Thailand

9 October 2012. After an 8.5 hour flight from Addis Ababa to Bangkok we finally arrive in Thailand, about 1:30 pm. It only takes us 2 tries to get through immigration after we forgot about the yellow fever check but we eventually pass and find our lift to the hotel. The drive takes about 40 minutes in a new and quiet van. Hey, they drive on the left side of the road in Thailand! Our room at the Indra Regent is a step up from what we stayed at in Ethiopia and being on the 14th floor we are up far too high. Another day of pottering around before dinner in an adjoining restaurant and then bed.

10 October 2012. We sleep in until 9:00 am before shuffling off to breakfast. We wander about our section of Bangkok. It takes a long time to walk anywhere due to the stalls on the footpath and lots of pedestrian traffic. It's getting quite warm and we seek refuge in an air conditioned shopping mall. Lyn's eyes light up as she spots blueberry Fanta. On one of our walks around the city I see a rat that was big enough to pull a cart. Vermin aside this is a really interesting city with lots of traffic and a mixture of high and low tech. In the evening I find the Chandelier Bar in the Indra Hotel and Lyn discovers half price cocktails.

11 October 2012. We've arranged for a tour in and around Ayutthaya, a couple of hours drive from Bangkok. On this tour we visit a Palace compound called Bang Pa which has a mixture of Thai and European style buildings and has beautifully maintained  gardens. After this we wander ruins at Wat Maha That and Wat Na Phra Mane. Seems we blame the Burmese Army for every destruction known to Thailand. In amongst the ruins there are many statues of Buddha including a reclining version. We travel back to Bangkok by boat and it appears that there is at least one temple on the skyline per village.

12 October 2012. We've arranged another tour for this morning so it's another early start. This time we drive to Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai, nearly 3 hours out of Bangkok. We visit a war museum, cemetery and walk the bridge over the River Kwai. There are a lot of Japanese tourists here and strangely enough I don't feel overly friendly towards them. We have lunch at a local restaurant and the Thai food is delicious. A half hour drive from  Kanchanaburi is the Tiger Temple. This is run by Buddhist Monks and they have rescued and bred more than 100 tigers in the past 10 or so years. We pat, walk with and in Lyn's case feed tigers. The drive back to Bangkok is followed by some Singhas and a green thai curry. The perfect way to end our stay here.
13 October 2012. A very early start today as our lift to the airport is arranged for 5:00 am. The ride doesn't appear until 5:15 am but it doesn't matter because we drive at speeds of around 120 kph to get to the airport on time. Did I mention that the speed limit is advertised as being 80 kph? Our flight via Thai Airways leaves at 8:00 am local time and arrives, after we watch many movies, in Melbourne at 9:00 pm. Customs have changed their queuing system so that everyone goes in the same line and then after you have endured a long wait you then get directed to a further queue if you have something to declare! We eventually get out of the airport about 11:00 pm and thank goodness Rebecca is still waiting. We arrive home about 12:30 am to the sound of Ruby and Berry's greeting.

Bang Pa

Bang Pa

River Kwai

Guess

Walking with Tigers

Ethiopia (Part 3)

4 October 2012.After breakfast we walk down to the Stellae Field. These are massive stones which may or may not be grave stones. Our guide tells about the legend mixed up with myth and a hint of fact to explain the stones. There are also tombs which resemble those in the valley of the kings in Egypt. We have lunch in a cafe in the main street of Aksum which is run by Americans of Ethiopian descent. After this we go to the Queen of Sheba Palace. As it is explained the ruins we see are on top of the palace. You are starting to lose me. Credibility is further stretched when the men visit the church that holds the Ark of the Covenant.

5 October 2012. It's a short drive to the Airport, then a long wait as a member of an Israeli group refuses to be searched in private. Not sure how its resolved but we end up flying to Lalibela. After checking in at the hotel we head off to check out the rock churches some of which have UNESCO built roofs over them. Our tour leader Kaleb is unwell and has to return to Addis Ababa. This means that the local guide can do their job in peace. The churches are amazing but why were they built?

6 October 2012. We drive for 2 hours and cover 42 kilometres as we visit another church, Yemrehanna Kristos. The Ethiopians need to do something about their roads. After enduring a boneshaking 2 hour return journey to Lalibela and lunch, we climb through and over some more rock churches. The last church we visit is Giyorgis and it is spectacular. It is carved 15 metres down into the rock. For dinner the tour group strolls from the hotel  to a local restaurant but almost stage a walkout when we discover that beers cost more than a $1.00 each! Back at the hotel we play some Beatles music in honour of the 50th anniversary of Love Me Do.

7 October 2012. The Roha Hotel has a very poor dinner menu but the breakfasts are great including 3 fried eggs and wonderful coffee. It's a scenic 30 minute drive back to the airport followed by a 45 minute flight back to Addis Ababa. Later in the day we head down to the Global Hotel restaurant and order a coffee. We get a pot of the delicious brew, two cups each for about $1.60. An evening has been planned at Yod Abysinnia which ends up being a bit like the old Swagman Restaurant, Ferntree Gully. Yes that's right it is very ordinary. The night however was saved by the arrival of a bridal party and their dancing.
8 October 2012. We get access to our dcsi mail on the ipod and download photos of Berry which we show to all the Peregrine members. Then wander down the street and find a coffee and cake shop at which we sit for some time. It's a lazy day and evening and finally we get a lift to the airport. Notice that the burst water pipe hasn't been fixed after at least a fortnight and water is still flowing across the road.

Ethiopia (Part 2)

Debark

1 October 2012. We leave Gondar about 7:30 am and after a few hours driving through green fields we arrive at the "wild west town" of Debark. This starts off as our toilet stop and we end up staying here for lunch. Many people here riding horses or using horse drawn carts but very few cars. After a couple more hours drive  we arrive in the Simien Mountains National Park. Some of us head off on foot to our camp site while others get there in the van. We see many Gelada Baboons in our 4.5 hour walk as well as spectacular views across the many steep ravines. It's a bit drizzly which makes sections of the walk slippery. Our camp site is at 3,250 metres above sea level (masl) and Lyn who vanned it to camp has organised our tent and luggage by the time the trekkers arrive. The weather closes in with some serious rain overnight and for the first time the thermals get a workout.

2 October 2012. The weather has cleared by
breakfast time and we drive further into the mountains to another base at 3,620 masl. During the drive we see fields of barley and many wild flowers. There are teams of oxen pulling ploughs through the stoney and steep terrain. We stop for a photo opportunity and a young boy appears. One of the tourists gives him a tee shirt which he promptly puts on. There's a rumour that the elusive Wallia Ibex is about so a few of us follow our guide on foot. When we arrive at the supposed site we discover that the rest of the tourists have vanned it and are waiting for us. Why wasn't I told. Anyway we see a couple of Ibex at a distance of about a kilometre and some pain is alleviated. After lunch there is some disagreement between the local guide and our tour leader about how long it would take to trek back to camp. The tourists start to get nervous and in the end only Andy and I go with the local guide, Fanti. The local guide is proven right as the trek takes the 2 hours he said it would. This trek is a highlight seeing a 500 metre drop water fall, thousands of wild flowers, spectacular landscapes, Baboons, a Klippspringer and a Bushbuck.
3 October 2012.After a cool but fine night we leave camp. On the drive out of the park we stop to watch a troop of Gelada Baboons before arriving at Derback. A very young girl with a baby on her back runs alongside the van for more than  kilometre before we stop. So this is how they train for the Olympics. The drive to Aksum is one for the ages. The 160 kilometres takes nearly 12 hours over winding, hilly, dirt roads. The entire length of the road between Debark and Aksum is under construction. At one time we are forced to stop as boulders block our way. Kabel  gets out of the van
and disappears around a bend. Next thing we know there's a bulldozer clearing the road. We arrive in Aksum about 7:30 pm have dinner and then to bed.

View of Gondar

Find the Klippspringer

Ethiopia (Part 1)

26 September 2012. Met the tour leader for the Peregrine trip Kabel and the rest of the group. There's 15 tourists in all. We drive several kilometres to the National Museum and on the way see some people taking their sheep for a walk. At the museum there are crowns of previous Emporers and a throne together with paintings and statues. We look around a church and have our first experience of Ethiopian coffee and it is good. After lunch we walk around the Markato. This is open air market (notice I didn't say fresh air) that stretches for as far as the eye can see. This place is an assault on the senses. Smelly, dirty and hang on to your valuables. We go back to the Hotel to freshen up and then head off to the main square for the meskal celebration. Ethiopia is a strongly Christian country and the celebration we witness tonight is part of this religion. It culminates in the burning of a "bonfire". On the walk back to the hotel there's lots of locals dancing and singing.

27 September 2012. We leave the Hotel at 5:30 am for a 45 minute flight to Bahir Dar and pass through a tree lined avenue to our hotel on the banks of Lake Tana. We then head out to the Blue Nile falls passing what look to be poverty stricken towns. After an hours drive we commence what ends up being a 40 minute walk up and down rocky paths, past sales people and over a 17th century Portuguese built bridge. There are 3 distinct falls now. Before the Chinese built a hydro electric scheme on the Blue Nile it was one big fall. Kabel tells us that there are plans to do something similar near the Sudanese border. Not sure if that country has been consulted. Peregrine told me that there are no atm's away from Addis Ababa however the working machine outside the Dashen Bank in Bahir Dar challenges that assertion.
28 September 2012.  We take a 2.5 our boat trip on Lake Tana to an island monastery, Nargaselassie. It's a round building full of paintings dating back several hundred years. When we return to our craft their are people in boats with souvenirs for sale. Later on we go to a similar monastery on another part of the lake. This complex has locked up in cupboards old books and crowns. Not sure if the locals realise the fragility and the value of the objects they have.

29 September 2012. We leave Bahir Dar by van, crossing the Blue/Brown Nile as we head for Gondar. There are many people walking by the side of the road dressed in white and we are told they are going to a funeral. The country side is green with rice and we slow down many times to avoid donkeys, sheep and cattle. We reach the turn off for Sudan but decide to continue on to Gondar. In the mountains we stop for a photo opportunity and as usual people come out of nowhere to watch. There are also shepherds who use slingshots  to protect their flock. Our tour leader buys some "chat" for us to try. It's a stimulant used by locals but I don't think it's as tasty as coca. We arrive in Gondar early afternoon and after lunch go to a church which has a painting of Mohammed being "led by the Devil". Later in the afternoon we are taken to the Dashen Beer Garden. This not something I would expect from a poor, christian country. Loud music, dancing and beer served from a 3 litre beer bong which costs the equivalent of $3.50 US.

30 September 2012. Our hotel is high up on a hill and has a birds eye view of Gondar. You can even see the Royal Enclosure. We explore the Kings Palaces and they are everything I expected. My only disappointment is that we are not permitted to climb to the battlements of King Fasilidis Palace. We later visit the ruined mauseleum of Zobel, the King's horse. In Ethiopia meals for two people cost around $7.00 US including drinks, tips and government charges and coffee in even the dodgiest of cafes is to die for.

The Markato

Performers at the Meskel celebration

Kenya (Part 3)

24 September 2012. Another great breakfast                                                              
before checking out of the Stanley. We are driven to Giraffe Manor on the outskirts of Nairobi. There's a lot of roadworks around Nairobi which we are told is being undertaken by a Chinese company. Our driver says that the Chinese are after agricultural land in return. We are greeted upon arrival at Giraffe Manor and shown around. There are 6 bedrooms in the main building and another 4 in a recently completed new building. All the rooms are named after Giraffes and we are in Lynns' Room which has the largest non public bathroom I have ever seen. We have lunch on the terrace, whilst watching pumbas wander. We then walk over to the Giraffe Centre to feed Giraffes with the tourists. Later on we have dinner with the other guests, 5 South Africans, 3 Australians and 2 Americans. A pleasant evening was had. We get access to our email for a change and discover that Berry was judged Puppy Bitch of Breed, Puppy of Breed and Puppy of the Day at the Royal Melbourne Show.
25 September 2012. We are woken by rustling at our second floor window and look outside to see the matriach of the herd, Lynn wanting to be fed. We give her a cup of pellets and then have a bucket filled by one of the staff which Lynn gets through very quickly. We then go to Daisys' room which is occupied by Alex who we met on the Geckos trip. Lots of feeding and Giraffe kisses with Lynn and Helen. There's a smaller Giraffe, Ibrahim who at 12 months of age can't quite reach the balcony. More feeding occurs downstairs in the breakfast room. There are new guests who just sit and eat their breakfast. I have no idea why they didn't just go to a normal hotel. We hire a driver for the day and get driven to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage at the Nairobi National Park. The elephants, all under 3 years of age have individual keepers and we see them being fed and playing. The safety barrier consists of a rope. After this we spend a few hours at the Karen Blixen Museum and the Coffee Shop before going to the airport to catch our 6.00 pm flight to Addis Ababa. After an incident free flight we get picked up and taken to the Global Hotel. There's a lot of water running across the road which is apparently from a broken pipe.

Giraffe Manor

Looking in

Kenya (Part 2)

21 September 2012. 18 of the Geckos have gone ballooning so there's plenty of breakfast for the remaining 6 people. It's a slow bumpy ride from our camp site to the Masai Mara gate, past the "Masai Village", shops and thousands of plastic bags.  Once inside the park we see a Dik Dik. Further on there are lionesses stretching and a lion taking a morning stroll. After picking up the balloonists from Keekorock Airstrip we see sticks and rocks that may also be lions. A line of Wildebeest which Malinga estimates to be a thousand  pass by. Whilst looking at a stick we notice a yellow blur that attacks a baby Wildebeest and is fought off by the youngster's mother. The blur is a Cheetah. This is very exciting to see and it happens so quickly. Even the guide is excited by the event we have just witnessed. We park under a tree and eat lunch in the middle of the Mara then drive down to the Mara River and see Hippos and Crocodiles, but no Wildebeest trying to cross.  On the way back to camp we see Giraffes, Elephants, Zebras, various antelopes and gazelles and a large herd of Buffalo. We then drive off track and circle a bush where we see the Cheetah with four cubs resting in the shade. A good day for us and the Wildebeest.

22 September 2012. We leave the Mara around 6:30 am and for the next 3 hours it is a dusty, bone shaking drive back to Narok. There's a lot more driving to Nairobi before we arrive at the Hotel Panafric, on the edge of the cbd. A hotel representative tells us that due to a rugby tournament they have overbooked and there is no room for us. As we draw straws to determine who will attack this person first, he tells us we have been upgraded to the Stanley Hotel. We are still sceptical. When we arrive at the Stanley in the middle of the cbd our scepticism disappears. It is a beautiful old style hotel which has been part of Nairobi since 1912. There is nothing tired about the service or decor of this establishment. After we settle in, the Geckos group goes to the Carnivores Restaurant. It's not how I remember it from 2007. Maybe it's the type of place you go to once and then tick off the list. The drive back to the hotel is interesting as we continually drive through red traffic lights.

23 September 2012. The phone alarm which was set for 5:30 am yesterday was not cancelled and springs to life this morning. Unfortunately the phone is locked away in the room safe. After a breakfast to die for we go for a wander about the city. Being Sunday, Nairobi is relatively quiet. We buy some goods at the local supermarket and use visa to pay for it. Lyn is asked for ID and she fakes her passport number which the cashier accepts. There is some question as to whether we have booked a second night at the hotel. We barricade the door, disconnect the phone and stay for the second night.

Kenya (Part 1)

17 September 2012) Wake up to see, from our hotel room, the poor people (Gecko Tourists) packing tents up in the drizzle. After a 4 hour drive we arrive in the city of Nakuru. G28 parks out the front of big shopping centre and we are let loose. We brave the large round about and finally make it to the Barclays Bank which has a working ATM. Our luck holds and we make it back to the shopping centre unscathed. The truck then takes us to our campsite at the East African Orphanage some 10 kilometres outside of town. After lunch we meet some of the 220 children that are housed and educated here. We have dinner with the children and one of the boys, Jethro shows Lyn how to use the video function on her camera.

18 September 2012. We head off to Lake Nakuru National Park for a game drive. The lake is very full after above average rains and some of the tracks are underwater. This doesn't bother our driver James as he pushes G28 through. We see a wide range of animals including Giraffes, White Rhinos, Gazelles, Impalas and Baboons. On the way back to the Orphanage, Geckos stop off at the shopping centre and buy a washing machine for them. When we were loading the machine onto the truck a local asked what it was. When he was told  he still didn't understand.

19 September 2012. Just before 8:00 am we all go with children to their various classes. My new friend Clinton is in grade one and we sit together for an hour through a maths class. Clinton volunteers me to solve a problem on the blackboard in front of everyone. Fortunately I scramble through the exercise. A few hours of driving later and we arrive at Lake Naivasha.  The local guide offers some options and has to be reminded of Elsamere, a home of Joy Adamsom. We persuade the guide that it would be in his best interest to arrange this excursion and we spend the afternoon in and around the house and lovely gardens watching birds and Colobus Monkeys. Back at camp a few of us decide that for dinner we will eat crayfish at the local restaurant. Just as it arrives the power goes off. Luckily we are experienced campers and have lights at the ready.
20 September 2012. It's a long drive today to the Masai Mara so tents are packed by 6:00 am. We stop in Narok to get some supplies including Black Currant Fanta. It's a long dusty drive to the Masai Mara over bridges and roads that need some work. Just before we reach our campsite we drop off 20 people who want to visit a Masai Village. We've been before and have no intention of ever doing it again. Later, the Geckos arrive at the campsite and tell tales of being taken into Masai huts and being intimidated into buying goods. This is a tented site and we are allocated Bweha which means  jackal. We laze the afternoon away and our cook Henry creates a masterpiece of a dinner out of nothing.