in anything less than long underwear and several shirts.

Means to cleanse ourselves after the descent:

A. 3 wet wipes

B. A hot shower

C. An industrial strength power washer

D. Nothing; we are going to have to wait to grow new skin

Overall, it was a great experience. If you have the money, I might suggest springing for something a little less budget to avoid some of the issues described above :)

To the Roof of Africa

As many of you probably know, the summit of Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa. Supposedly, it is ideal to reach the summit in time for sunrise, which means starting the (typically) 6-hour ascent around midnight. They also say you leave at night because the ground is more frozen, making uphill on the 6 inches of sceat (loose rocks and dirt) much more manageable. In addition, you need to allow time for the 7-hour descent back to a safer altitude for the last night of camp.

On summit night, we ate our last meal around 6:00 and tried to sleep a little. I was sharing a tent with Sam, and since it was a one-person tent, pitched on rocks, slanted at about a 30 degree angle, and freezing cold, this did not happen at all. We laid in the tent until 11:30 p.m., when they called us out to get ready.

I think we were all tired, but definitely excited. For me, the first 3.5 hours were great. We kept a slow, steady pace, and other than breathing heavily, we had no symptoms of altitude sickness. We also couldn't have asked for a more perfect night. The sky was crystal clear and the full moon was so bright that we didn't even need our head lamps. Although we started later than many groups (and were walking at what I thought was a pretty slow pace), we passed no less than 10 groups, making us among the first to reach the crater at the the top of the mountain, and, 45 minutes later, after the final uphill stretch on the glacier, the actual summit, Uhuru Peak.

Unfortunately, because we did it abnormally fast, we made it over an hour before sunrise. (Note to other people reading: midnight is too early to leave!!!) We walked slowly back down the glacier and around the crater and hung out on top until the sun rose. It was beautiful--definitely everything I hoped for, and it's a shame that pictures could never capture it because it was too dark for most of the time.

Ironically, none of us had headaches, or any other symptoms of altitude sickness at the summit (Although Jared said his heart had never beat faster in his life). I did, however, experience a whole new level of cold. The last hour up to the crater (3:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.), the wind picked up and the temperature with the wind chill dropped well below zero. I don't want to say I've never been that cold in my life before because I'm sure I have, but this was the first time I was so cold for several consecutive hours where I (not to be too dramatic) had to literally shift into survival mode since my options were to either keep moving or catch hypothermia. Perhaps this was why we made it so quickly; I was limiting our rest stops to about 20 seconds because I was too cold when we weren't moving. No reprieve was in sight until the sun came up around 6:30. Even then, I don't think I completely thawed out until afternoon. Needless to say, we all survived, although had it not been so frigid, we might have hung out on top a little longer to get the standard Kili summit pictures by the sign for Uhuru peak. (We did take them, but it was pitch black and I looked like s---, so don't expect it to be my next Facebook picture.) Overall, it was amazing, and something I would definitely recommend since the view from the top was truly breathtaking.

They'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain

As I type this into my blackberry, I am sitting on a rock at Barufu camp, at some 4600 meters (15,000+ feet). The temperature is right around freezing and my fingers are going numb. For those wondering, I am not sitting in an Internet cafe making up all of this. Sam and I turned on our blackberries today and found we had service so I have been emailing my mom to post these blogs.

We made the call last night to take 6 days, instead of 7, meaning that we leave for the summit at midnight tonight. We figured that even with an extra day of acclimatization, we were bound to have pounding headaches anyway, and camping at 14,000 feet at temperatures well below freezing is taking a toll on our bodies.

Last night, it was imperative to get a good night's sleep. I took an Ambion, and started Diamox (for altitude sickness) more as a prevention since my headache wasn't bad at all. The combination of those drugs plus the Larium I am on for malaria made for a sound sleep with dreams that took me to a world that can best be described as a cross between Salvador Dali and Dr. Seuss. The Diamox also has a weird tingling side effect that was present throughout.

Despite the drugged up dreams, it was a good sleep, thank God, since today (day 4) was our first strenuous day. For the first 3 hours, we literally circled the mountain scaling a rock face (sometimes on all fours) up to 4500 meters before descending back to 3500 in a valley only to ascend again. Given that we knew the summit was coming tonight, it seemed a little tedious but was a necessary evil.

We took a break for lunch and refueled (massive bowl of rice with chicken stew) and then began the monotonous and exhausting 3-hour trek up to the Barafu camp. We have passed the point of vegetation, and the rocky terrain is unlike anything I have ever seen (although Sam and Jared claim it is comparable to places out west). My book describes it as ideal for the next Star Wars movie.

At long last we made it. It is now about 4:00 and the porters are pitching the tents. The plan is to have an early dinner and get about 5 hours of sleep before waking up around 11:30 to tackle the summit. I am optimistic (thousands of people do this every year) but a little nervous. It will undoubtedly be a test of both physical fitness and, probably to a greater extent, mental fortitude. Although we have hiked 6 to 7 hours a day for the last 4 days, this time it will be all in the dark, consistently uphill, at temperatures well below freezing, and in altitudes none of us have ever experienced. However, we are excited and hope that the adrenaline will help since we probably won't get much sleep. I'll let you know how it goes... Have officially lost the feeling in my fingers now and I think it's starting to snow a little. We are back in a cloud but hoping for a clear summit night since it will be (almost) a full moon.

The Trail of Tears

The second half of day two, out of the cloud forest (yesterday as I write this), the sun finally came out and we had a great view of the summit. We went on a 4-hour hike at a normal to fast pace for acclimation. It was beautiful, and the first time I felt like I got any bit of a workout on this trip. Dinner the day before, a chicken stew, was delicious, but unfortunately did not sit very well with me, so I had a hard time falling asleep (it also dropped below freezing for the first time, which didn't help). This made the day a little more tiring. It was, however, my favorite day so far, probably because the weather was perfect.

Today (day 3), our head guide, Joshua, had to turn back because of a tooth problem, so we had a new guide, Nico, who led us not quite as pole pole (which means slowly slowly) as Joshua from our base camp at 3700 meters up to 4600 meters. The views during the entire hike were incredible. We were above a blanket of clouds staring at what previously I have only seen out of an airplane window. The hike uphill was not strenuous, but was incredibly dusty at times, prompting tears despite sunglasses and coating all of us with a thick layer of dust in addition to what we inhaled and ingested.

At 4600 meters, for the first time I felt the effects of the altitude and had a bit of a headache. The climb was just for acclimatization purposes, though, and after lunch, we descended on a different side of the mountain back to 3800 meters, where we will camp tonight. We are all feeling pretty well and debating switching to 6 days and summitting tomorrow night at midnight. However, since there is no hurry to get back to Moshi since we can't change the start date of our safari, we might just keep it at 7 days, which will guarantee that we enjoy our summit night more. Otherwise, we would hike for 7 hours tomorrow, arrive at camp around 4, eat a little and try to sleep, but would need to wake up before midnight to start the summit climb--which actually looks relatively difficult.

Through today, the actual hiking has been easy, with all of us agreeing that the downhill into the valley tonight was the most dangerous/annoying due to all of the dust and loose rocks. No injuries though. I'm not even sore other than a touch on my lower back, but that is definitely due to sleeping on the rock every night, since our sleeping mats are about as thick as a typical afghan you might throw on your couch. We are back at a campsite in the clouds for tonight. Sam and I have been playing cards every night and all of us have been reading. If it wasn't so cold once the sun went down, it would be even more relaxing.

Through the Jungle and Out of the Cloud Forest

Sunday morning we packed up all of the gear we would need for the mountain and drove 40 minutes to the Machame gate where we started our climb. Unfortunately, it was drizzling--not such that we were wet but such that we were hiking through the clouds and mist with limited visibility. I suppose if you had to have that for a day, the first day was the best since the 5 hours we spent hiking was through a dense jungle that would have offered limited scenic views of the mountain.

The jungle, on the other hand, was almost more beautiful in the mist as we walked along a ridge with steep ravines on either side. The higher we got, the thinner the trees became, and at the end of the first day, we emerged from the canopy of the jungle and camped in the cloud forest. The 'forest' lived up to its name since we spent the night and the whole next morning trekking through clouds and missing some supposedly picturesque views of the mountain (I'm really hoping this is our last day of rain.)

As I type this, we are at our campsite for night two. Sam says it looks like some type of refugee camp. We have climbed to 12,800 feet and are above the tree line so the tents for the dozens of people camping here are pitched on the rock around a bunch of shrubs and cactus-looking plants. We also are seeing sunlight and the summit of the mountain for the first time, which is pretty amazing.

So far, the climb has been the easiest trek I have done in my life. The biggest frustration has been following our guide at the same pace you would take to help your 90-year-old grandma cross the street. The most winded we have been to date was this morning trying to stuff our sleeping bags into the sacks that I swear shrunk overnight. The second most grueling feat has been trying to change/maneuver/unpack and repack in cold and rain and minuscule tents. We all agree that the act of camping is so far burning more calories than the trekking itself. We have two tents that sleep one person comfortably, but two people less so. The boys are taking the turn with the single. So far we are managing just fine but I fear it will become increasingly difficult the colder it gets. Jared's biggest grievance so far is the fact that I insist on drinking (i.e., sipping my lukewarm, diluted crystal light from my camelback) about 3 times as much as he deems necessary, which has resulted in numerous bathroom stops along the way that obviously take longer for me than the boys. I still say that he has been breathing heavier than I and can use the 2-minute breaks.

The porters here are pretty incredible. They carry full backpacks plus additional sacks on their heads (we estimate about 100 pounds each). They also have a fashion sense of their own. Winner for the best porter was wearing daisy duke jean shorts over tight black leggings with blue jean gaiters. He also had a pink backpack and a radio playing the latest Swahili hits.

The porters, who don't need to acclimate, walk at a more comfortable pace thus arriving at the site about an hour before we do to pitch the tents and start preparing food, which has been pretty good considering we are half way up a mountain. Lunch has been 'sandwich surprise' (today our sandwich had cucumbers, carrots, egg, peanut butter, and green pepper). Dinner last night was warm stew and warm drinks, which hit the spot as the temperature dropped at night and we huddled in the 'dinner tent'.

Africa!!!

29 hours after I checked out of my hotel in Cambodia, I checked into
my hotel in Kili. I ran into a few delays, a very uncomfortable flight
from Bangkok, and an unscheduled (at least to my knowledge) stop in
Kenya, but I made it in one piece. It was all worth it when I looked
out of the airplane window at 20,000 feet up (and 10,000 feet above
the cloud level) and was looking straight onto the summit of
Kilimanjaro. Suddenly, the exhaustion of nearly 40 hours without sleep
vanished and excitement set in.

After the sketchiest encounter getting a visa at customs ($100 for a
stamp and no receipt) our guide, Pasian, picked me up. I am currently
at the hotel (just took my last shower for the next week) and am
waiting for Sam and Jared who should be here shortly.

We start the climb tomorrow and are taking the popular Machame route
to the summit. This trek is usually done in 5 to 7 days with most
people opting for the average of 6. We were initially going to do 6,
but last minute changed to 7 after reading numerous horror stories of
altitude sickness that my Stanford friends (who are climbing next week)
passed on. Since my unwillingness to be vomiting on the side of the
mountain is about on par with my unwillingness to run into a poisonous
snake, I figured the extra day to hopefully take altitude sickness out
of the equation was worth it.

Our crew includes the three of us, a main guide, an assistant guide, acook, and 10 portors to carry all of the supples. With park fees atjust over $100 a day it is easy to see how the cost adds up.

I'msoexcited!!!Andthespacebarsuddenlystoppedworkingonthiscomputer...

Cambodian Cooking

I dedicate the following blog to Dana and Annie - my cooking role models in New York... and to Laura who may not cook as much, but would have ensured that nothing edible was left on the table at the end of the cooking class.

I am having a great last day in Cambodia! I spent all morning and early afternoon at a cooking class! There is a French man here, Jean Luc, who owns several restaurants in Siem Reap and also runs a culinary school for local Cambodians - teaching them Cambodian and French fusion cooking. The school also conveniently offer half day classes for tourists. In class today, it was me, a French couple, and their two children (aged 10 and 12). Our Cambodian instructors only spoke English (and Khmer), but luckily for all of us, cooking is a pretty universal language - and the French adults spoke some English.

Our group picked out six different dishes to cook and we went to the local market to buy some of the ingredients (the restaurant had most of them but I got to pick my fish etc.) I made a mango salad for an appetizer and Amok for an entree (the local favorite fish dish I wrote about earlier). It was SO delicious. Very easy to make, although securing the necessary spices in a Western supermarket will probably be a little trickier. I also helped the kids make shrimp and vege spring roles that we hand rolled and then fried. Their parents made a chicken ginger dish and a seafood curry. Around 1:00 the cooking was finished and we sat down to feast - it was a wonderful experience! I really feel like I could spend another few weeks eating my way through this country. It is also nice not to have to feel too guilty stuffing myself every meal since I'll need all the fuel I can get for the 7-day climb :)

I am spending my last few hours here lounging by the pool and packing before heading out in about an hour. I fly to Bangkok (with a 4 hour layover) then a red-eye to Ethiopia (with a 5 hour layover) then finally to Kilimanjaro airport. I arrive tomorrow afternoon around 3:00pm Tanzanian time and will meet up with Sam and Jared at the hotel. If I don't write before starting the climb - check back next Monday for the blog on Kili - and to see if we made it to the summit! Oh - and pray that Ethiopian airlines isn't as sketchy as I'm fearing it will be...

Floating Villages

It is hard to believe that in only three days we went transitioned from Vietnamese villages in the clouds to Cambodian villages on the water. This morning (yes it was difficult to wake up), we drove out to one of the floating villages near Siem Reap and spent an hour or so touring the village by long boat. We learned that over 80,000 people live in these villages although I find it hard to believe some of the ''house boats" can survive the weather conditions in the rainy seasons. It is quite a site... children paddle around in little buckets with snakes (yes large snakes) draped around their shoulders trying to get some money from tourists. There are also floating churches, schools, and super markets. The predominant work is obviously fishing... although we learned that fishing also includes pulling no less than 4,500 snakes out of the river every day. This is probably one of the very few bodies of water you couldn't pay me to jump into knowing that fact. (Fried snake is actually a delicacy here - as is crocodile, we saw some of those too). Life in this village is almost impossible for me to imagine... here are some pics I found online until I can upload my own in August.

We spent the afternoon walking around town, shopping at the market, eating, and getting $5 massages. We actually attempted to go back to Viroth before Em had to leave, but they didn't open until 7:00pm so we had an early dinner in town. I signed up for a cooking class tomorrow morning that I'm really excited for. They will take me to the local market to pick out food and I can choose whatever dish I want to learn how to make... then we cook and eat lunch!

The 'Other' Cambodia Experience

It should probably be noted that the previous Cambodia entries in this blog were all written last night around 2:00am after at least three pitchers of Angkor beer consumed at the infamous Angkor What? bar on pub street. Everything about loving Cambodia is true though. Em and I have had an amazing time here - she just hopped in a cab for the airport and I, luckily, have one more full day before I have to leave. I would most definitely consider coming back here and volunteering for an extended period of time. For any OW people reading, Siem Reap could be an ideal place for an NPF. The people are among the nicest I have ever encountered, food and nightlife is superb, the history - albeit a depressing one is rich and impossible to ignore since you drive by Angkor Wat every day (which we were told was nominated for one of the wonders of the world), and it seems that there is no shortage of opportunities to help as the majority of Cambodians are still living on less than $1 a day. Oh - and did I mention it's beautiful??? And we have seen lots of elephants :)

We spent all day yesterday (at least 8 hours) driving around to all of the major temples of Angkor. We planned on dedicating only one day - which people told us was enough, but if I had to do it again I would get a three day pass. There is just SO much to see. We hired a guide and a driver - the only way to go really. Words could never do justice to the experience. I am not even going to try. Rather, I have listed the highlights below with some links to the Wiki articles and pics so you can get an idea. I don't think I had a favorite - I loved them all for different reasons.

• Our first stop was the Bayon Temple - they say it is ideal to do this one in the morning because as the sun rises, it slowly illuminates the 216 faces on many towers on the temple. This was the central temple in a city so after exploring the temple we explored the ruins surrounding the area as well.
• The next stop was Ta Prohm. I know I said I didn't have a favorite, but if I could go back to any of them and explore some more, it would probably be this one. Here are some more pics online - if the link doesn't work just Google image Ta Prohm. As you can see from the pictures it has been merged with the jungle - so amazing. (It is also the sight where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider - going to have to put that one on my Netflix when I get home)
• The third temple we visited, Bantaey Srei was the smallest of the day but is known for its incredibly intricate carvings covering almost all of the sandstone on the temple
• We saved the biggest for last. Angkor Wat is arguably the most impressive structure in Cambodia (there is even a picture on the national flag) We spent ~3 hours touring and learning the stories of all of the bas-reliefs carved on the walls. As we were leaving, it started to rain for a few minutes and a rainbow came out and covered the temple. I wish I could upload the pictures.
• To conclude the tour, we hiked up a 'mountain' to another temple... name has slipped my mind... for an areal view of Angkor Wat at sunset.

For dinner we went to a restaurant called Viroth - it was recommended by one of Em's work friends. It was by far the best meal we have had on the trip and probably the best I will have for the next month. If you are ever in Cambodia, eat here!!! I ordered the local specialty, which is called Amok. It is pieces of white fish in a coconut broth with herbs and lemongrass. So delicious.

After dinner... I think the previous three blogs tell the story. It was fun to go out one night on the trip since I will definitely be in detox mode the next 2 weeks for Kili and the safari. So far - I think it was my favorite day of the trip.

I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!!!!!!

People should come here....


more often....

P.S. Our tour guide claimed to be Maddox's father. I think he was one of many. More info on temples to follow


Is our beer here yet?

I am a giant

People in Wisconsin tell me I am small. I am larger than everone in this country. So is Em, and she is smaller than me.

Random guy to Em: How long are you here for? (referring to the country)
Em: 5 min so make it good (thinking he meant the bar...)
Random guy to Em: Wait, you're from America, how do you say $%&*$

.......

We are currently in the business center at the hotel, specially opened for us upon our escape from angkor what? with angkor beers being delivered as I type

Angkor What?

Promoting irresponsible drinking since 1998.


People have told us you can do Cambodia in a day. They are on drugs. Em and I never want to leave the best country ever.

Love,
Em & Lisa


Ba

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

The night before last we took the overnight train from Sapa back to Hanoi. As with most overnight trains, stores tend to close before the train actually departs leaving one with little to do while waiting. Since the fumes in the station were nauseating, Em and I wasted the time by doing our bed time rituals on the steps outside of a restaurant. This included brushing our teeth, using baby wipes to remove the top layer of dirt from our arms and legs, taking our western medicines, and amusing ourselves for at least 15 minutes by playing with lighters that doubled as flashlights with images of various naked women. Ok, so the last one wasn't routine but we could only ward off the street vendors for so long.

Yesterday morning in Hanoi we were overcharged by a taxi driver who took usto Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum (it was raining so we decided against themoto.). Although he wanted to be cremated, Ho's body underwent a year long embalming process led by the chief soviet embalmer, Dr. Sergei Debrov. Today the Vietnamese have made Ho's place of rest a site ofpilgrimage and we counted at least 50 armed guards as we filed by his embalmed corpse.

Transport to the airport was included with our Sapa tour cost. They insisted on getting us there 2 hours early. Upon arrival, We were greeted with the following message: "Vietnam airlines regrets to advise that your flight is cancelled due to for ensure the operational conditions of flight. Vietnam airlines will protect passengers." We then had 5 glorious hours in the airport waiting for the next flight. Entertainment: fantasizing about the much needed shower we would getto take at the Meridian in Cambodia and periodically jumping up andstanding on our seats when rats would run by. (I am not kidding) We eventually marched with determination into the business class lounge trying look like we belonged despite the various colors of dirt coating our bodies, several backpacks on our shoulders, and my mudcovered hiking boots slung over one arm. 30 minutes later they kicked us out.

We finally made it to Cambodia last night, had a shower and a great dinner at the hotel, and are off this morning to see the temples of Angkor.

More Rice Wine Please?

After dinner (about 8:30) Em and I climbed into our loft, settled in under our mosquito nets, and began reading. Five minutes later, our local guide, Len, came upstairs and told us we were needed downstairs because there was another tourist, (Cristof from Germany) visiting and we were all going to sing songs. We shared a skeptical glance (both picturing learning a Vietnamese version of Kum Ba Yah) but obliged and went downstairs. The "campfire" songs turned out to be Karaoke - a full library of thousands of random songs in 10 different languages. More rice wine please??? We settled for some Tiger instead but only managed to sing about 2 songs since one of the drunk locals would not surrender the Mic. 2 hours of bad karaoke later, we finally went to bed.

Waking up to the sunrise in the village was amazing. I don't know why people opt for hotel stays when a home stay complete with banana crepes in the morning is an option. No clouds in the sky today and we trekked for another 2.5 hours this morning crossing the midpoint of a waterfall on the way back. Not satisfied with the workout, once we returned to Sapa and had lunch, Em, Cristof and I walked for another 2 hours exploring one more hill tribe nearby. Tonight we take the overnight train back to Hanoi, and have tomorrow morning there before flying to Cambodia tomorrow afternoon.

Cloud Cities

Yesterday Emily and I arrived in Sapa around 6:00am after taking an overnight train from Hanoi. (Click the link for pictures I found online of the city and the Hmong peope) We set off on our trek around 9:00 with our guide from the tour agency, and a local guide at our request to take us more "off the beaten path." Unfortunately, it rained on and off during 6 hours we were hiking, but about 5 minutes in we gave up trying to stay dry or clean. I at least was breaking in the Kili gear and had decent boots and trekking clothes. Emily, who sent most of her stuff home with her boyfriend after her Thailand trip was wearing gear that was more appropriate for a Duke tailgate - yes, complete with high, argyle, pink & black socks.

We were up in the mountains - and despite the rain the scenery was beautiful. Villages just appeared out of nowhere as we walked in and out of the low hanging clouds and along the rice paddies on the sides of the mountains. We were definitely atypical tourists for our guide who I believe was used to dragging large and lazy Americans on the more traditional routes from village to village. Both guides were wearing jeans and panting much more heavily than we were on the uphill parts. Tan, our guide from the agency who acted like an over-protective father when we were running off, was a bit of a walking disaster managing to get bitten by some strange bug, fall in the mud several times, and twist his ankle. He kept commenting on how "strong" we were because we could walk for more than a couple hours a day. It might be the first time in my life someone described me as being strong.

Around 3:30 we arrived at one of the ethnic minority villages where we spent the night with a family. I thought dinner was the best we've had in Vietnam with 6 or 7 dishes including pork, chicken, beef, spring rolls, veges, etc. Emily branched out from her usual white rice and tried a tofu dish they made for her since we said she was a vegetarian. We were also presented with shot glasses of rice wine at dinner. After learning the traditional welcome toast, Em and I threw down the shots and almost gave them a heart attack. Apparently it was not meant to be a shot but rather this was their regular cup size and meant to be an offering of hospitality. We explained how American "frat-boy" culture differs and on round 2 they decided to take their "shots" like true Americans.

Hoa Lo

After dropping our bags at a tourism office in Hanoi, we took a motor bike to Hoa Lo Prison (aka The Hanoi Hilton) where U.S. POWs, including John McCain, were incarcerated from 1967 to 1973. Unlike HCM, Hanoi has actually invested in traffic lights which made the journey much less frightening. After looking at many pictures of the Senator, including one of him being pulled out of Trum Bach Lake (sp?) after his plane was shot down, we left the prison to see Hoan Keim Lake and grab an early dinner.

We are supposed to leave on an overnight train for Sapa tonight, a small town on Vietnam's tallest mountain, where we will do a 28k trek and stay with one of the hill tribe families for a night. However, it appears that the gods are hoping we will stay in Hanoi since they have conveniently arranged for us to "lose" (regretfully throw away) all documentation from our travel agency (e.g. where the agency is and where we are supposed to be going.) We are hoping some beers and broken English will guide us back within the hour so that we can catch our train.

Boat People

After the fall of Saigon in 1975 thousands of Vietnamese tried to escape by boat - coining the phrase "boat people." The boats, not intended for navigating open waters, would typically head toward busy international shipping lanes. The lucky ones would succeed in being rescued by foreign freighters. The unlucky ones faced a much more difficult journey, sometimes not succeeding at all. Thanks to a great book recommendation from Russell, I am reading Catfish and Mandala, an autobiography of Andrew Pham who was one of the lucky survivors to make it to America. I highly reommend it for the both the story and the history.

Emily and I spent the last two days on a very different type of boat, a junk to be exact. Complete with our own bathroom, air conditioned cabin, and about 15 other tourists, we cruised around some of the 3,000 islands that make up Halong Bay. The scenery was everything the book promised although the experience was more commercial than what I hoped for. We walked through some caves several stories deep and several New York blocks wide, climbed to the top of one of the small islands, and enjoyed a swim in the Bay. Meals were extravagant with 5-6 courses, mostly seafood. Emily pretended to be a vegetarian and ate mostly rice which left me with several helpings of fresh shrimp, fish, and crab.

Night on the boat was peaceful and this morning after checking out some other caves / islands, we drove back to Hanoi. The only hitch was a much needed bathroom break on the ride home. Our mute and deaf driver (with inch long fingernails - I'm not kidding) did not understand us at all. It took 20 minutes of every word for bathroom and toilet that we knew plus numerous gestures until Emily finally tried to open the door while we were moving before he got the idea and pulled over.

When in Rome... Part 2

Following our tour of Cu Chi we set off for the Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam. Since I hadn't eaten in almost 7 hours I was naturally starting to get cranky. Our guide, Long, informed us that we would have a feast upon our arrival complete with elephant, a local delicacy. Now, I am all about embracing local culture and trying new foods, but the thought of eating an elephant was horrifying to me. Horrifying to me but hilarious to Long and Emily since the elephant turned out to be a type of large fish caught in the river, not the animal for which this blog is named. (I also learned that they do eat crocodiles now, but not elephants)

After our four course lunch we donned our $1 conical hats, sipped from our coconuts, and boarded a long boat to tour the Ben Tre peninsula of the Mekong Delta region. Via walking, row boat, and horse and carriage we stopped by a coconut candy factory and a honey bee farm. The honey bee farm was also home to Big Baby, a 5-year-old, 50 pound python. Although we refused to drape it over our shoulders for a picture, we did pet it. (Ok - I only touched it with one finger but for those of you who are familiar with my fear of snakes this is a big deal.) Our guide said the mother weighed over 130 pounds and was in a cage on the other side of the house. After the elephant incident I didn't believe him, but sure enough, mom was right around the corner and needless to say we did not stop to pet her.

Before heading home we stopped at Unicorn Island to sample all of the local fruits. Yes Laura, the mix included both dragon fruit and sapodilla (sp?). You would also be proud that I stopped at most trees and asked whether or not the things growing on them were edible.

Tonight we are supposed to go out with Vinh to a local karaoke bar, but given that we have a 6:30am flight to Hanoi tomorrow morning we might opt for sleep. As Em said, "You convinced me to run around through villages and sleep in random people's huts, of course I'm want to get some sleep in the hotel tonight!"

When in Rome... Part 1

Until this week, it it pretty safe to say that my knowledge of the Vietnam war was predominantly limited to what I have learned from American propaganda. It has been intriguing, to say the least, to see the other side of the story. Emily and I spent our morning touring Cu Chi, a 124 mile complex of tunnels excavated by Viet Minh and Viet Cong fighters over 25 years of conflict. I happened to bring the recent Economist survey on Vietnam with me on this trip, and I think the opening article might do more justice than I can.

"Knees and knuckles scraping the ground, the visitors struggle to keep up with the tour guide who is briskly leading the way through the labyrinth of claustrophobic burrows dug into the hard earth. The legendary Cu Chi tunnels, from which the Viet Cong launched waves of surprise attacks on the Americans during the Vietnam war, are now a popular tourist attraction. Alongside the wreckage of an abandoned M41 tank another friendly guide demonstrates a dozen types of improvised boob-traps with sharp spikes that were set in and around the tunnels to maim pursuing American soldiers. The Vietnamese not only welcome the tourist dollars Cu Chi brings in, but are also rather proud of it. They feel it demonstrates their ingenuity, adaptability, perseverance and, above all, their determination to resist much stronger foreign invaders, as the country has done many times down the centuries"

Following the booby traps and the crawling, or more like duck waddling through the tunnels, we took our turn at the firing range shooting an AK-47. Em was especially excited for this experience. I on the other hand have always been terrified of guns. There was definitely a scream and jump the first time I pulled the trigger. The second time I think I managed to keep my eyes open but it is probably safe to say that I came no where close to hitting the target... and I still have a fear of guns.

Things Overheard at Caravelle

Last night, Russell (my mom's former professor colleague), took me, Emily, and his Vietnamese friend, Vinh, out for a drink at Caravelle, a hotel that can best be described as the Gansevort of Vietnam. Over a cocktail on the 9th floor roof deck (while small women wearing very short red dresses serenaded us to American songs), we learned the following:

• The owner of our hotel is the current judge on Vietnam idol. This is especially awesome for me because there is a piano in the lobby that I can play while waiting for breakfast
• Most streets in Ho Chi Minh are named for people who expelled foreigners
• "Em" means either "child" or "loved one" depending on the context
• Vinh's favorite American artists are Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias, Jessica Simpson, and The Beatles
• Food to try while we're here (or more specifically food I will try while Emily sticks to her daily loaf of bread): Ca Kho - fish cooked in fish sauce in a clay pot, Canh Chua - hot pot with fish or chicken, and of course, the local staple, pho (pronounced fe).

Crossing to Safety

I left my apartment just after 9:00am Monday morning. ~27 hours later I arrived at our hotel in Ho Chi Minh. Some words of advice for anyone planning a similar trip. First, if you are flying ANA and are taller than 5 feet, you will not be comfortable in economy class. (I think I was spoiled by the economy class in Thai Air). Second, ANA seems to have a weird aversion to dimming the cabin lighting so the 14 hour flight to Tokyo was all spent in bright fluorescent light (not very conducive to sleeping). On the positive side, arriving at midnight meant I had a full night to sleep and have thus hopefully avoided jet lag.

I have been told many things about Ho Chi Minh City, especially about the traffic here. None of them adequately prepared me for actually walking around in this overcrowded, over polluted city. The government for some reason has decided not to invest in traffic lights, so crossing the street is an art. Real advice from the locals: "Step off the curb and walk at a slow yet steady pace directly into all oncoming traffic and trust that the hundreds of motorcycles, cars and buses will swerve around you" As for one-way streets, if you're on a motorcycle and want to go down a one-way street, no big deal because you can just drive the opposite way on the sidewalk. Tonight we will be a part of the traffic since we are taking motorcycles to dinner with one of my mom's former colleagues who happens to be teaching history in Vietnam this summer. (Mom - don't freak out - there is a law mandating helmets)

Emily and I have definitely lucked out having our own personal tour guide (and history professor) who pointed us to the must-see tourist attractions. While navigating the streets of HCMC, we managed visit the Reunification Palace (official "White House" of the South until 1975), and the War Remnants museum. The real fun should begin tomorrow on our first excursion outside the city... let's just say shooting an AK-47 will be involved.