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G-Man's Boring Lawyer Blog
May 24th 2007, 05:31 CEST by Gabe I'm kind of curious. |
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Topic: G-Man's Boring Lawyer Blog
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I agree on it being a smooth move (the mid-year refund), but I'm surprised that the Dems haven't spent more time bragging about their gift to the poor. I guess we'll see what happens. I suspect all the local businesses will be shut down by the end of the week. Lady, people aren't chocolates. But you know what they are, mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling.
Blog. 203 lbs. 23 to go. |
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They have to be careful. Some aren't going to notice at all, others are going to be pissed the per week figure works out to a family fast food meal, and any one that doesn't make minimum wage is going to be pissed they just got closer to making it (fat chance their pay's going to 7% to stay above it). |
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Seattle is easy to navigate if you know how to dodge the out of towners. Skip Denny and hit up pine for example. But still every day there are 100k people clogging up 520 from 4-8 with their stop&gotardish ways. Fuvk 520 between 3 and 8. Always. Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.
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I'll be going to Philly labor day weekend. Any recommendations? Like, which cheesesteak place is best (what are the two famous one's, Pats and Genos?), things not to miss, etc. What about places/neighborhoods to avoid? <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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I went to both "famous" joints while I was there (pregan) and they both sucked. |
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#1154 by CheesyPoof I'll be going to Philly labor day weekend. Any recommendations? Like, which cheesesteak place is best (what are the two famous one's, Pats and Genos?), things not to miss, etc. What about places/neighborhoods to avoid? Pat's and Geno's are both crappy tourist traps. You'll get as good or better results from a random corner place. The best cheesesteak in Philadelphia is in a minorly-scary black neighborhood you'll never find. Avoid North Philly, West Philly, the Great Northeast, Kensington...look, stick to Mount Airy, Chestnut hill, Center City, or South Philly. |
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Yeesh, sounds like a great place. Actually, the liberalism of the media - as a general thing - IS a major fallacy. What the media is, is a whore. -LP Johnsen Family
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You're not man enough for a cheesesteak. "Games are not novels, and the ways in which they harbor novelistic aspirations are invariably the least interesting thing about them." - Steven Johnson
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Cheesesteaks are meh. Game Developers: Don't forget the zombie monkeys.
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I'm not a fan, I expect someone might say it's because I've only had a Utah cheesesteak though. Actually, the liberalism of the media - as a general thing - IS a major fallacy. What the media is, is a whore. -LP Johnsen Family
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I miss Hardees' Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger. Also Donatos' Philly Cheesesteak pizza, which they still make but which I am no longer in proximity to. "Games are not novels, and the ways in which they harbor novelistic aspirations are invariably the least interesting thing about them." - Steven Johnson
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If you're going to get a "popular" cheesesteak, go to Jim's on South Street. Avoid Pats and Genos like the plague. And that Cheese Whiz stuff? It's processed shit. Get one with real cheese. To be fair to Hugin's comment, not all of those places are bad per se, some are just not interesting and nothing different from where Cheesy lives. If you want to be touristy, you can wander around the historical area. I like the Ben Franklin Parkway walk (especially on July 4th -- no cars!), and you can hang out at the Art Museum or the Franklin Institute for a bit. Walk around South Street (east of Broad, not west :P). |^^^^^^^^^^^^ |||__
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Cheesesteaks taste better when you make them in your own back yard. |
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from cheese you have hunted and killed yourself. "Testiculos habet et bene pendentes" — "He has testicles, and they dangle nicely."
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Although, honestly, I'm somewhat surprised that Cheesy is asking about cheesesteaks being less than 90 minutes from Philly. Don't you have places up there that sell stuff from here? |^^^^^^^^^^^^ |||__
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You can get a cheese steak here, sure, but Philly is the birthplace and I'd want to know where to get a good one. So far hearing to avoid Pat or Ginos sounds good. <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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I'm more surprised that CheesyPoof needs to ask about anything cheese-related. Surely being a poof about cheese would imply an encyclopedic knowledge of everything cheesesque. |
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I was amused (though obviously unsurprised) to find that the quality of street gyros in New York was far superior to any I'd ever had before. Of course, it's not tough to beat mall gyros or even the gyros in strip malls, but still...the difference was surprising. Lady, people aren't chocolates. But you know what they are, mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling.
Blog. 203 lbs. 23 to go. |
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The best gyro I had was in Athens. <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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The best Italian food I had was in Rome. The point was that something that should be bottom rung (street food) kicks the shit out of the kind of crap I can find around here...to that point, the gnocchi I had in a train station in Italy was better than any I've found here, even at expensive "Italian" restaurants. Lady, people aren't chocolates. But you know what they are, mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling.
Blog. 203 lbs. 23 to go. |
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The cheap burritos from the Mexican street vendors around here are the best I've ever had. Actually, the liberalism of the media - as a general thing - IS a major fallacy. What the media is, is a whore. -LP Johnsen Family
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Esta carne es de rata! "…a four-dimensional real vector space equipped with a nondegenerate, symmetric bilinear form."
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The best new yorkian food I ever had was in Minneapolis. You never see animals going through the absurd and often horrible fooleries of magic and religions. Only man behaves with such gratuitous folly. It is the price he has to pay for being intelligent but not, as yet, intelligent enough. --Aldous Huxley
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Part VII, where our attempts are creating an international incident go unnoticed. The staff banged on our door at 6:30 like we had asked and so we go up. The room had cooled off a bit, but like the previous night at a Sopa Lodge, I had a back ache. We showered (and held our nose in the bathroom) and packed our stuff to go to breakfast. When we arrived at the desk they wanted us to check out, but we said we would be back after breakfast. This turned out to be a good thing. At breakfast the manager apologized to us for the lackluster service yesterday but there wasn’t anything he could do other than apologize. We ate and met our guide in the lobby. We went to the front desk to hand in our key and they said something in Swahili that got our guide excited. The manager was called over and they got on the phone. Our guide came over to tell us that all drinks were to be included in the price, but they were going to present us with a bill. He argued with them for us and the manager was calling the central office to find out. Apparently this happened at the other Sopa Lodge too, but we didn’t know about it. When he got around to asking how our evening was we told him how terrible the service was. He was sorry about it and said that he would let their operator know and that they would get in touch with the lodge management. With the bill settled (we didn’t have to pay) we left the lodge for Tarangire National Park, hoping that the Sopa there wasn’t going to be so awful. The drive to Tarangire was going to take us a few hours. We first had to make our way over some rough road to exit the Ngorongoro Crater conservation area. Firoz explained that in the wet season it was not unusual for it to take two hours to go 20 KM over this road due to the Sopa’s location on the rim. Once we got passed that 20 KM, however, it would be tarmac and a relatively easy ride to Tarangire. A colleague told Firoz that the road was in good shape and we should be OK. In fact, the government was in the process of doing the annual maintenance on it and re-surfacing it. We opened the top and left the park. Driving around the rim we did not expect to see any animals. It is very lush so to see any animals in the vegetation would be very difficult. Along the way our guide did point out some interesting birds and trees. At one point he showed us holes in the rock that were dug out by elephants that would take the rock and eat them for the minerals in it, in essence an elephant vitamin. Somehow through this brush Firoz saw something and stopped the jeep. He looked around and backed up and clapped his hands in excitement. We wondered what he was and he pointed us to a small opening in the bush to look. We saw a pair of eyes and spots staring back at us. It was a leopard, the second that we found! It was quite an accomplishment to see two of these animals in one trip. We stopped and watched the animal a bit when he got up and moved. Out of the narrow break in the bushes we couldn’t see anything. We were going to leave when Firoz saw him cross the road behind us. We backed up and watched him walk through the trees and leave for good. We could not believe that Firoz had spotted that leopard. We asked how he did it and he said that he was looking in the right place at the right time and saw it move its tail. So many times people can drive by the animals simply because they blend in so well. An hour or so after leaving the lodge we reached the point where the road turned to tarmac. There was a lookout over the crater, so we got out and took a few pictures. It was beautiful. We got back into the jeep and left. At the entrance to the conservation area were a troop of olive baboons. We saw this infant baboon trying to get away from its mother to play, but she knew better than to let it run all over the road. Every time the little one would craw away she would grab it and pull it back to her. It was very cute. We exited the conservation area and were driving down a modern highway to Tarangire. Firoz explained that the highway was only a couple of years old and was built with a grant from Japan. It was notably smooth and had runoff ditches on either side. He explained that in years past it would take a couple of hours extra to drive as it was all dirt and gravel. In leaving the conservation area we were confronted with the poverty that these people were living in. The past 5 days inside the Serengeti let us forget the conditions that the majority of the population lives in. At one point in our drive he stopped along the road at a market to buy us some red banana to try and it doesn’t take people long to approach us. In an instant there were 5 other people coming up to the jeep to sell us souvenirs, some of which were the same that we got at the Masaai village. He buys us the bananas and we go on (they’re OK, nothing special. Just shorter and thicker but taste pretty much the same). We had scheduled time to stop at a souvenir store on the way to buy some gifts for people and ourselves. There was a store we went to in Arusha on our first full day, but it seemed pricy, plus we didn’t want to lug extra stuff around on our Safari. The store we stopped at was fairly large and didn’t have seven or eight people coming out of the woodwork to hassle us. Outside were large carvings and paintings while the inside was reserved for the more mundane stuff like small animal carvings, t-shirts, and the assorted kitsch you find at a souvenir stand. We browsed a bit not finding any artwork we liked but some carved animals that we wanted. The rule in TZ is that you have to haggle. Our guide suggested starting at 50% of what they offered and working our way up. We gathered a few items and haggled with the shyster that was tailing us. We asked how much and he said 55,000 Tsh, we countered with 25,000Tsh. He said, he could do 25,000, but slip him a 5 spot on the side. So, we said OK and did it. It felt wrong, and we were sure we got scammed a little bit. It didn’t break the bank but we left with a bad taste in our mouths. We left and continued on our way. We reached the end of the mountains that the crater was in and were told that before us was the beginning of the rift valley. We stopped at a scenic overlook to look at Lake Manyara and to use the bathrooms. My wife went to use the bathrooms while I waited outside for her. While waiting I was approached by a couple of guys trying to sell me crap. I wasn’t interested, but they persisted. They were talking to me in broken English and said several times, “George Bush.” I don’t know what they were getting at, but another jeep came and they wandered to talk to those people. They were Americans too. My wife got out of the bathroom and we walked over to look at the rift valley and late. It was a little hazy out, but you could see the valley and the lake was right there. It was impressive, but marred by the people that arrive after us that were assholes. We got back to the jeep and left. The Japanese road ended and we were on the patchwork pavement that is common in TZ. It was a short drive on that to an even more patchwork road to the park. Along the way were rudimentary souvenir stands. Several of them had signs saying, “Local made to support women’s group.” We didn’t stop at any of them and soon were at the Tarangire gate. We arrived at the park entrance around 11:30 and parked so Firoz could take care of the paperwork. We walked around a little bit and the first thing we noticed was that the sun felt stronger than it did in the Serengeti or Ngorongoro. In addition it was warmer as well, but still comfortable if you were in the shade and felt a breeze. We met Firoz back at the Landcruiser and got in. The gate to the park was a simple chain strung across the road though a hole into the guard house. We approached and the guard inside let the chain out so that we could pass. The road switched to dirt and the first thing that you notice is that this park is a lot drier than the other two. Our guide explains to us how this is the beginning of the dry season and that the animals will begin coming to the park. While it looks dry, there is water under the surface and a marsh that they could drink from. We drive around and Firoz points out a baobab tree to us, the first one we have seen. It’s a tree with a huge trunk and it only has leaves during the wet season. As a result all the trees in the park are naked. The trees wood isn’t very strong so it was never used by the native tribes for anything, so as a result it has no use in modern times. The animals use it for water as its huge trunk can store massive amounts of it. Elephants would scratch the wood with their tusks and in some instances would create holes clear through the tree. Unfortunately, poachers would find it useful to hide in these holes while out on their hunts. The first animal we see in the park it a giant bull elephant. He was eating some grass and we watched him for a little bit before we continued. After a half hour of driving we spotted another jeep that was pulled over and decide to stop too, not knowing what was there. The guides talked and then our guide directs our view to a tree 80 yards or so away from the road. They had spotted wild hunting dogs but were bedded down in the grass. This park has a lot more grass than the Serengeti making it that more difficult to see mammals keeping a low profile. We waited around waiting for the dogs to move, but it was the noon and they weren’t going anywhere, except to stay in the shade. They got up, looked around and moved to where the shade went. We got some pictures, but not very good ones. After 15 minutes, we left. We were slowly making our way to the Sopa Lodge. Through the middle of the park is a (mostly) dry river bed. Our guide had explained that back in February the rains were the most that the park had ever seen and the rivers banks were eroded wider in the torrent. Several trees were felled that now littered the river bed. There was a bridge crossing the river that you would take to go to the Sopa Lodge, but that got washed away in the rains and so we had to drive around it to another crossing. Firoz didn’t think that the bridge would be replaced anytime soon. At various parts in the river bed you did see some pools of water. It wasn’t flowing anymore, but it was available for the animals. We spotted a herd of elephants in the river getting a drink. The elephants weren’t drinking from the pools available, but would dig down with their trunks to the water underground that was cleaner. We had to opportunity to take a cute picture of a baby elephant with its legs crossed in their 3 legged resting pose. Along the way we also saw a nice umbrella acacia tree with giraffe’s browsing. They were barely able to reach the lower branches of the tree. We arrived at the Sopa Lodge and were surprised to find the gate down at the entrance. We were similarly surprised to see someone at the gate armed with an AK-47 standing guard, but didn’t say anything about it. The guard didn’t ask for any ID or anything and opened the gate for us. We were greeted with the now standard facecloth and juice. We were checking in when Firoz asked to talk to the manager. The manager came out and they spoke in Swahili. Firoz was telling them how awful our experience had been at the Ngorongoro Sopa. The manager apologized for that and would see to it that we wouldn’t have the same trouble here. He personally put us into one of their better rooms, #44. The lodge at Tarangire isn’t a monolith building like the two other Sopa’s that we stayed at, but a collection of round structures that were divided into four rooms each, two on top and two on the bottom. We were upstairs and on the left side of the building. Our room was one of the closest to the lobby, which was great being that all our rooms previously have been the furthest you could go. The room had a small sitting area with two chairs and a table when you entered. Going backward to the bedroom area was a small hallway that had a closet with a safe. To the right was the bathroom. It was the most dated looking bathroom we had seen so far, but the shower was large and it had a bidet. The main area had two double beds and a large mosquito net to go around them both. The best part was that there was a ceiling fan to cool the room off. We had a prime view of the circular swimming pool. The beds felt more comfortable than the other lodges, but they were still too small. We packed up 3 days worth of laundry and took it over to the front desk where they said they could get it done today. Unfortunately laundry wasn’t included in the price, but it had to get done. It felt disingenuous of the chain to have free laundry at the other two places because we felt we weren’t able to take advantage of it by staying only one night, but speaking to the manager here he said that they could get it done today, and we were thankful for it. We went to the dining room which was empty. The hotel as a whole felt sparse, and not because people were on safari (too hot to bother going out for a full day). Regardless we went to lunch for our four course meal. The waiter introduced himself to us; he said his name was Onesmo, and that he would be there to take care of anything with us. I suspect the manager talked to him beforehand and for the two days was always there for us (if only he could have used deodorant). A couple of tables away there was a group of people that looked like local businessmen. It was odd, because we hadn’t seen anyone like that before and wondered what they would be doing here. Talking about it we wondered why the people visiting here was not very diverse. We had seen only one or two Asian couples on safari, one black family at the Ngorongoro Sopa, and one black couple at Tarangire when we left for lunch; everyone else has been white westerners. It was a bit odd we thought. We didn’t know what to make of the businessmen and forgot about it as we had our lunch. Another odd happening during lunch was that we heard singing, like people were rehearsing for a show. We didn’t know of any show being put on for the guests and wondered what it was about, but quickly forgot about it. We didn’t care for the salad on the menu, a tomato salad, so we asked if there was something else they could provide and they came through with shredded cabbage, cucumber, carrots and light vinaigrette dressing. It was great. I think the soup was pumpkin cumin, but I am not sure, and I totally forget what the main course was. For dessert we both ordered the chocolate tart and were pleasantly surprised to see a nice piece. Unfortunately it wasn’t very good. The filling was rubbery and not very chocolaty. The crust was good, but if that’s the best thing you can say about a tart it’s not a good thing. We finished lunch and went back to our room to relax until it was 4:00 for our afternoon game drive. We met Firoz in the lobby for our afternoon drive got into the land cruiser. A little bit away from the lodge he told us that there was going to be a VIP guest at the lodge tonight. The reason the hotel was so empty was that they were going to be hosting the “Prime Minister” of China. A later googling in Amsterdam told us that it was the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, who was touring Africa and was at his final stop in Tanzania. They were due to arrive at the hotel later in the evening, after the park normally closes, after touring Chinese construction projects in Arusha. They were then going to go on a quick safari tomorrow morning before leaving to go back to China that afternoon. This made sense as to the business men at lunch were really government/military (one person was wearing what looked like olive colored fatigues, but lacked any sort of identification) personal and it explained the armed guard out front. We dispensed of the talk and continued on our drive. Even at 4:00 it was hot out. It borderline tolerable and I did not like it much. We saw a lot of birds on the game drive, but not many notable animals. Tarangire is better known for the birds that you can see than the animals, although they are there too. The best bird that we saw, but didn’t get a picture of, was the pygmy falcon, the smallest bird of prey in Africa. It wasn’t until it started to turn to dusk at around 5:00 that it was really comfortable. The good news about the strong sun was that we would finally, after 6 evenings, have a chance to see a sunset. As the sun slowly marched toward the horizon we were greeted with a wonderful show as the sky turned different colors and hues. We got some great pictures with acacia and baobab trees in the foreground and the setting sun behind them. It was great to see. As the sun doesn’t set until around 6:30, we had to rush back to the hotel to meet our 7:00 curfew. I stood up in the land cruiser finally glad to be free of the heat and to enjoy the rapidly cooling air. At one point driving back it felt like someone turned on the A/C to eleven as a blast of cold air hit us in the face and rolled all over our bodies. It was refreshing. Driving back was another matter though for Firoz. During the evening the birds would gather in the road and roll around in the dust. It was to keep the mosquitoes off of them. This made driving back a bit of a game to avoid running over a slow bird as they darted out of the path. When we arrived back at the hotel, passing the gate and AK-47 toting guard, there was a small crowd gathered out front. There were hotel staffed dressed and lined up waiting. The hotel manager had a suit on and I can only guess that the rest were part of the TZ government to welcome the Chinese Premier. We went back to our room to get ready for dinner when my wife had the idea to spy on them. Our room had a direct line of sight to the lobby entrance where they were going arrive. We cracked the window, made sure the lights were off, and got out our cameras. During the day it wouldn’t have been a problem, but it wasn’t illuminated enough at dusk to be able to see anyone. We gave up on our career in espionage and got ready to eat dinner instead. We left our room at 7:15 and they were still waiting outside. It was beyond dark to see anything from our room so we left. We were nervous that they were going to say something to us, or make us take a long way around to the restaurant, but they only said “Jambo” to us on our way. We went to the bar to wait until it was dinner time and had a couple of drinks. Due to the Chinese delegation taking up many of the rooms it was delightfully sparse in the bar. There were a few couple having some cocktails, but we all had a tables and large sofas to ourselves. My wife decided to try some mixed drink they had in their menu, while I stuck to beer. Her drink was OK, but nothing special. At 7:30 we went to dinner which was setup as a buffet this evening. I presume that since there were so few guests it was more economical to have it that way. The dining room was similarly empty, but next to us was a table set up for 10. For dinner there were a selection of 4 salads, including a cabbage one that was like the one at lunch, several hot dishes that included, but not limited to, fried fish, polenta, coconut rice, local beef stew, beef stroganoff, a chicken dish and some vegetarian choices. We got some salad and bread before we got up to try the main courses. At this point the table of 10 next to us filled up with TZ government folks. Some looked like they were in the military while others looked like bureaucrats. It was comical to see one of the people at the table take their napkin and tuck it into their shirt. Being on official duty, I presume, they all were drinking soda. After our entrees we tried the desserts. They weren’t very good. The chocolate tart was back, but they called it a chocolate mousse but it was still rubbery and not light and fluffy. There was custard and a lemon tart that was the highlight, as well as a fruit salad. The staff was excellent in getting our drinks for us and taking away our plates, though. Onesmo himself saw to that. After dinner we went back to the bar for some cordials. My wife got a little freaked out when she saw a rock hyrax dart behind the bar, but I reassured her that it was OK. They may look like rats, but they don’t transmit disease like them and are just taking a short cut through the hotel. She bought it but I was just making that up. We stepped up to the bar to see what cordials were available. My wife was undecided but I knew that I wanted Bailey’s. Someone from the government was there, he must have been off duty because he wasn’t drinking soda, saw our dilemma and suggested a concoction know as Afrikoko. I didn’t know if the ‘koko’ meant cocoa or coconut. My wife ordered it on the proviso that if she didn’t like it we would switch since I was in a ‘try new stuff’ mood. Well, she didn’t like it. It was supposed to be a mix of both, cocoa and coconut liqueurs, but it tasted mostly of coconut. It was OK, nothing worth bringing back to the US though. I had round of Baileys to follow it up. After finishing that we went to the gift shop to see if they had a nail file for my wife since being in the bush was rough on them. There were some Chinese reporters or lackeys (one in the same?) milling about checking out the carved animals on display. They were blocking the way and my wife didn’t want to push through, so I bulled my way in saying excuse me. Annoying, but they were little. They didn’t have a nail file so I had to bull our way out and went to the front desk to set a 5:30 wake up call since Firoz said we would leave early taking a breakfast basket with us. We went back to the room, which was turned down for us, to get ready for the next day. Our laundered cloths were delivered and we set about charging our electronics and went to bed. It was a little sad knowing that tomorrow would be our last full day and night in Africa. Part VIII to be continued... <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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It's going that me more time to read all this than you spent in Africa in the first place. |
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It's a good thing then that the site is slowing down for you to be able to catch up on everything that's posted. <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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I wish lwf spent more time writing that post. |
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It happens too much. |
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Part VIII, where a lion is a little too comfortable around us We were aroused from our slumber exactly at 5:30. I was worried that we would have to shower with cold water as the hours for hot water were from 6:00 to 8:00, but I didn’t have to worry as having the Chinese premier among us meant that hot water was available throughout the night. We showered and went to meet Firoz in front of the lodge at 6:00, but didn’t see him. I tried looking for our safari jeep to see if he was there, but in front of the lodge it was a mess of Landcruisers haphazardly parked on the road. A staff member saw us waiting and went inside to look for him. He was at the restaurant waiting for them to finish our picnic breakfast. We loaded up and snaked our way though the mess of jeeps to ours. We drove to the gate only to find that the guard must have been taking a nap since no one was there to let us out. We couldn’t even raise the gate ourselves since it was locked down. We waited a little bit before someone noticed and ran out to let us out. We hadn’t gotten far before my wife went to use the camera and it didn’t work. I had forgotten to take the battery from the charger so we turned around and went back. Firoz parked the jeep in a lot away from the mess out front and I darted between the jeeps back to the room to get the battery. This little adventure cost us 20 minutes. Given the spectacular sunset from the night before, we hoped to see an equally impressive sunrise. We were driving around looking for cats in the early morning, but did not find any. What we did find were a whole troop of baboons in a baobab tree. They were spread through the boughs of the naked tree looking like furry ornaments. They spend their nights in the trees to avoid any predators, such as leopards. Our guide saw a pair mating, but we were not fast enough to see that. Not finding any cats we track back past the baboon tree and get onto the main park road. As the sun rises the sky turns color to vibrant oranges and reds. Firoz stops by a baobab tree and my wife frames a perfect picture of an African sunrise. We continue on our drive and spot a couple of giraffes eating. We watch them for a bit and move on until Firoz spots a great bird of prey at its nest. It was a martial eagle and was the first of several birds of prey that we would see that day. Continuing along the road we spotted a hole in the middle of the road. You can’t see all the wildlife in Africa, but you are able to see evidence of nocturnal events, and this hole was part of that. Firoz explained that the hole was made by an aardvark that was digging for termites. They have powerful claws and snout that let them dig down to the burrows the termites make. Further proof of the nighttime ballet were the leopard prints that were around the hole. The aardvark was being stalked by the leopard, but we can only imagine what happened that night. It was nearing 8:00 and Firoz was taking us to a picnic area for breakfast. The brush is too high to campout like we did in the Serengeti and to delay longer it would be too hot. We were driving along the road when our guide spotted a hat in the middle of it. He stopped next to it, checked for animals, and quickly got out to pick it up. Inspecting it, it was a hat from our tour operator in the US, which we were also wearing! We joked that one of us was the culprit that lost it (and littered), but we all had our hats. We arrived at the picnic area only to find that the best tables (in the shade) were taken. Eating there was a family that was on Safari with Ranger Safaris also, and in a stroke of good luck they were the ones that lost the hat. We took a table that was toward the rear of the picnic area and closest to the park road. About 100 yard away, on the other side of the road, was the swamp. As a result the picnic area had an abundance of dragonflies buzzing the tables. Firoz took the basket and began to setup, only to discover that the hotel did not include a place setting for him. Either they were rushed and forgot it, or they did not think he deserved one. Breakfast was assorted pastries, breads, with bacon, sausage, ham, fruit, yogurt and some chocolate bars. The food was good, but not as nice as the picnic breakfast we had in the Serengeti from the migration camp. While we were eating the other guide from Ranger Safari came over to talk to Firoz and we saw that it was none other than the driver that took us around Arusha on our first day there. We made some small talk before he excused himself to talk to Firoz before going back to his group. While we were eating and talking we saw a group of 10 safari jeeps coming towards us. It was the Chinese premier’s entourage on safari. They came up the road to the picnic area, we figured to use the bathroom, but instead they turned around and went back on to the main road. Here I was hoping to take a picture of the premier and maybe press his palm. Oh well. We finished breakfast and were cleaning up when we saw some elephants approaching the picnic area. Firoz said that they wouldn’t come near us and were on their morning trek for water. After we finished packing up we would go over to watch them. By the time we left the picnic area the elephants the Chinese delegation was no where to be found. The Premier, being a busy VIP and all, was afforded the special opportunity to have their delegation of 10 or so Landcruisers travel off road against parks rules. They turned off the road to look at the elephants and quickly went on their way. We were able to see where they turned off the road as there were very visible tracks in the bush. This is why the rules were so strict for the guides because the damage to the park would be too severe if they were allowed to drive anywhere. Firoz said that the Masai Mara park in Kenya had a lot of environmental damage from guides that did not stick to the roads and it was suffering for it. The elephants were already at the marsh when we go over there. We parked by the road to watch them. It was a relatively big herd with a few babies and younger elephants in addition to the adults. They all were by the bank dunking their trunks into the water and drinking, except for one adolescent elephant. This one wanted to play and waded out into the water and swam. Adult elephants don’t go into the waters like that as they would have too hard of a time getting out. Seeing an adolescent do it was unusual in itself. Having gotten their fill of water they exited the marsh to go to the other side of the park for food. They were wary in leaving as there were a few jeeps parked along the road and picked a spot with the biggest distance between them. The swimming elephant put on a show by flaring their ears like they were aggressive, but it left without a peep. Already as this herd was exiting another herd was on the way in for their drink. We left and continued. We did not see much else in the morning drive so we started to make our way back to the hotel. The sun was getting high in the sky and you could feel the heat build. Going back to the hotel I saw something in the road moving. Firoz didn’t see it and when we were right next to it I asked him to stop. He looked down and we saw a leopard tortoise walking on the side of the road. We took pictures and left. We got back to the hotel and learned lunch was being served as a buffet around the pool. We weren’t hungry so we took a nap before going downstairs. When we went down we were seated at one end of a long table (long enough to have 6 chairs on one side) with a couple of gentleman at the other end. The buffet was similar to what we had the night before. While eating one of the guys at the other end of the table let out a very loud burp. It was objectionable. We finished our food and went back to the room where we started to prepare for our departure. We filled out the feedback survey for Ranger safari making sure they knew how great Firoz was, plus how terrible the Ngorongoro Sopa was. We met Firoz for final game drive at 4:00. It was bittersweet knowing that it was going to be the last game drive. One the one had it was the best vacation we had been on and had seen so many wonderful sights it was sad to have it ending, but on the other hand I’ve gotten a little bit tired of being in the wilderness and wanted to be back in the first world. Our final drive started in the heat of the afternoon talking about if there was anything else that we wanted to see. I had mentioned that I liked the birds of prey and would like to see more of them. We got lucky in that respect because that afternoon Firoz had a sharp eye to spot an Eagle Owl underneath a tree. The tree was near the road so that its branches where above the road. We were able to drive underneath it and see the owl up close. It was a lot bigger than I thought an owl could be. It was on the branch and hopping around and Firoz saw that it was clutching some prey. Its mate was near by, but too hidden in the tree to get some pictures of it. With us there the owl wasn’t going to eat, so we left only to be buzzed by an African Fish Eagle 10 minutes later. We saw it flying with some prey it just caught, ironically not a fish, and landed on a tree not far from where we were. The eagle couldn’t fly very far with such a large catch, but like the owl was too skittish to eat it in front of us. We took our pictures and left. The afternoon wore on and it was soon turning into dusk. The sun was low on the horizon and our game drive only had an hour and a half or so left to it. In our photo collection there was a distinct lack of pictures with us in them so we had Firoz on the lookout for giraffes or elephants that we could frame in the background. We were near the river bed that snakes through the park driving on side trails to see if there were herds of elephants or giraffes to take a picture with. We found some and took our pictures, but on one trail we spotted a herd of elephants in the river drinking, but the view lost due to how the trail turned when we got closer. Firoz knew a way to get to the other side so we turned back to cross. Driving back out of the side trail two lionesses appear out of the bush. Firoz stopped the land cruiser and we watched them. They were nonchalant about us being there and got very, very close to the jeep. Close enough that I was nervous they would try to jump inside at us. I didn’t see how an open top land cruiser would be a deterrent to an hungry lion and I felt very vulnerable. It was definitely a thrill, though. One of the lions had on a bulky radio collar. Firoz said it was unusual to see one that big as they had gotten smaller over the years. The lions looked thin as we could see their ribs. The lion with the radio collar took the opportunity to defecate in front of us. It was close enough to us that we could smell it (it was awful). They continued on their hunt walking past the trail and down into the river bed. We ended up driving to the other side of the river and were able to see them laying down in the river bed looking around for prey. The sun was setting now and we started to make our way back to the hotel stopping along the way to get some pictures of the sunset. Africa had one last treat for us. As dusk was rapidly approaching we saw a large herd, hundreds of animals, of cape buffalo. We had only seen a few buffalos clustered together during our safari. They herd was spread all around us. We took some pictures and drove forward a little bit at a time seeing more and more of them. Eventually we saw where they all were going. They were going to a watering hole in the river bed and all these animals lined up to climb down from the river bank. One after another like commuters spilling out of the escalators during the morning rushed they descended into the river. We watched and took pictures and video of this mass of animals going to the watering hole. It was getting dark out and we had to leave or else we would get back too late. Firoz started the jeep and we left. Before we knew it we were back at the hotel and our game drives were over. We headed back to our room and changed for dinner. We didn’t feel like going to the bar and we were thankful, at least, that this dinner was going to be our last four course affair. The dining room was a lot busier than the night before now that the Chinese delegation had left. Dinner was OK, the best course was the spring roll appetizer, but nothing special. We tipped Onesmo for his great service and he was very gracious. We went to the lobby to set a wakeup call for 6:30 and headed back to our room to pack our things. Tomorrow we would head back to Arusha stopping along the way for souvenirs and going to the Arusha Coffee Lodge for lunch (and looking forward to one of their great pizzas) before going to Kilimanjaro airport. It was going to a long day. Part IX to be concluded... <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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Part IX, where we begin the long trek home We were woken up at 6:30 and finished our packing. Our plan was to pack as much as possible into our suitcases to lighten our carryon luggage, only planning to lug the electronic, souvenirs, toiletries and a change of clothes. We saw monkeys outside near the pool so we took some pictures of them. We left the room and a couple of porters were waiting to take our bags to the lobby. I didn’t have enough singles to tip them, so unfortunately I had to give one of the porters a tip in local currency. We got to breakfast and enjoyed the buffet. Onesmo is too busy to say goodbye, but we wave to him as we exited. We got to the checkout to settle the bill and it was a lot higher than I had expected. Unlike the other lodges, drinks were not included here. I had thought that I saw a note in our itinerary that meant mixed drinks, but bill was for all drinks, including bottled water. I made a small stink about it, but should not have bothered as the whole bill was a little under $100. I did get them to take off a few bottles of water that we had at dinner, though when we left they stopped the jeep on the way out to collect the cost of them since they must have called the home office to verify. We left the park and while our top was opened, we didn’t see anything that warranted stopping. We pass the same ramshackle souvenir huts that we saw on the way in and turn on to the highway. The road is tarmac but uneven. There are a lot of kids walking home from school, but when we see them we don’t see the school or their homes. At one point Firoz saw a small lizard crossing the road. We stopped to look at it, there wasn’t any traffic, and take a picture of it. It was a chameleon. It would be the last wildlife that we would stop to look at. Along the way we pass the largest army base in Tanzania. Photographing it was prohibited so we didn’t take any pictures, but there wasn’t anything to see. All you could see from the road was the barbed wire fence, a couple of white buildings and a soccer pitch. We stop at a large souvenir shop on the road to Arusha. The store was overflowing with wood carving and various knick knacks. We had a shopping list of things to get for people and went about filling it. We had a sales person shadow us, but there was no hard sell or pressure to buy anything. For myself I got a rock that came from the area to keep near my desk. We were able to negotiate with them even though they the sticker on the items said "fixed price" for everything. We weren’t able to get everything on our list and so we asked Firoz to take us to the cultural center in Arusha. The cultural center felt like a rip-off joint when we first went there, but it had the best selection and quality of souvenirs of all the places we visited. Going back to the cultural center we took pictures of the tribal dancer and musicians out front. That felt cheesy. Inside we found some items that we wanted, most importantly the painting that my wife fell in love with, but the staff said they couldn’t negotiate the price down. The staff wasn’t budging, but the owner came by and gave the OK to cut some 15% off the price of the items we had, so we took that and ran. Outside we got our picture taken with Firoz and went back to the coffee lodge. We were excited to be going there for lunch because we knew that it meant that we wouldn’t have five star dining. Imagine our horror when they gave us a menu for a four course meal. We had already know what we wanted, so we asked the server if they could bring us a pizza and a hamburger since it was what we were so looking forward too. They said OK and it wouldn’t be a problem, but they still brought out the soup and salad courses. The only problem with the lunch was a house cat that was pestering us. We had to ask the staff to shoo it. The pizza and hamburger were awesome. With lunch I had my last two 0.5L of Kilimanjaro lager (like I may have said before, good there but not worth the trouble to lug home). The Ranger Safari rep that met with us on our first day, Mr. Evans, met with us again to find out how everything went. We said how great it was and everything exceeded our expectations, but did follow it up with the problems we had at the Ngorongoro Sopa. After lunch we left and met Firoz back at the jeep to go to the airport. We had to go to the Ranger Safari compound to get gas and from there we had a little time for a driving tour of Arusha to get pictures and video, but no time to stop. One the way to the Ranger Safari compound we drove through the poorest of the poor sections of Arusha. We turned down a side street to by pass traffic, only it was a dirt patch that not even the worst of the Serengeti could hold a candle too. I would never have thought that it was a road. We get the gas and left, driving though to the center of Arusha. We pass the sights we saw before but now with our video and camera equipment. I get some video of the clock tower and the surrounding city, but the landcruiser was too bouncy to get any good pictures since we couldn’t stop. We were not allowed the shoot video of the police stations or the UN Court building, but I probably could have gotten away with it. We passed the hospital that the Chinese are helping to build only to see how rudimentary their construction techniques are. To weld pipes together they had to hold them over an open flame. It was all manual work and there was no evidence of power tools. We leave the city center and go on our way to the airport. This was the beginning of the long slog home. For whatever reason the travel agent couldn’t book the reverse of how we got to TZ and so we had to take a different route. We had a 3:30 plane to catch at Kilimanjaro that would take us to Nairobi. That was an hour flight on an ATR-42. Once there we had a 6 hour layover for the flight back to Amsterdam. Then we had a 9 hour flight that landed at Schiphol at 5:30 in the morning. At Amsterdam we had an 8 hour layover before continuing on the 7 hour flight back home. From the time we left the coffee lodge to the time we were due to get back to my folks house in NY our transit time would be almost 33 hours. Needless to say I wasn’t looking forward to this part of the trip. We had planned to spend a couple of nights in Amsterdam on the way home but canceled that since my wife went back to school and wanted to use the weekend to catch up on missed work. Regardless, I would have been to tired/crabby to really enjoy Amsterdam so I think that it worked out for the best. In addition the flight going there was so easy that I felt like we could go there, cost not withstanding, anytime. We arrived at the airport an hour or so after leaving the coffee lodge. We said our goodbyes to Firoz and gave him his tip. He got a cart for us and was gone. We made our way through the first layer of security and went to the Precision Air check in counter. They asked if we wanted to check in our bags through to JFK, and despite our issues with lost luggage on the way in, we threw caution to the wind and did it because we didn’t want to lug extra crap around. We had a little over an hour to wait for the flight and spent part of that time in the small duty free shop getting a couple of last minute souvenir books for the kids. We lined up early for boarding so we were among the first through which allowed us to pick our seats on the plane. You board the airplane at the rear so we got seats in the back to be the first ones off. The flight was uneventful, which is always good, but the cloud cover meant that we didn’t see anything in either Tanzania or Kenya. It was our final chance to see Mt. Kilimanjaro which was now over. We were able to glimpse a little bit of Nairobi through the clouds but only enough to see that it was a real city and not a shanty town like Arusha. Disembarking in Nairobi we made our way to the layover lounge for KLM passengers. It reminded me of a bus terminal. The chairs were basic and there were a few tables for people to sit at. There was a coffee counter where you could purchase snacks and drinks. It was a mind numbing wait as I hadn’t packed anything to read. The hours dragged on until it was two hours until departure time. They had posted the gate so we decided to take a walk there. After browsing the duty free shops and not getting anything we go through security for our gate. The line was short and we were able to get through quickly. We sat at a couple of seats that allowed us to watch security as people came in. The line grew and security moved slower than molasses. We passed through fine, but for some reason they started to frisk everyone that went through. It was so slow that we though it would delay the flight. It became an annoyance watching at how slow it moved. It was even more frustrating to watch people that exited the waiting area to use the bathroom and have to pass through security again. The annoyance was tempered by some of the characters that passed thorough. One mother wasn’t giving her child any supervision and this boy, he had to be about three, was racing his toy motorcycle on the x-ray machines belt getting in the way of people. At one point he tried to climb up and ride his motorcycle through the tunnel. Thankfully someone, not his mother, stopped him before he got a few rads of exposure. It wasn’t long before the schedule departure time when we saw the flight crew pass through security. Ugh. During the flight they said a traffic jam outside the airport delayed their arrival. Anyway, about a half hour or so after we were supposed to leave they started loading us on board a 747 to take us Amsterdam. This was our fifth flight on this trip and the fifth different airplane that we would fly. Our seats were next to the staircase for the first class/business class passengers which meant that we were close to the door. However, the row was tight. This airplane most felt like a cattle car and it did not help when some bitchy Dutch woman sat between us (remember the ticketing agent put us in seats A and C with a seat between us). We refused to separate and let her choose to sit in near the window or the aisle, so she chose the aisle. Regardless she got the flight attendant to come over anyway. We only had to deal with her for a short while, thankfully, as after we took off she moved somewhere else. The extra space would make the long flight a little more palatable. The 747 didn’t have personal monitors in it and so we were stuck watching whatever was being shown in the cabin. It was a night flight so some shut eye (only a little) helped pass the time but it was torture until we landed. We flew over Cairo according to the in-flight map (that was lucky enough to be on at the time between shows) but due to the early morning all we saw were lights. The flight landed on time at 5:30, either due to a strong tail wind or they threw more oil through the engines, so we moved on to our biggest layover on the trip back. The handy guide to Schiphol airport the travel agent gave us let us know that there was a hotel in the airport for people that would have a lengthy layover. We made our way hoping to be able to get a day room where we could shower, change and rest up for a bit. Arriving at the counter for the hotel we met a frosty bitch that told us day rooms would be available at 10AM. I asked for clarification because there was a sign out front that said for an extra fee a day room could be available sooner, at 6AM; however this ice queen repeated her earlier statement that they would be available at 10AM instead of saying that none were available. We moved on to plan B which involved us renting a pair of shower stalls so we could refresh ourselves and change our clothes. After only killing a half hour or so we decided to find one of those communication centers that had scattered through the airport to log in and see what happened in the world the past 14 days. At this point our interactions with the Dutch turned around. I met a chap that was much more amicable than the two queens I had to deal with and got two 1 hour internet cards. We surfed for a half our or so before decided to get something to eat. The food on KLM is OK at first, but grew long in the tooth. We found a pub/café called Café Amsterdam upstairs near a McDonald's and went in there to hang out. It was around 8AM, but I was drinking a 0.5L mug of Heineken. You have to love international airports. The people here were a lot nicer than the others we had to deal with which was good. I wanted to try something Dutch for the short time while we were there. I didn’t want herring (I don’t even know if it was available) so I tried the croquettes. They were good, and I would get them again, but I wonder how they compare to ones you could get in the city. I had no idea what they were when I ordered them, and I still don’t, but I would describe it as chicken/turkey stuffing in a crusted ball that was deep fried. I had another 0.5L of beer (woohoo! 1L before 9AM!) before we left at around 9:30 or so. We wandered around and went to the duty free shops to get some things. I got some Bombay Sapphire and some nice chocolates. We went back to the internet center and finish up our time when my wife wanted to get a massage. We went to the massage center near the museum and she got a massage. I had passed on getting one and waited. The gate we were departing from was posted so we went there and waited. The plane wasn’t there and it was getting crowded. Eventually the plane was brought to the gate and they start passing people through security, but it was a mess. Security at Schiphol in general is a mess. They need to get there act together there. Crowded security can only mean a full flight. I was happy to see that the airplane was a 777 because that meant we would have our own on demand TV’s which would help pass the time. As luck would have it, again, when we boarded there was someone in the middle seat for our row. Never again will we allow a TA to do that. 3 of the 4 flights had someone between us that we had to negotiate with to move around. He moved to the aisle seat and I took the window. As my luck would have it the video screen for my seat didn’t work. I would have to spend 7 hours looking out the window. Ugh. Halfway through the flight my wife and I switched seats, but her screen barely worked and I had a tough time seeing that. It didn’t help the situation that we were behind a couple that put their seats all the way back as soon as they could. I don’t understand people like that. It’s not like that’s going to make the flight any more pleasant. I hate people like that. The flight back was longer than going because of the headwind. The pilot said we were lucky because it was going to be a bit shorter than normal, but I didn’t think so. We finally land and have to deal with customs and immigration. I read an article in the paper before leaving that said people had to wait up to 90 minutes. The immigration line moved quickly and we were through there in a few minutes. We then went to pick up our luggage. We were through immigration so fast that the carousel wasn’t moving yet and had to wait. When it finally stated two of our three pieces of luggage came off the ramp quickly but the third was MAI. Thoughts of lost luggage flashed in my head again, but I took the two bags and our carryon to wait on the customs line while my wife waited for the third. I got to the front to the line and had to wave a few people by me when my wife arrived with the third piece. After a cursory talk we were waved through. My folks were out picking up their new car and weren’t at home when I called. They had expected us to take longer through customs so we had to wait 20 minutes for them to arrive. They picked us up and we got to their house at around 5:00 and were finally glad to be ‘home’ after that long trip. We ate dinner and passed out by 8PM. Despite the long haul home the trip was worth everything. It was the best vacation I had ever been on and can only hope that futures ones will be half as fun and exciting. The trip was a lot better than our honeymoon to Tahiti. The only thing that I would change about the trip would be to stay at lodges other than the Sopa chain. It’s sad to think that it’s been two months since we left and it’s only a memory now. I would love to go back. <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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Part X, the pudding. You ate the meat, and now you can have the pudding. Here are the pictures and videos. Apologies for any video qualities, I think the cameraman was drunk. Here are a few of my faves from the lot that I posted online. Cute stuff: Baby elephant, still Baby hippo, still Baby elephant, video: Baby elephant nursing, video Baby Baboon, video Cool Stuff: Cheetah hunt, video: Leopard walking by us, video: Elephant knocking down a tree, video One of my favorite pictures Would you like to buy a monkey? My wife took most of the pictures. We used a Panasonic FZ8. I shot the video using a Canon ZR200 camcorder. The 20x* zoom on the camcorder was really good to have in the bush. The camera had a 12x zoom, but more is better. I think a 20x zoom would be optimal for stills. Using a plain old point and shoot camera with an 8x optical zoom is pure folly. I think we got a lot of good pictures and video. We need more practice with the cameras though, as some of the shots/video could have been really awesome but we messed it up a little bit. I wish the video of the cheetah was better, but such is life. * I’ll let the photo nerds figure out what that is in MM. <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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Terrible. Needs more filter lenses and...um...depth of field? Something like that. Lady, people aren't chocolates. But you know what they are, mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling.
Blog. 203 lbs. 23 to go. |
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Cheesy, Well done! I really enjoyed reading your russian novel of a travel blog. |
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Okay. Now write it again, this time with you and your wife as Hunter S. Thompson and his lawyer. |
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Ha ha, I didn't read any of your blog posts but I still looked at the videos and pictures. All pudding, no meat. "Games are not novels, and the ways in which they harbor novelistic aspirations are invariably the least interesting thing about them." - Steven Johnson
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We had a little over an hour to wait for the flight and spent part of that time in the small duty free shop getting a couple of last minute souvenir books for the kids. Say what, motherfucker? |
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Well done! I really enjoyed reading your russian novel of a travel blog. Glad that you enjoyed it. I think only you, jj, and G-man read it. We had a little over an hour to wait for the flight and spent part of that time in the small duty free shop getting a couple of last minute souvenir books for the kids. Say what, motherfucker? Haha, that's the nephews, not us. <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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I tried to read it, but there's just so much chaff in there. Maybe if someone presents just the wheat for me, I'll read the whole thing. Lady, people aren't chocolates. But you know what they are, mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling.
Blog. 203 lbs. 23 to go. |
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Paging Dumdeedum. Dumdeedum to the Blog thread. |
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I think only you, jj, and G-man read it. And Ergo! <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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I skimmed it them, reading paragraphs that stood out. The Mama thing was odd, the cheetah experience was cool and whole not wanting to eat good food thing is funny. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in
"I'm not sure it's possible to make a "subtle" jab at Matt's writing ability." - Ergo |
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Yeah, I read every word. And actually, I plan on cutting and pasting the whole thing plus your original itinerary posts to show the girlfriend re: potential vacation plans. |
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Word tells me that my blog posts add up to 29,944 words, not including the picture and video post which I don't feel the need to save. <Hugin_len> Basically, cheesy doesn't have awful taste in music, he's simply very white.
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Man, that's a lot. GG Cheesy. |
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I read them all Cheesy, every word. Good stuff. Zep-- Save the cheerleader ... Save the world.
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Hell yeah I read it. Chances are slim I'll ever get to Africa, this firsthand account was amazing. And the videos with baby elephants are adorable. It's so cute how they follow along touching the mom with their trunk every few steps like they're making sure she's still there. Great posts, great photos and great video. So how did you remember all of this in such detail, where you keeping a journal along the way or something? |
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