Hello everyone,
Where am I? – Ponnekara, Kerala, India, but about to leave for Africa
Here’s my itinerary because I don’t think I will have internet access there to do this. I will not be taking my computer with me. I am taking a notebook to journal in and will post the highlights and photos when I return.
May 17 traveling to Africa by way of Dubai, UAE
May 18 overnight in Johannesburg, South Africa
May 19 to 24 I arrive at Livingston, Zambia but staying at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
May 25 Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
May 26 & 27 Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
May 28 & 29 Masvingo & Harare, Zimbabwe
May 30 & 31 Lusaka & Chipata, Zambia
June 1 & 2 Lake Malawi, Malawi
June 3 to 5 Chitimba, Iringa and Dar Es Salam, Tanzania (pronounced Tan-za-knee-a, I was saying Tan-Zan-ia, wrong)
June 6 to 8 Zanzibar, Tanzania
June 9 Dar Es Salaam, again
June 10 & 11 Marangu and Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania (let you know how to pronounce that!)
June 12 & 13 Serengeti National Park & Ngoronogoro Crater (ditto), Tanzania
June 14 Mto Wa Mbu, again
June 15 Nairobi, Kenya and I’m done with the tour
June 16-18 Nairobi, seeing the sights before catching my flight back to India
How am I? – Great, it’s hot & muggy but I’m going where it’s winter and should be cooler and I’m excited about the trip
Sorry, no photos but I thought I better post so you know Where’s Wally?
I have been having a wonderful time. I made friends with an American who is coming to the Medical Center for treatment and we’ve had adventures going off campus. Two weeks ago I wanted to see a movie The Croods which was showing at the Cinema not far from here – In English and 3D. I was willing to go by myself but when I checked the last minute, the movie had changed to Ironman 3. I’ve never seen Ironman 1 & 2 so I thought I wouldn’t be able to follow 3 and plus I thought it was going to be violent. Then I met this person, Craig, and told him about the movie and he was very interested in going. He assured me the violence would not be blood and gore and filled me in on things that I didn’t know about Ironman. I enjoyed the movie and it wasn’t too violent but very “action packed” and entertaining. Later we found out it was a BIG success when it opened there in the US. Movies are opening here before they do in the US.
Going to the cinema in India was very interesting. You get “assigned” seats that you have to pick when you buy your tickets. They cost around $3.00 (Rupees 170) and the eyeglasses to see the 3D cost a little over 50 cents to rent. Craig said he has gone to 3D movies in the States and he didn’t wear the eyeglasses there and was able to see the movie ok. But here he had to wear them because the movie looks blurred without the special glasses. Then, in the middle of the movie, they stop it and put the word Intermission on the screen and everyone gets up and leaves. Not sure if it is a toilet break or to sell more food and drinks. Ironman was the first movie I had gone to since coming to India this time and the theatre was packed.
A couple of days later Craig was still around getting treatment and he asked if there were other cinemas that offered English movies and sure enough The Croods was playing at another cinema. I didn’t know there was another one and we even found a third cinema that was playing Jurassic Park, the original made into 3D. So we went to see the Croods and it was fun. Nicolas Cage did the voice of the main character. This time the theatre wasn’t packed like it was for Ironman, so when there was the Intermission, the ushers actually came up to us and asked if we wanted anything? It was like being on a plane and the stewards asked what you would like? They also serve all kinds of things, not just popcorn, candy and ice cream. I mean sandwiches, steamed corn niblets in a little paper dish, samosas (an India snack), French Fries, cheese nachos, cake slices, etc.
Then last night Craig was back for another treatment and we checked out the cinemas again and this time we saw….STAR TREK. I really enjoyed this one. There were only 10 people in the theatre. I think it was because it was a weekday at 5:30 p.m. If you are a Trekkie, you will love it. It takes place when all the characters are young (Captain Jim Kirk’s first assignment to the Enterprise) and they did a great job of finding actors who look like their older characters on the TV series, and was written so they followed the personalities they were. It was fun watching.
I am just about packed and ready to go now. I was having a difficult time getting US Dollars that I needed for the trip. I’m traveling with an Australian company, Gecko Adventure Tours and they set it up that when we meet in Africa, you give the tour guide cash to spend for the trip – food, entrance fees to the parks, etc. They want US Dollars and I don’t have any left, well actually I was down to one twenty dollar bill and three ones. So about a month ago I went to Thomas Cook (British Travel Co and Money Exchange) and asked them about getting dollars. That time they told me to have the money wired to me here, it would have to be changed into Rupees, and then I would buy US Dollars with the Rupees I get. Double the cost of currency conversions but that is the price I had to pay. Then my American contact told me he didn’t trust Western Union and I decided to just take the money out from ATMs, little by little less than $200 per withdrawal, and eventually I would get to the 80,000 Rupees I needed. Last Thursday I went back to Thomas Cook with my Rupees to exchange them and this time the man tells me, NO, they don’t exchange Rupees to US Dollars, that could only be done at the airport on the way out of the country. I accepted that, didn’t argue with the man, but after I left I started thinking - there was No Way I was going to the airport with all that money and if it didn’t work, I would not have the money for my tour AND I would be carrying around all these Rupees for a month! The Rupees are dispensed from the ATMs in 500 Rupee notes. It’s a bundle!
I was thinking about this and checked the internet and found I should be able to change money within 60 days of international travel. Talking to Craig he suggested going to the local bank right here on the campus and voila! Yesterday I was able to get $870 and today I got the additional money needed. Lucky I got moving on this because there is a maximum exchange of Rupees 50,000 per day. I am not very happy with Thomas Cook but all’s well that ends well and now I’m all set for the trip.
Just in case you are wondering what I mean when I refer to “Campus”, this is a teaching hospital. It’s part of a huge university so there is a 1,200 bed hospital, a Medical School, a Dental School, a School of Pharmacy, a Business College that offers a Masters in Hospital Administration, and I don’t know what else. It really is a city in itself with 8 restaurants, a store, a bank, an eyeglass place, a bookstore, etc. That’s why I hardly ever left the campus but there is a big world out there, including cinemas!
Recently I had a wake up warning that I need to pay more attention – I lost a small change purse I had with my father’s old penknife in it. I hoped it would show up but it hasn’t, I had my name inside it and thought someone would return it. There wasn’t a lot of money in it. So yesterday when we went to the movies, I went to the store where I purchased my sleeping bag and bought another Swiss Army knife. Not as sentimental, not as small but at least I have a knife for the trip. AND I know to pay more attention to what I am doing and not lose anything else.
My camera battery is charged, and I’ve emptied my storage disks and I’m ready to take 12 Gs of photos. I bought an international electrical plug adaptor for the trip so I can keep juiced up for the duration. Bought a new duffle bag suitcase that is very light but holds more than my Camino backpack. Need to check a few things online before I leave to make sure my banks are all doing well and see what the exchange rate is like in these countries. I just checked the weather and it is a heavenly seventy something degrees during the day. It does look like it gets cool at night but I have my sleeping bag.
So I’ll say goodbye for now. Enjoy every moment of your life. That’s what I’m doing. You'll hear from me in a month.
Love, Marie
