Benjamin Goes To Africa!

Interesting...

2008-08-07T19:06:59Z

I believe that the animated series aladdin gave me unrealistic expectations about Egypt.

bengoestoafrica @ 2008-05-27T10:14:00

2008-05-27T23:25:29Z

So I'm done with Africa.

I've had a little too much to drink, but that's normal, it would seem, to facilitate that which I’ve always wished to express and always found myself unable to do so.

I'm done with Africa, and I've come to detest the continent with a vile passion. I expected it to be full of the broken hearted, but instead I've found it full of the, for lack of a better word, slothful.

My dreams are no longer plagued with the 'Why' and the resolution of conventional help I once believed to be possible, but with a seeming intrinsic knowledge [I know why now, and my disillusionment clashes] of a realization that the solution I once sought is but a question.

And, with a heavy, unclean heart [my dreams of absolution dissipate at this point entirely], I regret to myself, that my work here, is just beginning.

But maybe, perhaps, nay, definitively… That was my dream all along.

I can’t recall the reference, but some dude, once asked – What will become of the great generals once there are no battles left to fight?

I Am The Very Model, Of A Modern Major General

2008-05-14T21:14:17Z

The message, I was trying to convey in my last post (as it seems it was somewhat ambiguous to
the casual reader) is that I am in two minds about the finale of my trip. I'll miss the
people on the trip, but not so much the trip itself, but I'm also really looking forward to
coming home and dealing with all the usual things one has to deal with in a day-to-day
western lifestyle.

i.e: The central topic of today won't be "Was it appropriate that Ben sang a song about the
12 year old homeless kids dying early of a preventable disease" or "Should I do my washing that I haven't done in two months" but "How am I going to pay my mortgage payment on time whilst affording to get drunk every night to deal with the stress of not being able to pay my mortgage payment on time".

But anyway, yes, I am in two minds about the end of the trip. But that's cool. As the great Susan Ivanova once said; We all have our cross to bear.

As a side note, the last thing I said to anyone tonight was “Do you mind if I steal a beer from your bar”, and the guy at the bar said, “Why not take two”, before heading off to bed and leaving the access codes to his computer.

Why not take two indeed.

The Goal In Sight Again

2008-05-08T11:42:05Z

So this is probably going to be one of my last entries…

Kind of depressing, really. Kathy pointed out today how sad it was, and it kind of like, hit me, yeah, it is sad. I've traveled with these people, like, every day, for five months straight. *sob*

But anyway... I escaped from Zimbabwe fine after uncle bob decided he won the election, and bungee jumped off the bridge at Victoria Falls on the way out(which was *max* awesome). We've poodled out of South Africa and into Swaziland, and from there to Mozambique, where I am at the moment, which has really cool beaches.

It's like theres this giant impending doom about going back home, but I'm kind of getting bored with Africa and camping. Hell, the most intellectually engaging thing I've done in the past week is get stuck into the Golden Compass Trilogy, which totally kicks ass.

I can't really think of anything else to say at the moment, aside from I'm really looking forward to getting a job... So I guess I'll let someone else say it for me, in something that I've had stuck in my head for the past two or three weeks:

At times I almost dream
I too have spent a life the sages' way,
And tread once more familiar paths. Perchance
I perished in an arrogant self-reliance
Ages ago; and in that act a prayer
For one more chance went up so earnest, so
Instinct with better light let in by death,
That life was blotted out -- not so completely
But scattered wrecks enough of it remain,
Dim memories, as now, when once more seems
The goal in sight again.
-Robert Browning.

Update, Of Sorts.

2008-04-18T10:25:38Z

So about a week ago I was at South Lauanga national park, camping & contending with hippos & elephants right outside my tent, going on game drives starting at ruddy stupid hours (5AM!), visiting a textiles factory and a really awesome village.

The visit to the textiles factory was cool and for the first time, I’ve stopped and thought, hey, I could like, have this factory. This factory could be mine. I was poking around all clandestine like with my camera, taking pictures and making mental notes.

And I started thinking, wow, look how the African has come and made this really cool factory, and then I bump in the one of the managers of the factory, a white European, just like all the other managers. I ask a few questions, and she eventually goes, oh, how would you like a tour?

The village project in the local area was also really cool. You could actually talk the villagers without them asking for money, everything was clean (well, as clean as mud huts can get) and I had a good old chat with one of the guys there who was around my age about the differences in our culture. Very enlightening.

Four days ago I was canoing down the Zambezi (Runs along the Zim-Zambia border, one side of the river is Zimbabwe & the other is Zambia), yet again contending with hippos & elephants, except the hippos were allot more of a dangeresque. This was really, really cool fun, paddling about, covering about 25km a day and camping on islands in the middle of the river.

There was a little incident with an elephant wandering right up to our camp (Elephants are a crapload more scary when you're 4 meters away from them on foot, not in like, a car 10 meters away from them) and poking around whilst we were all crouched down by canoes trying to decide if we'd chance it with the hippos if the elephant charged.

And now I'm sitting in a cafe` at Livingstone, crossing into Zim this afternoon. Sitting in the bus this morning, I felt a little pang of excitement reading the newly posted information sheet up the front, Zimbabwe, Population: 15 Million, Land Area: 370 Million Square KM, Head Of State: Robert Mugabe.

I saw the headline of a paper the other day which said something akin to "Problem? What Problem. Extortion, Murders & Still No Results, Robert Says There Is No Problem". Our cook (from Zim) says that there’s secret police EVERYWHERE, and we're not to talk about anything political or else we will get arrested.

But other than that, I'm thinking about bungee jumping off Victoria Falls & really looking forward to Zim. And as always, I hope all is well in the world of everyone else,

-Benjamin

Woo, Party!

2008-04-02T10:58:06Z

I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Stone Town at the moment, having spent the past four days partying on Zanzibar.

Yes, I said partying. There was fun to be found. We met a bunch of people from another truck (A bright yellow Toucan Travel truck that only accepts 18 - 35 year olds) in Dar, and they ended up staying in the same beach resort we were.

The first night over here we checked out a bar called Mercury’s, so called because Freddy Mercury was born here. Following what seems to be the trend here, the band started off really slow, totally not interested and paying more attention to the football on TV than the music they were playing.

Then a few hours into their second set around 10PM it all totally changed and Zanzbarian Ray Charles (Who looked just like normal Ray Charles and we're pretty sure was also blind, or just a real try hard wearing sunnies inside after dark) started jumping up and down singing Queen Cover songs.

The day after we trekked up to a resort on the Northern half of the island where we spent 3 days. Our hotel was right on the beach, all the restaurants are right on the beach and so were all the bars.

There's this one bar called "Cholos" that’s set up like a bit of a ship, half beached on the beach. The first time we walked past it seemed pretty dead so we headed to a dodgy looking local joint. The guy there, evidently the owner or bar manager asks if we want some snacks, and brings us some dodgy looking fish and chips which no one eats.

Twenty minutes later he comes back and demands payment for them, $45 USD, ten times what it should be. So we get into a bit of an altercation and several power cuts happen, making things alot more edgy, but we get out of it all right agreeing to pay $10USD and make our way back along the beach, and stop at the first bar we come across, Cholos.

So we're sitting around drinking some beer, and then suddenly, around midnight, the music gets turned up, everywhere else shuts and converges on Cholos and the place totally goes off. I didn't make it into bed until 6AM that night (and 4/3AM on the two subsequent nights) totally saturated & exhausted after alternating between swimming and dancing on the bar all night.

I love this island.

We Don't Have It But We'll Order It From...

2008-03-28T09:32:01Z

*yawn*

I'm out of Kenya now, and into Tanzania. Currently in Da Es Salam, crossing over to Zanzibar tomorrow, for several days.

We changed trucks at Nairobi, and the new one totally kicks ass. Tons bigger & there's less people. I also had a nice little break (where I was attacked by a baby elephant) in Nairobi, which was nice. There's a lack of Fun Nazi's on the truck which is also nice.

As suspected, everything is getting more cleaner, more western and more expensive. Internet cafes are still few and far between, hence my lack of updates.

Coming back from the Serengeti the other day (in jeeps, we weren't allowed to bring the truck in for some reason or another) I was thinking, wow, it's going to be really good to get back to the truck. And then I realized that I was thinking of the truck as I'd think of my home.

The Serengeti, by the way, was pretty cool. I've seen all of the so "Big 5" - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard & Rhino several times. We also went to some Ngorogoro crater, which was like a self contained eco system as it's totally cut off from everything else and was totally amazing.

The village visits we've conducted have also been really, really cool. There's very little begging and you can have actual conversations with natives. I was speaking to some Masi the other day who told me there's over 5 million of them still living traditionally.

My head is kinda wishy washy on account of an evening of debauchery with the owner of a lodge we stayed at. Seriously, who the hell lets someone like me behind the bar and says "Right, go for it!". The two of us, and his two guards burnt through some several hundred dollars worth of Alcohol, which is a hell of alot in the 3rd world.

Urgh. Saw a beach for the first time since the start of the trip. Camping right on one, which is really awesome. Apparently we've got huts also on the beach when we go to Zanzibar. There's also a billion different flavours of ice-cream.

Anywho, must dash, it's getting late and if you're white and caught outside after dark, the city gets all Dusk Till Dawn on your ass.

Staying At Gethsemane

2008-03-12T13:10:29Z

I haven’t written anything in what seems like ages despite the face I keep on meaning to. I suggested the other day we change the trucks name from Maggie to Virgil and given my recent apathetic attitude to writing (which may have something to do with my aliments – But I’m feeling better now, woo!), I’m thinking the road to hell is just really paved with intentions, good or otherwise.

We crossed into Kenya a few days ago and the left the Rift without incident. The Omo Valley (in the Rift) was a touch disappointing, namely, I think, on account of something the books have termed “Ferengi Fever”.

Ferengi fever (Ferengi is Ethiopian for foreigner) would best be described as begging extreme. Tens upon tens of people not only all shout “You You You!” they also manhandle you and demand payment for everything .Easily worse than Egypt and totally not pleasant.

Also whilst in the Rift, outside a Hammer tribe village, where I met a serial killer ,I placed an very cheap bottle of local gin in the fridge. James & Jordan then happened upon said bottle of gin after several beers. Later, around 4AM, after waking up several people with inane shouting, James vomited all over his tent mates (Jo) hair & sleeping gear, with the water not coming on until 7AM.

It’s all good tho – It’s totally detracted from my so called “Obnoxious Behavior” and “Gratuitous use of a certain 4 letter word” when Henrick and I finished off the first two bottles of gin. It’s the opinion of a few truckers (leaders included) that a majority of the truck are fun nazis.

But anyway, the serial killer I met was a legit tribal warrior. Apparently these tribes that live near each other in the rift have been giving each other hell for the past 3,000 years, and every so often it escalates into a full on brawl. For every kill, a warrior makes a line of notches on his body, and the guy I was talking to had 9 lines.

I asked the head man why the government didn’t do anything to stop them fighting and he informed me in a very matter of a fact way that they have more guns and fighting men than the government. Also I can have his marry his daughter for 150 cows.

Feeling Better, Woo!

2008-03-12T12:01:21Z

Wayne walked up to a group of us the day before yesterday and told us that Henrick, known for his pedantic cleaning habits was in their bathroom mopping up traces of muddy footprints left from wayne checking their hot water system.

So we all have a bit of a chuckle and I get stuck with a rather humorous idea – Go make it dirty again. With pockets full of dirty & Wayne’s permission I make my way up the hill to their room.

Henrick is sitting out the front and I ask him if this was Wayne’s room as if to feign an errand. I enter and he shouts after me “Don’t make it dirty!” and I just about explode trying to stifle a laugh.

Wayne finds me some time later and I am informed that Henrick is now convinced that monkeys broke in through the window and spread dirt everywhere.

I had a fairly interesting chat with the owner of the newly constructed hotel, Jackamov, we were staying in about the building process and how his 30 room hotel, include restaurant, cost him just under USD$200,000 to construct.

Marty bought back the niece, Helena, of our local guide who helped her with some shopping yesterday. She happened upon Henrick and myself who had spent the better part of the afternoon working our way through a bottle of local gin procured for 40 burr ($5AUD).

Long story short, somewhere along the line Henrick has her braiding my hair, local stylez. Much hilarity was had but the rest of the night is a touch fuzzy as Henrick decided to buy us another bottle.

The looks I received today from the locals were more hilarious than usual, they’re totally fascinated by white legs. I took them out a few hours ago (it took a very, very long time) and all my hair like, fizzed out in an amusing manner.

Which brings me to now, laying in bed, finishing the entry I started several hours ago in the dark as there is no power on the cusp of a storm. Jackamov wouldn’t let me kill a dangerous spider yesterday. Said I was in the spiders village.

I Haven't Had A Beer In 3 Weeks

2008-02-20T14:43:36Z

I'm starting to get a tad... Irate with this continent. I've been sick again, and everything that I would have just accepted and maybe even found a touch amusing, or at least, interesting (such as being told that there is no black (or as they call it here, turkish) coffee, just coffee with milk, which if ordered, comes like a normal coffee, and a small pot of milk on the side) has been irritating me to all hell.

Being ill is totally crap. Everyone else has been out partying until the wee hours and I’ve been going to bed at 9PM. We're in Addis, the capital of Ethiopia at the moment, leaving tomorrow for the so called "Wilderness" and a few weeks of solid camping... So I finally seceded to popular opinion and went to see an actual doctor yesterday, which was quite an experience.

Juanita, a nurse from Victoria, who has been really awesome, offered to come along and make sure they didn't try and inject me with aids whilst selling it to me as antibiotics, but I declined, deciding it would be more of an adventure if I went on my own. After failing to find the place (I didn't really put in that much of an effort), I jumped in a taxi.

After going through two security checkpoints, I finally reach reception, they find someone that speaks English for me and I pay 60 burr ($6.60 USD) to see a doctor. He seems pretty cool, we have a bit of a chat, he pokes me a bit, tells me that I need to have some tests done, gives me a form, scribbles on it and tells me to go pay more money.

So I pay 80 burr ($8.80 USD), go to the lab in the same building, some dude takes my blood, and to my utter surprise his name isn't Yarnie, gives me a jar and tells me to go fill it, pointing me to a small room. I return the jar, and go sit down.

Twenty minutes later, the lab-man tells me the tests are ready, and to tell the nurse. I do so and go sit down, somewhat confused about what to do next. Five minutes later, the doctor calls me back into his office, and says the most hilarious thing. Once I’ve taken my seat, he looks at his watch, shakes his head a little and says … "A white man in Africa shouldn't have to wait". I'm somewhat taken back, explain that if everyone else has to wait, so do I, and then he demands to know why people in Australia don't all speak French.

It's all in jest (I think), and he eventually says there’s nothing major wrong, gives me a script for some antibiotics and sends me on my merry way. I taxi back, and go to sleep.

That was yesterday, and I’m starting to feel better now. My nose, which has been blocked since Aswan, Egypt has become unblocked. The downside of which, is of course, that everything in this forsaken continent smells... Kinda funky.

A couple of people are leaving the trip, as the second stage, Sudan & Ethiopian Highlands came to a close today, which is a bit sad, but the way things work, I guess.

All that said, now I’ve had a bit of a rant about being sick, here and several times on IRC, I do feel a bit better and find myself looking forward to the next league of the trip, Tribes & Wildlife of The Rift.

The Lying Mirror

2008-02-20T12:47:44Z

I tire of dusty roads. Of sad faces, of filthy squalor.
I grow wear of disgusting smells & sights. Unsanitary practices& unhygenic locals.
I scorn illiteracy & those who are so, paralleled with a definitive lack of pride & independence.
There is a foul taste in my mouth; And the taste, is Africa.

bengoestoafrica @ 2008-02-14T04:40:00

2008-02-14T13:49:42Z

First off, I just wanted to say a thanks to everyone that’s commented or emailed me thus far, your well-wishes are really appreciated :)

Second off, today, I had the best day I’ve had in Africa so far. Whilst expressing my indecision about staying in bed today or visiting another church I was informed by fellow trucker Jo that visiting stone churches here, in this particular town, was the reason for her coming on the entire trip.

The churches were, pretty awesome. Cut totally, totally out of the stone, just like, right down, into the rock. Really earthy and textured. Plus I was feeling better.

I met some guy, and got a talking to him, and it turns out he runs a local orphanage/school. There used to be a huge big problem with begging in this town, but then he bought in his orphanage/school and got the begging out of their system, so they don’t end up as professional beggars. I had an awesome chat with him, then he showed me his school/orphanage, and didn’t ask me for anything.

I manage to find some internet, a seeminly impossible task, it's not impossibily slow, I get to respond to some emails & post two entires i'd had typed out but not posted.

I was sitting on the floor in one of the stone churches, and the guide (he had some funny psudo-french name, Michael I think) says that I can sit on the chair if I like. I say to him that I like sitting on the floor, it gives me a perspective on things (all the wall/roof is painted). I have a bit of a chat with him, and he eventually tells me all about the preservation process he’s choreographing to take care of all the churches, as hes like the head main guy in charge of everything.

Eventually when we leave, he says goodbye, and tells me I should stop by and say hello next time I’m here, and he’ll get me into a tour group/tour for free.

Then that night, we’re sitting down for tea, and I get this grilled fish, that is the best fish I’ve tasted in 45 days. It actually tastes like fish and isn’t burnt.

What a brilliant day, hooray.

Blerg

2008-02-14T13:22:55Z

So I’ve been sick again, but no real surprises there – I’ve decided that I’m allergic to 3rd world countries. After all, I was fine with the 12 hours I was in Singapore.

It hasn’t been so bad, really, I guess. I’ve had the attention of both a doctor and a nurse who have delivered invaluable assistance in knocking what would be my 4th bout of food poisoning on the head, Some fo the advice is unwelcome (but adhered to), like no alcohol/coffee/anything but bland foodstuffs for the next 5 days.

It’s the general consensus that I’m also suffering from altitude sickness (but 1/3rd of the group seems to be getting it to some degree. Apparently the younger you are, the harder it hits.

Seen a couple of things recently, bar the past few days, having slept constantly the past four excluding transit times on truck.

About, a week ago now, we went up to the palace of the queen of Sheba & the compound housing the Ark of The Covenant. The only person allowed to see it, however, is the single caretaker priest who spends his entire life in this 600sqm church.

Not even the head of the church, the Ethiopian pope guy is allowed in, who, incidentally, I saw a few days later at a hotel in Mekele and who also, incidentally, looked rather hilarious, covered in bling and having people stopping in front of him to kiss one of his oversized golden chains and/or feet.
We’ve visited a few rock churches which seem predominant throughout Ethiopia, which are pretty cool – Substantially sized buildings just carved into the side of some rock mountain.

The incidents of begging are becoming less and less surreptitious with many resorting to “Hello” “MONEY!” or “PEN!”, or going forgoing the formalities and just demanding, right off the bat, “GIVE ME A PEN!”

I’m yet to have a conversation with an Ethopian not in my employ that hasn’t ended with “Oh can you do me a favor and buy me a text book” (so that I can sell back to the shop keeper because we’re all in on it).

bengoestoafrica @ 2008-02-02T18:00:00

2008-02-14T13:02:19Z

I had something of a day off today. There was a choice, as there always seems to be nowadays, of visiting an ancient monastery perched on some obscure mountain, but the prospect of driving six hours on a dusty road wasn’t all that appealing.

So the most difficult thing I had accomplished today, aside from checking my email (which took close to two hours to login and respond to two messages) was constructing a margarita. You might laught, but in a third world country it was a total mission and a half, taking me close to 45 minutes and costing the daily wages of the average Ethiopian.

If theres any manor grip I’ve got with this country (and sudan for that matter) it’s the distinct unavailability of orange juice that tastes anything remotely like orange juice. And today, whilst in the kitchen of the local expensive western hotel (I’m not staying there, it’s far too uppity for us overlanders) on my margarita mission, I discovered why – The African idea of orange juice (or lime/lemon juice) is a single orange & 500ml of water, blended together, rind and all.

I made one, in the end, and spent the day lounging around a pool, took a took-took (It’s kind of like a half-motorbike half car, with two seats on the back) across town to a hotel on a mountain, waiting for some fellow travelers to show up for some sundowners.

The view here is pretty unreal, overlooking some real obelisks, a pretty cool mountain, a fairly cool town, whats shaping up to be a kickass sunsunet & the church (allegedly) holding the Ark Of The Covenant.

Looks like they just showed up, bai!

Lessons In Humility

2008-02-12T10:49:11Z

My pen is dead. I don't think it was particularly fond of the altitude. I'm in the Simian Mountains at the moment hanging out at around 10,000 feet and baboons keep on walking into camp.

I almost didn't come up here, given my poor condition at the gateway town into the national park, Debark. The flu thing is still lingering in my system and that combined with some food poisoning I picked up in Gondor made me contemplate hauling up in a hotel for a few days but my feel wouldn't let me come all the way here and then stay at the bottom of a bloody great big mountain.

Which I guess, would have been all well and good except for the fact I got altitude sickness on the way up, something my pen and I have in common.

Thankfully, before I vomited the first time I'd just pulled a plastic bag out of my pack. I was also seated in front, so jumping off the bus didn't take too long. And then I was told by the nice and caring trip leaders that I'd have to keep drinking water, even if we had to stop every five minutes for me to bring it back up… Otherwise I'd die.

Dun, Dun, DUNNNN!

All that can be put aside, however, because the very worst thing about the entire experience is that no one took a picture, saying it was all inappropriate. Sad :(

Everything seemed to level off once we reached camp and my champion tentmate James mixed up some rehydration salts and gave me some paracetmol. Since we'd stopped moving I felt a heck of a lot better.

Later that evening whilst sitting around the campfire, a fellow trucker Robyn asked how much I'd managed to drink, followed by asking if I'd peed yet. A congratulations followed by a round of applause from the ten or so people coveting the warmth of the fire.

I'm glad now I did come up here and not stay at Debark, especially after the encounter with baboons yesterday & getting unreally close. And where we camped is rather unreal too. As I said to someone yesterday, there are worse places in the world to be sick.

Yay, Beer!

2008-02-12T10:43:39Z

So NEE, The Nile & The Western Deserts Of Egypt – The first section of my trip has drawn to a close, we've left Sudan, entered Ethiopia and EHS, The Ethiopian Highlands has Begun.

Ethopia is pretty cool thus far The landscape is a total world away from Sudan, really mountainous with windy roads and a definitive lack of plastic bags littering the place. I'm wondering however, if that is on account of the altitude and they've all just blown down to the lower areas.

I'm in Gondor at the moment, staying in a hotel with hot water that isn't hot at all and a bed which isn't so much a bed as much as it's a bit of foam on some planks of wood… But it's nice after two weeks straight camping. I believe I am becoming accustomed to tenting it, a process greatly helped by my recent mattress acquisition.

I'm feeling a touch under the weather at the moment thanks to the absurd amount of beer imbued last night. So much, in fact, I gave Ethiopian "Shoulder Dancing" a burl. Shoulder dancing by the way, is kind of like how one would imagine an epileptic goth raving.

The local bar we went to had local music consisting of a violin type thing with one string and no bridge, some form of drums made from goat and an attractive singer (in the very broad sense of the term… It was more of a screeching) who shoulder danced about the room inciting others to join her. I did try and wander home at some point but got lost and headed back to the bar.

We saw a bit of an altercation later in the night involving a mass of some twenty people after which the mood seemed quite dampened. The few locals we were with from the hotel (Oh, I'm using the term hotel very loosely too) took us to a local club that's about 1/3rd the size of my lounge room back home which was rather hilarious, especially when the Bob Marley started.

We left at 2.30AM to the sounds of Buffalo Soldiers and being accosted by Ethiopian Prostitutes outside.

The Land Beyond Beer...

2008-01-26T08:16:52Z

Last night a few of us went to this restaurant called Papa Costas, an Italian place. A couple of us went there the day before yesterday on account of someone taking off for six weeks (“personal reasons” – I don’t think they liked the group given that there’s four of us under 40 years old, they’re coming back in Nairobi, Kenya) and the food/service was cool, and they had a pretty cool band.

Then when we went there last night, the service was crap and all the food orders were wrong… Another table waited 2 hours to actually be served before walking about. After two hours of waiting for our 4th members food, we decided to just leave, and asked for the bill, saying we were going in 10 minutes time. Half an hour later, after asking for the bill another two times, we just got a menu, added up what we owed, left the money on the table and left.

The guy then chases us up the street saying we didn’t pay the tax, and the 4th member tells him to go jump, given that we overpaid anyway (none of us had change) so if anything we were only a few dollars short on a ~$50 bill. We continue walking, and think its done.

About five minutes later, we hear a police horn honk, and after a “Dude, are we going to get arrested?” a policeman comes running up after us. We explain what’s going on to him and we’re joined by another two policemen and the manager from the restaurant, who starts swearing at us saying we should respect the laws of the country (which include, by the way, not swearing or yelling in public).

We’re eventually taken back to the restaurant by the policemen and sort out the bill, pay the 12 pound we owed and walk back to camp. Just another day in Africa :D

That night, however, I had a really sound sleep. The person who left lent me her mattress until Nairobi, where I should be able to pick one up (given it’s a port of call, a home away from home, for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs and wanderers) there. Provided they’re not still beating each other up, of course.

Heading off to Ethiopia tomorrow, about four days left in Sudan. The campsite we’ve been staying in is right on the White Nile River, which has been nice. I’m starting to get accustomed to those retarded squat toilets now… But it doesn’t mean I like them.

The first night we went to Papa Costas they had a cool live band, that played jazzed up versions of wedding songs… So the songs were kind of familiar, but not quite, and playing “name that song” was rather enjoyable. We also went to an Indian restaurant four or five days ago. And I’ve got to say, the surrealness of being served by an asian waiter in an Indian restaurant in the middle of Sudan was rather… Surreal.

There’s a sect of Islam called the “Sufi” Muslims that believe worship of god comes through song and dance and stuff, and we went to one of their ‘services’ yesterday afternoon, which was really cool. All their music and chanting was really deep.

I had a bit of a chat with some Sudanese people that turned out to be my age there too, which was really cool. We talked about how much they didn’t hate America, the rap bands they were into (Snoop Dog and Eminem), where I could find a beer in Khartoum and because Sudan is so big, the north south east and west parts of it are like little countries of their own – Like for example in the north everyone is Arab and wives are paid for with money, where as in the south everyone is Nubian and wives are paid for with cows.

ASFP

2008-01-13T10:37:38Z

I've put some pics online over here.

I've spent the past few days in Aswan, which is a one up from Luxor. The people here are not as annoying, you only get bugged every ten minutes instead of every ten seconds. Seen a bunch of temples and stuff, all of which seem far too touristy for my tastes.

I believe we're crossing into Sudan in a few days, yay. The hotel I'm staying in doesn't have windows that close properly and given the insistance of people here to honk their fuxking horns at every available opportunity coupled with the fact I share with a snorner I'm yet to get more than 3 hours sleep in a row.

A few days before I left luxor, I was sitting at the bar, drinking a beer, and the massive metal gates to the compound we were staying in swung open and this huge truck trundles in. It was really cool & something I forgot to note last post.

I've seen too many old things, seen too many tourists, had too little sleep and I'd really like to leave Egypt, ASFP.

I'm going on a faluka trip in twenty minutes, a four hour sail along the nile, which will probably do something to calm this bad mood. *shrugs*

Living In The Sunlight, Loving In The Moonlight, Having A Wonderful Time, Ha-Har!

2008-01-08T18:05:44Z

I'm in Luxor at the moment and my opinion that Cairo is a total shithole has been totally affirmed – this town kicks ass! There are like, bugger all cars, the streets don't have this funky smell and the hecklers only heckle you every thirty seconds of every ten.

The truck is still MIA so we're still not camping (thus far I've only camped one night), but by the sounds of it we're getting one tomorrow. It's all good however, as we've just been bussing it around and staying in hostel/hotels. The group is still really cool and everyone is still really interesting but I am left wondering how long that opinion will hold out.

I'm a lot more acclimatized than I was last time I posted and I've even managed to acquire a notebook & pen which I'm using to make entries to this blog on pen and paper, and then backdate them when I get access to the internet (like the one before this, when I get a chance to type it up).

The temples and ruins we've visited here are set out really well and the museum imo is alot better than the one at Cairo as stuff is like, actually explained on inlays instead of just numbered. I've visited a some necropolis and the temple of Karnack in the past few days which has been rather cool.

The temple visit today was rather early so we had pretty much the entire day to explore the city, and I went off with a sub-group to the luxor museum where I attached myself to a random tour group and got a lovely tour of the museum for free by a ex-lecturer of Egyptian history.

I abandoned the group later in the day in the middle of a bazaar and had some free coffee and a shirt tailor made for $20 AUD after about fifteen minutes of haggling. Which, by the way, is seriously awesome. You can haggle on like, everything here! Cans of coke at the shop, for example, are half price if you're persistent enough.

I purchased some cotton & thread today and when I got my wallet out to pay, the guy mentions how he likes my wallet. So I totally pimp my wallet (which is fake leather and falling apart) and he ends up buying me a new actual leather wallet and giving me five pounds for it – I've got the most awesome picture of me and him and the two wallets :D

Later on in the day, some kid comes up to me and says he knows me from some restaurant (which he may well have done, but I'm 99% sure he doesn't) and proceeds to have a chat with me (and I humor him, as I do, plus it's kind of interesting what he's saying). I let him act out his little play and end up at a papyrus shop where I'm told everything is half price because they're closing down.

I eventually discover, after some blatant questioning with my new best friend (blatant questioning, by the way, is really effective, I'll get onto this in a second) I learn that he goes to the bazaar, finds people, pretends he knows them, takes them to this multi-level complex, acts as a middle man, pretends they charge a cover charge to get in, makes them pay him for it (which goes straight in his pocket) and gets a commission on everything they buy.

But anyway, being blatant. At every pseudo-major tourist site there are always beggers, trying to show you something, explain something to you, after which they ask for "backshiesh", or a tip. I've started saying "la backshiesh", Arabic for no tip. They *always* say fine, show me something awesome, shake my hand and we part ways without any incident.

And I've fixed the comment settings - Anonymous comments are now allowed, stupid thing disabled it by default, please say hey if you're reading this!

Egypt is awesome now I'm acclimatised, had a bunch of beers last night with a reciprocal trip coming up from the south that just did everything i'm going to do and they all said it kicked ass, I've got about 20 words in my Arabic vocabulary now, I hope everyone is well and I'm having a wonderful time, ha-har!

Stranger In A Strange Land

2008-01-03T09:34:31Z

So I met up with the truck group a few days ago in the lobby of my hotel, and the first thing that happens when I introduce myself and have a brief chat with the trip leaders is they elude to the fact that the hotel I've been staying in is relatively luxurious compared to the hostel we're heading to.

But that's all well and good, and we head off to some place called the "Canadian Hostel" near to the Cairo Museum, and isn't all that bad, aside from the fact there's several homeless people sleeping in the lobby and the entrance doesn't have carpet, its cardboard.

Everyone seems pretty cool, and I'm somewhat relieved to discover the company is real, and I wasn't scammed by some dodgy African company with a decent grasp of the English language. I'm the youngest in the group, next up from me being 27 and 35 respectively.

We head off to the Cairo museum that day, which is pretty big, but has so many, many people, so I end up just leaving as soon as the highlights are shown by a local guide, with the intention of returning sometime in the future that isn't peak tourist season.

That evening on account of it being new years, we head off to a decent restaurant, drink lots of beer (despite the fact I did intend on not getting drunk, even quasi-drunk, ever, whilst in Africa – But hey, it was New Years Eve). The food is rather cheap, $10Aud for a full meal and a local Stella clone is $2AUD for a 500ml bottle.

We eventually trek it to a local pub that's half the size of my old lounge room but has cheaper beer and see in the new year there. It's all good, and I have a chat to the leaders who seem rather cool, and if I recall correctly had some pretty funny stories... But it's all something of a blur.

I do recall, however, at one point in the night, whilst being told about the escalating situation in Kenya "Welcome to Africa dude, I bet Europe is sounding pretty appealing right about now, haha, haha, have some more beer, woo!".

The day after is a "Free Day" on account of the truck being held at customs for some reason or another, and the leaders having to push our schedule back a day, so we take a visit to Coptic Cairo which appears to be a bastion of Christendom and the place where Saint George killed some dragon or something. I believe they also said that Jesus hung around there for a little bit too, but I can't quite recall as I was a little… Zoned, I guess (and still am to a degree) on account of trying to acclimatise to this weird country.

Visited a couple of different pyramids yesterday, including the great pyramids at Giza, which were, I'm hesitant to say, a little disappointing. There were easily 30,000 people there at any one time, totally crowded and felt totally commercial.

Before going there however, we saw some tombs of some king that were pretty cool, and the Red Pyramid & Step Pyramid. The tombs were lame in the same sense that the pyramids were lame as they were totally surrounded by tourists, however the other two pyramids (which were the ones that preceded the building of the great pyramids) had about 20 people in, and were really cool.

One of them we were able to climb up (a ~100m ascent) and then scale a 63m slanted latter, which was really cool, all be it a tad claustrophobic. The sphinx itself has easily 5,000 people crowded around it and I end up just walking out and having a chat to the local guide about his lifestyle which is far more interesting.

We stop by a papyrus gallery where I stare for several moments at this really awesome painting and am approached by some guy who I tell how much better this painting is than the rest of them as the rest of them it's not "trying" to be Egyptian, and it just is.

So he thinks I'm awesome (or just thinks I've got lots of money to spend on art), and as it turns out is doing his masters in fine art at one of the Cairo universities, and I end up having a really awesome chat with him about the local art stuff.

We're leaving Cairo today for some desert spin about, where hopefully there won't be so many tourists. I'm not sure when I'll get to update next, but I dare say it'll be when we hit Luxor in a couple of weeks.

Ah, yes if everyone could please email me their addresses to bpstokes [at] gmail [dot] com so I can send a postcard, I'd appreciate it, cheers!

Endeavoring to stay alive in a foreign land,

Benjamin.

Report From The Front...

2007-12-30T10:30:59Z

*yawns some more*

I ended up checking into the Transit Hotel in Singapore, which was not too bad and gave me a chance to get some decent rest, which I totally needed. Something wack ended up happening with the exchange rate and I ended up paying $30USD for 6 hours sleep and a shower, which was pretty cool.

Everyone in the airport spoke Asian or Indian, spoke English and all the shops accepted AUD… So my first experience in a foreign land made me feel like I was walking around a shopping mall in Perth.

The gate for my flight from Singapore to Cairo was opposite one of their new skytrain automated monorail systems that I saw on digg a few months back and really wanted to try, however they were still testing them, so after watching what was going on for an hour (was outside my gate for 3 hours waiting for my flight), I thought I'd at least try and get on (there were several carriages, the tech guys were just in one of them)… So I wandered up to one of them and made like a ditsy tourist (A few other people had done this, but they wandered up to the carriage with people in) and was warded off by some security lady that just appeared from nowhere.

About 30 minutes later I started to think how similar this was to Perth airport, and just when I was thinking about trying again, or at least asking the techs if I could go for a little ride, some guy in a blue uniform casually wanders by with a sub-machine gun and stops outside customs about fifty meters away and I ended up thinking better of it and just sit in my seat.

The whole Singapore airport experience, however, had me lowering my guard, and I was taken by surprise when I arrived at the Cairo airport and found people buying visas from miniature bank stalls, luggage not on conveyer belts but just thrown in giant piles and everyone seeming to know what was going on except for me. I eventually figure it out after stopping and watching everyone else for a few minutes and get my Visa no problems. The guy that stamped it shook my hand and welcomed me to cairo, then made some motion like I was a boxer, threw some fists in the air, laughed and slapped me on the back.

I've got no idea what the heck happened there, but most of the other westerners I'd seen wern't treated in that type of relaxed fashion... I bet it's got something to do with the beard.

After spending several minutes trying to find the government run taxi/limo service, I give up (was rather tired by this point) and go back to one of the guys that accosted me as soon as I got off the plane trying to get me to use their taxi service and end up paying a $15USD fixed fare cost to my hotel. Plus the 5 Egyptian Pound parking fee to get out of the airport. Plus a 10 Egyptian Pound tip to the taxi driver.

They have some teenage kid carry my bag to the taxi which takes all of five minutes, and then he asks if I've got a little something for him. I hold out $1USD and he's all, is that all, and I'm all, sorry should be paying more, and he's all, you might as well not give me anything, so I go, Ok then, and motion that I'm putting it back in my wallet, at which time he becomes all apologetic and I start saying how I'm just a poor student and my dog just died and he says sorry, shakes my hand, welcomes me againt to Cairo and wanders off.

Now, see, I've always had a bit of a dig at the way that people like Anton and Sam drive… But they've got nothing on Egyptians. From what I can tell, three rules to driving on Egyptian roads.
1) Never indicate, except when you're angry, in which case just use the hazard lights whilst flashing your high beams.
2) Tailgate, or someone will try and fill the 2 meter gap between you and the next car.
3) Honk your horn at every possible opportunity.

I've seen people be unable to walk and DD in less erratic fashions than everybody over here. The taxi driver is pretty cool, speaks English and gives me a few Arabic tips whilst pointing out all the major sights, such as the massive Military Academy and the palace of one King Farouk. My first viewing of the Nile river was extremely tacky with it having giant neon signs all around it.

We pass this wedding procession that he points out, and is rather hilarious. Middle of the freeway, bunch of cars with their hazard lights on, people hanging out windows, flashing their lights, and being honked by everyone that goes past. A little wack and dangerous, I know, but hey, there was this weird sense of community I observed, and event felt part of when the driver honked and we both waved at the lead car.

He offers me a cigarette, which I accept and calms me somewhat and we start talking some more about where I'm from and how the Christians and Muslims like each other in Egypt. It's all of ten minutes before he asks if I'd like some Hashish, which I thank him for but manage to decline in an eloquent manner.

I eventually arrive and check in without any trouble aside from setting off the metal detector at the front door, with two or three security people standing around it at any one time.

The room is pretty meh, but I wasn't expecting anything much but I do end up sleeping in my sleeping bag on top of the bed. Turns out there is an internet café in the hotel (which is where I am now), and the food doesn't seem all that bad. Coke tastes the same over here except the cans are pull tops.

I ask at the front desk about directions for acquiring a watch (as I've got no way of telling the time) and one of them in a non-pushy way eludes to the fact that he may have a friend who can get me a good deal. I decline, and am pointed the way of some shops.

It's about this time that I'm really wishing I'd learn some Arabic beforehand, as I'd totally be having a better time if I had any idea what people were saying, but I manage to communicate well enough in a very onomatopoeic manner. Most of my attempts to buy a watch however, are only met with being told the time. I eventually give up and start wandering into shops and actually ask the time, so there's some interaction between myself and the shopkeeper, which is fun for a while.

I eventually bore of this and wander back to the hotel and find the guy who tried to put me onto his friend earlier. He seems pretty cool, and I eventually discover he's going to send his Arabic friend out to actually go buy me a watch and return with it. After some discussions, he agrees to let me go along with his friend to the shop.

Once again I'm subjected to the Egyptian roads and driving, but I'm starting to feel perfectly fine about it all now with my calming mantra from the day before resurfaces - "This is just how things are done here".

This dudes friend doesn't speak any English either, but one of the ladies at the shop speaks a little, and I manage to find a watch that doesn't look all that obtrusive for 60 Egyptian pounds, absurdly overpriced I'm sure but I don't mind paying as they seem to have gone to something of an effort to get it for me and thus far I've counted three people that need to be given kickbacks from the sale.

The streets of Cairo feel a lot like the streets of Melbourne, with the only difference being it’s a touch more chaotic and a lot more dirty. I meet up with the group tomorrow, and see the pyramids in a few days, woo!

I've said that the reason I came here was to try and expand my mental lexicon, and it seems to be working – Today the world got a little smaller, and I got a little more awesome.

It Wasn't So Much Of A Trap...

2007-12-28T23:48:47Z

So to all you naysayers, it wasn't all an elaborate ruse, and I am actually going to (or rather, on my way to) Africa.

I'm currently in Singapore, waiting 11 hours for my connecting flight & tossing up if I should spring the $60 to sleep in the Connecting Flights Hotel or just find a random chair to sleep on.

The dude at the Perth airport when I did checkin said I should probably have some joining instructions or something from my travel company, otherwise the dudes at Cairo might try and arrest me or something.

Thanks very much to those who came and saw me off... Really appreciate it :) - You all looked rather tired. And Matt, I'm yet to check out the toilets here, will let you know.

*yawn*

I think I shall go find that couch.

The Plan

2007-12-25T10:55:27Z

January
The Nile, Deserts Of Egypt & Sudan
Counties Visited: Egypt & Sudan

From what I can tell, this section goes through the generic egypt things that most tours would visit, but then we trek into sudan and the party starts! A couple of quotes from the travel companies website seems to sum it up nicely...

... holiday is not a word you would used to describe any form of Sudan travel.

There is no tourist infrastructure and many of the ruins such as Meroe, Jebel Barkul, Naqa and Musawwarat, lie hidden in the desert with very poor access.

Woo!

February
Ethiopian Highlands & Sudan
Countries Visited: Ethiopia & Sudan

This should be pretty awesome. Apparently, as with Sudan, there won't be all that many tourists hanging around Ethiopia, according to the travel company Ethiopian tourist hasn't really hit the big league. It seems to have a pretty cool history, with heaps of old castles & monasteries, and their history also says that the Ark of the Covenant lies in a church in Axum, the city of the Queen of Sheba.

Given I'll be coming out of Sudan, totally islamic, and Ethiopia is totally christian, it should provide some rather interesting comparisons. I was also being told yesterday by a friend of my parents who served in the British Army & was deployed in Ethiopia for a few months in the late 60's that Ethiopia is where the Rastafarian religion started.

March
Tribes & Wildlife Of The Rift
Countries Visisted: Kenya & Ethiopia

There can't seem to glean much information about this section... But from what I can tell, there's going to be lots of animals, lots of really old tribes that haven't changed their way of life in hundreds/thousands of years... And no toilets.

There's also a visit to two community projects, as the region is really, really poor, hence there being no toilets :(

But oh well - Adventure! Woo! I can totally withstand no bathrooms in exchange from something interesting. Interesting things are seemly harder to find these days.

April/May
Africa East & South
Counties Visited: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Zambia & Zimbabwe

Six different wildlife parks, helping out on two community projects, one week party on zabzibar. Allright; Party! :D

May/June
Wildlife, Beaches & Delta
Countries Visisted: Zimbabwe, Nambia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zululand, Lesotho & South Africa

The tourism company described this section as Ideal for those who want more than just ticking off highlights and ...off the beaten track areas of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Off the beaten track in Zimbabwe; allright! :D

In the northern sections I get to check out the Kalahari Desert which should be totally cool, especially given my penchant for wide open spaces with noone around :D

Bunch of safaris to see some of the typical African wildlife, then do some of the atypical things, like walk a lion or ride horses with a Zeal of Zebra(I totally had to google the collective noun for zebra).

According to their website, South African tourism is now fairly mainstream, and to counteract that, we're going to stop and help out at a few more community projects. This travel company seems pretty kickass.

Schwing? Schwang!

2007-12-25T10:26:44Z

Holding page for funeral recap/pictures... Way too tired to think at the moment.

Oh Hai.

2007-12-21T12:13:19Z

So in case you can't tell already, after much procrastination and indecision about finding somewhere to host it & if I should use wordpress or not, I've finally got a website online.

Yes, I just made a livejournal account. Yes, I know it was incredibly lazy. Yes, I don't really care.

I'm sure, in the long run, it'll end up being easier for most of you anyway - wordpress -> LJ RSS feeds tend to die or have something break every second day, so ner.

Trip Related Notes

I picked up the rest of my travelers cheques from westpac today and shut down one of my accounts.
I went into a box shop today to buy some boxes to start (Yes, I said start) packing and ended up just being given all the boxes that the boxes they sell come in.
My funeral is happening tomorrow, 7PM onwards at HC. It's The End Of The World Party Mark Two: This Time, It's Serious.