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.

Uganda

11 September 2012. Last night we arranged for our Gorilla trekking clothes to be cleaned. The price increased from a couple dollars last night to $35.00 this morning. We ended up paying $5.00.  After a few hours of driving this morning we stop at a small town, Kabale and buy some snacks. This included a 250 ml bottle of Smirnoff for the equivalent of $2.50. We drive through towns with children dressed in colourful school uniforms, tethered pigs, headless sheep and locals waving and shouting Mzungu. We're told this means westerner or white people. We arrive at the Queen Elizabeth National Park and see elephants and buffalo on  the drive to our camp site. Despite the relatively primitive conditions there's a bar. Lyn breaks open the vodka and mixes it with a pineapple Fanta.
12 September 2012. Go out for a morning game drive and see the Ugandan coat of arms, the Ugandan Kob and the Crested Crane. There's also a hyena jogging around. After lunch we board a boat for a cruise of the Kazinga Channel and get so close to hippos you could brush their teeth. Amazing to see buffalo and hippos lying in the water together. There are also many different types of birds flying and swimming about. Back at the camp site we are told there is no water for the shower. I look out across Lake George and notice that it is not empty. Shower tonight is out of a bottle of water. After dinner we head to the bar with Lyn mixing vodka with a strawberry Fanta.
13 September 2012. We survive 2 nights in the tent and manage to pull it down and pack it away in the early morning light, without injuring anyone. After a short drive we stop for a photo opportunity at the equator and then get going again for a few hours. We then stop at biggish town and one of the Geckos members manages to buy a post card of Idi Amin there. We stop in the middle of nowhere for lunch and some locals come to watch. Our driver James gives them some food and fills an empty Fanta bottle with cordial which he also passes on to the locals. A drive through Kampala takes forever and is followed by a 30 minute journey to our camp site in Entebbe. This place is called Red Rooster and has loud music and cold drinks. Apparently it's also a working girl's delight. Vodka and Fanta gets another workout. We've been having trouble trying to access our dcsi email and set up a hotmail account which we access via the ipod.

14 September 2012. Another early start and we drive to Lake Victoria. We wander a local zoo for about an hour before boarding a boat which takes us on a 90 minute ride to Ngambi Island. Apparently the delay was because the boats fuel was stolen and they had to get some more. The island is home to a chimpanzee sanctuary. They are behind high electrified fences which reminds me of Jurassic Park. The chimps are loud and aggressive and it's hard to imagine they are related to gorillas but easy to understand they are humans closest relative. After getting back to Entebbe it takes G28 hours to negotiate the Kampala traffic. We drive past high rise buildings, shanty towns and rusting trains. At last we arrive at Jinja on the banks of the Nile River where we are due to stay for 2 nights. 

15 September 2012. We sleep in until 7:30 am before getting a lift into town some 4 kilometres away. It's a dusty old town and every local wants to helps. Now this is how I remember Africa. There's a touch of colonialism in the building style and we note that there are lots of motor and push bikes, both acting as taxis. We return to camp, not by bike, for lunch and later on head up the Nile by banana boat. This activity is called, "Source of the Nile". My understanding is that this is in Rwanda however no one seems to have told the Ugandans.There's a little island no more than 10 metres wide in the middle of the river and at the edge of Lake Victoria which has a sign Source of the Nile. There are also tourist shops here. When we return to camp we discover that the Ugandan scam has struck again. Seems that prices quoted for laundry are flexible. All the Geckos people are now being told that the laundry prices have tripled. We eventually pay double.
16 September 2012. We packed up the tent in the dark and after a couple of hours driving we arrive at the border town of Bursia. It's hot and smelly. Money changers with huge wads of paper money work the queue as do the sweating drink sellers. The Ugandan Immigration officer is very talkative asking about the trip and asking us to come back again. The Kenyan equivalent says next to nothing. Walking the no mans land you have to dodge trucks, cars, bikes, puddles and manure. Lyn's knee is still bothering her after the Gorilla trek and Malinga gets some ice. We drive through Kusumi, which is apparently where Barak Obama Senior was born  and arrive at Kericho  late afternoon. We upgrade to a room in the hotel complex which is in front of a tea plantation. The hotel must have been really lovely when it was built in the 1950's but it is desperately in need of some care and attention.

Kazinga Channel

The locals who picked up some lunch

Ugandan Kob

Jinja

Rwanda

7th September 2012, (we think) It's all a bit of a haze. An 8 hour flight to Addis Ababa followed by a 4 hour wait for a flight to Kigali which we discover is going via Entebbe, Uganda. At last we get to Kigali and only 31 hours after leaving Tullamarine. We find a lift to our "hotel", the Beausejour Guest House and notice through bleary eyes that there is no rubbish in the streets. Seems that plastic bags are a no no and paper bags are the go. Our room has a TV that works and a lamp that doesn't.
8th September 2012. After breakfast, which was surprisingly good, we join up with some other people on the Geckos tour, and catch taxis into Kigali proper. It's a contrast of new buildings with shopping malls and small market style stalls.The amazing thing about walking around here is that the locals don't harass. The first time I can remember being able to walk down the street in an african city, in peace. Lyns' Fanta fetish has started early with a lemon version. Back at the Guest House we meet the rest of the Geckos tourers, 24 in all and our leader, Malinga. He takes a long time to say anything and his patter reminds me of Yoda.
9th September 2012. Breakfast today is less than fabulous with service being next to non existent. Yesterday must have been a blimp on the radar. I might take up a collection and buy a toaster for the guest house. Seems they only have a 2 slice toaster for 24 people. We get in the big orange Geckos Truck, good old G28 about 8:30 am and drive out to the Genocide Memorial. Very moving. There's some 250,000 people buried in and around the memorial and there are lots of personal stories to read and photos and videos to view. After this we drive for several hours along well maintained roads, up and down steep hills to Ruengowi. We stay in dormitories tonight in a Catholic run complex. Guard duty is arranged for the night in case a priest is sighted.

10th September 2012. 6:30 am start and we drive to Volcanoes National Park. Lyn and I are selected to trek the Sousa Group of Mountain Gorillas. This is not good. Lonely Planet says that only the fittest need apply to find this family. After a 90 minute drive, the last half being over a track that goats would have second thoughts about, the 8 fittest white people in all of Rwanda begin the trek to find the Sousa Group. After a pleasant walk between fields of agriculture the hard slog begins up mountain through forests of bamboo and eucalypts and later stinging nettles. Three hours later and at an elevation of more than 3,000 metres above sea level we sight a family of Gorillas and all pain is forgotten. We are only metres away watching wild animals and they seem to be just as relaxed with us as we are with them.  There are two sets of twins with this group and we are told that there are only four surviving sets on the mountain range. After an hour of being mesmerised we head back down the mountain. It's been raining and is so slippery that everyone falls. Lyn hurts her knee and gets to hold hands with her new boyfriend Joseph all the way back to our van. I stick with the guide with the gun. He tells me his African name 3 times and I have no idea what he says. He shrugs his shoulders and tells me to call him Eric. The journey back to Ruengowi is just as long as what it took getting there. Surprising really.The rest of the Geckos group are waiting in the bus for us, having done their Gorilla thing, some shopping and getting showered and changed. Dirty tired and sore we head off in G28 for the Ugandan border. Being organised we bought our visas in Australia for $150.00 US per person. We discover you can buy a visa at the border for $50.00 US per person!!!!!! It's a very short drive to Kisolo and our camp site. We pay extra for an upgrade to an insect riddled room, just so we don't have to pitch a tent in the dark. The gecko we share with should be happy. Welcome to Uganda.