Musings

June 23, 2011

The upside of my long bus/boat/plane rides is that they give me time to reflect on these last 9 ½ months. I consider these months a gift to myself and it’s been terrific. I feel so fortunate to have been able to do it and also so grateful for the support of my family and friends who encouraged me to take the leap. I have no regrets. I have had so many amazing, fun, interesting and inspiring experiences. Some really stood out as the most wonderful so in the spirit of my Type A side, I organized my top moments.

The Journey’s Highlights

(In no particular order, that would be impossible to figure!)

A SALUTE TO NATURE

1. 1. Borneo Riverboat Trip Seeing Orangutans, Indonesia

2. 2. Scuba Diving off Nusa Lembogan, Indonesia

3. 3. Basking in the Solitude of the Togean Islands, Indonesia

4. 4. Muang Ngoi Area and the Accompanying Boat Trips, Laos*

5. 5. Ngorongoro Safari, Tanzania

6. 6. Bengal Tiger Sighting, India

7. 7. Thrilling Elephant Ride, Thailand

8. 8. Riverboat Ride from Mawlamyine to Hpa-an, Myanmar

9. 9. Day on a Sailboat off Cesme, Turkey

10. Mountains of Kashmir, India

*Could definitely go in the next category too!!!

KNOCK ME OFF MY FEET Historical and Cultural Experiences

1. 1. Day with Burmese friend in Mawlamyine, Myanmar

2. 2.. Ellora and Ajanta Caves, India

3. 3. Bat Hunting Day, Indonesia

4. 4. Kalimantan Canal Tours (Floating Market & Riverside Homes), Indonesia

5. 5. Bagan, Myanmar

6. 6. Bicycling Angkor Wat and Outlying Ruins, Cambodia

7. 7. Nguyen Royal Tombs, Vietnam

8. 8. Wat Phra Kaew & The Grand Palace, Thailand

9. 9. Golden Rock, Myanmar

10. Rajasthani Forts and Palaces, India (Is it cheating to collapse these into one? =P)

11. Taj Mahal, India

(Forgive me; keeping it to 11 was hard enough!)

TREATS & PAMPERINGS AT THEIR BEST

1. 1. Sihanoukville Beach, Cambodia

2. 2. Visits by Mom and Tania

3. 3. Decompressing in Singapore with Friends

4. 4. Silent Meditation Retreat, India

5. 5. SpaLand, South Korea

6. 6. Turkish Bath, Turkey

7. 7. Taj Residency Hotel, India

8. 8. Indian Food

9. 9. Wonderful People Met Along the Way

10. Zanzibar Beach, Tanzania

I started out this journey a bit afraid of the unknown and the risks (abroad and at home I was taking), but I came to lose that fear. I realized that the journey wasn’t as scary as I imagined and even the countries I feared the most in terms of safety and robbery, India and Tanzania, were not nearly as intimidating as I had imagined. At times they were challenging and certain areas were to be avoided, but my mind had blown out of proportion how scary they were. Loneliness was another worry I had. Never had I been away from family and friends for so long – and in unfamiliar places. Surprisingly, I was rarely lonely. I enjoyed the solitude and even chose it over socializing at times. And I was always meeting locals and tourists who kept me from being lonely. Traveling with someone has its bonuses, but traveling alone does too. I not only learned more about myself, but I also met so many more people, especially locals, because I was alone.

I have also been extremely lucky to have avoided major problems, like serious illness, injury, muggings, bed bugs, etc. I only had to take my Cipro once! I know an illness could rear its head after I get back, but I’m crossing my fingers and hoping I don’t jinx myself by writing that I’ve been so fortunate with my health. I avoided writing much before because I figured I would jinx it. In SE Asia I told one woman how fortunate I had been and the next day I had stomach issues – the next day! Also, once I started riding on the buses in Indonesia I figured it would be inevitable I would be in a bus crash on the trip. It was just a matter of how serious it would be. I was cautious when driving a motor bike and was careful about who I rode with and where, but I still feel incredibly lucky to have avoided an accident. I saw and heard of so many tourists with serious leg burns from the exhaust pipe or worse. I did have bugs in beds, but I thankfully avoided bed bugs! Not sure how I escaped them, but what a hassle I avoided.

Traveling this long on my own on a shoestring budget in developing countries had its challenges and I feel good that I rose to the challenge. I think again it’s just becoming familiar with how to travel and take care of one’s self. It also helped to get over the hurdle of the pre-trip jitters and recognize that my imagination was blowing things out of proportion. I also would get a bit nervous when I hit a new country, but again I tried to realize things would work out and I’d “learn the ropes.” This trip has really helped me just let things unfold and have confidence they will work out. I’ve been able to release more worry and anxiety as the trip progressed. We’ll see how well I maintain this attitude when I’m in my old stomping grounds of the USA and looking for work! There are times I get really frustrated, especially with the touts, but I’ve also noticed it doesn’t happen as often as it did before. Expectations also make a big difference with frustration and my expectations of service, efficiency, etc. are different in the developing world. So I’ve been more patient and unfazed when my hotels are disorganized, we get a flat tire, etc. I had my moments though. I hope I can maintain these reactions. I definitely feel better when I’m not worrying, frustrated or anxious!

Several people have commented how happy I look in the blog pictures. I feel happy and friendlier. Feeling good and happy has made me friendlier in my moment to moment interactions. Being away from NYC and in more hospitable environments has also helped.

The months have chipped away at the cold exterior New Yorkers often get. It feels so good to smile at strangers and strike up conversations. This is more like the environment I grew up in in Oklahoma and most of the US has a friendly attitude towards strangers. NY is an anomaly and I didn’t like growing that cold shoulder to strangers. In New York City you are not supposed to make eye contact on the street with strangers let alone smile at them! And interactions in restaurants and stores are generally gruff and brief. There are exceptions and they make your day. The odd thing is that New Yorkers are friendly and helpful when need be. If you are lugging a baby stroller or luggage someone always offers to help. If you are lost and manage to get the attention of someone on the street they will help you.

The trip has changed me and maybe in some ways I’m not aware of yet, but I am glad for the changes and hope they stay a part of me. I’m not only much more patient, but am also more interested in having time alone with my own thoughts. I have really valued the time to think about various matters and come to some realizations about myself and others. One realization is that I no longer feel a massive urge to live overseas. If something amazing came along I might take it, but it’s no longer a priority. And it’s not that I don’t love being overseas, but I would like to stay closer to my friends and family now. With my increased patience and a little more self-realization I feel calmer and more content. The meditation retreat pushed me along with this.

I have also learned that I don’t mind wearing the same four outfits for 9 ½ months. :) It wasn’t such a big deal. I also haven’t missed a lot of my “things” back home. It’s amazing how attached I felt to so many of my things and I haven’t missed most of them. I’m sure I’ll enjoy all my “stuff” when I get it out of storage, but I’m hoping I also find I can get rid of more of it. I must admit I have missed my nice sunglasses and jewelry though :) I wasn’t surrounded by such materialism on my trip and it will be more of a challenge her to stay detached and uninterested.

The travels have been quite revealing in terms of perceptions of teachers. In the US I often get a patronizing response to saying I teach. Often the look in the eye says, how nice you’re doing some good, but it’s not really important or respectable – and you don’t make money. We hear people say we are overpaid and don’t work hard. Through policies and actions the local and federal governments show they either disdain teachers (especially Bloomberg) or only give lip service to aiding the profession and the education of upcoming generations. We have the disrespectful saying, “If you can’t do, teach.” Generally, only those who have teachers in the family or are close friends with a teacher have any concept of how hard we work, the great challenges we face in and out of the classroom and what the job entails.

I won’t write an essay proving how hard most teachers work or go on about how ridiculously and insultingly low our pay is (I see it as charity work), but rather I’ll show perspectives overseas. The immediate respect I received from locals in the countries I visited was shocking at first. I wasn’t used to it. I had people thanking me and praising the profession. I even had people ask to shake my hand! In Indonesia being a teacher was seen as the top profession alongside being a lawyer. Being a teacher gives someone status in these countries, even if the pay is low. Talking with travelers from other developed countries, I gathered that American teachers are probably the lowest paid in terms of salary vs. buying power and standard of living. Teachers in these countries didn’t seem to need to do additional jobs after school or during summer break in order to live alone or support a family.

My view of people and the world has shifted a bit too. We tend to define the world through our own lens and it’s easy to see the “truth” of our world as the ultimate truth and superior way. And it is hard, even when we logically know this is false, to really feel the falsehood. For instance, I wrote before about how certain cultural practices I encountered really challenged my reflex to think “my way, my culture’s way” is better. I have worked really hard to be conscious of how biases my view is. I also witnessed this phenomenon in other cultures and people. I’ve always found it astounding that one group of people might fight against the prejudice they’ve experience, but then are not able to use that experience to see how they might be prejudice of others. It takes reflection and a fight with yourself to see how stereotypes and hatreds are bred from our own ignorance and an unwillingness to see humanity in others. I see this in America and I saw it in countries I visited, whether it had to do with race, nationality, class, religion, sexuality or sex. We all have our prejudices, but I want to actively confront mine and not let the seeming ease of the judgments win. Sorry if I sound preachy!!!

Part of what helps me break down my prejudices is witnessing throughout this trip how we are all alike. Around the world people share a basic humanity. We have similar desires, worries and goodness. My trip would have been an utter disaster if it wasn’t for the goodness of humanity. The desire to be loved and love is universal as is the aim to be happy. Children like the same games and can lift any spirit with their smiles.

The truth of the phrase “everything is relative” proved so true on this trip. The questions, what is valued, who is considered wealthy, what is clean, what is a short trip versus a long trip, etc., all have many answers. For instance, I was thinking how short my time in Tanzania was, two weeks. But that is in relation to a larger trip rather than the typical vacation I might have. Depending on travelers I talk to taking a year to travel might be a “normal” and for others unusual. In most of these countries I was assumed to be rich because I was white, American and a tourist. Comparatively, there is truth to this, but the flip side is that I risked financial security to travel and am in the red. So in actuality many of the touts trying to get business from “this rich woman” probably have more money at the moment. However, I have the tools, support and opportunity to get back on my feet and I am confident everything will work out. I don’t see struggling day by day for the rest of my life, like many people I saw. Who knows what the future holds – maybe I will. And of course, my comparison to other Americans presents a whole different answer to my so called wealth. Perspective plays into everything.

The trip demonstrated firsthand how globalized our world is. The level of exchange of clothes, music, ideas, goods, and technology is huge. For some of these items the exchange is more one-sided, going west to east, but it is strong and it is still a two-way street. Global warming is proving out interconnected we are. Most places I visited have been experiencing highly unusual weather and of course the news has shown the growing frequency and strength of natural disasters. The factories and cars in developing world might have emitted more carbon dioxide than the modernized nations, but the overall amount is still coming from us.

Though I still see faults with certain aspects our country, culturally and politically, I also have a deeper appreciation for what does work here. Corruption isn’t as crippling here as in the countries I visited. Education and opportunities are available. Being from the lower makes it more difficult to achieve and those challenges need to be addressed, but just having universal education through high school is wonderful. We see it as a right, and it should be, but most in the world don’t get much.

America’s reputation overseas is improving a little bit. Bush just destroyed it. Obama’s election helped immensely and many people would say his name after hearing I was from the US.

I came to realize a certain trait in America is unique. Anyone can become an American. In general Americans accept, as well as people overseas, that immigrants and children of immigrants can become American. The line at which you become American might be drawn differently, but the idea is there. I think this is a wonderful attribute of ours. Sadly, there are anti-foreigners and people will distinguish between documented and undocumented immigrants, but somewhere in this muddle there is an acceptance of foreigners and once outsiders becoming American. Our long history of immigration and diversity of population and created this culture. Some other western nations also share this trait it seems. In contrast, the countries I visited rarely would have this view. I could live in the country and raise a family with no intention of leaving, but I would still always be an outsider. My children would be outsiders. I would never be considered Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, etc. Even people from outside those countries likely wouldn’t accept me as being India, Korean or Vietnamese.

I also came to have a deeper understanding of how crippling corruption is for developing countries. It seems like really the major obstacle in improving the lives of the people. You see the resilience of people and the general willingness of people to accept their lot. People might complain and make some protests, but few are willing to risk their lives when basic needs are met. I’m sure most feel powerless. For better or worse this seems to be our nature. It’s not always the case, but from the horrid government of Myanmar to the corruption throughout the developing world, people aren’t rising up. And looking back in history, revolt usually occurs when basic needs are unfulfilled. Famine and massive economic downturns are frequently triggers. We did Arab Spring, but again I believe the massive economic downturn was the trigger because people were really concerned about their basic welfare. And then the momentum and sense of empowerment caught on.

June 28, 2011

Amazing how things change with one plane ride. I am on another bus. This one is between Washington, DC and New York City. The road is wide and smooth and I’m in comfy chairs. Though I think what communicates the best the shocking contrast between this and my earlier rides overseas is that I have WiFi and power plugs.

I’ve had a couple of nice days with friends in DC and have enjoyed American sweets and Mexican food. I have also been quite a couch potato. I did break away from the TV to make dinner for friends.

As I walk and drive around everything is so new, clean, ordered, and rich looking. And on the street people rush about. Technology is also much more in your face. We’ll see how I do in NYC!

The Last Hurrah: Tigers, Elephants, Villages, Shopping and New Friends

June 23, 2011

As has become routine on this trip, I am patiently waiting out a long travel period. This waiting is different though because this is my journey home. Yesterday, I took a 10 ½ hour bus ride (bouncing in the very last row) from Arusha to Dar es Salaam. I had a nice evening with the family I met through friends. Then this morning I tip-toed out of their home at 5am to catch my flight to Johannesburg. As I write I sit in an airport café waiting for my flight in seven hours to Accra, Ghana. I must saw waiting in a modern airport is easy compared to waiting at the bus stations or riding the buses and trains I did. Later, if I’m lucky I’ll get my connection to Washington, DC. I’ll stopover there to see friends before joining up with my sister in California for the 4^th of July. So excited!

I had entertained the idea of stopping over in South Africa, but gave up that idea before even reaching Africa. But I also decided to skip Ghana this go-round. I heard rave reviews from the travelers I met who went, but I just don’t have it in me. Maybe if I had an enthusiastic travel buddy to motivate me and share the burden of figuring buses, booking hotels and dealing with touts I would have stayed. On my own though, I am exhausted and the thought of continuing to figure these things (on top of my incredibly shrinking wallet) is just too much. I know I couldn’t appreciate the country fully. So another trip…

Though I am ready to go home and am so excited to see my family and friends, I am also nervous about how I’ll readjust. I am expecting certain culture shocks – such as the prices. My meal is more than $3 – Outrageous!!! I’m sure I’ll experience shocks I’m not even imagining. After reconnecting with friends and family am I going to get restless and want to be on the road again? It has been so amazing to have the constant stimulation of seeing new places and meeting new people all the time. How will I feel when I don’t have that? And to leave my spoiled months of no employment to go back to work (given I find a job!). So I find myself waiting once again, waiting to see my reaction to being home.

Home has taken on a new meaning for me at this moment since I have no apartment, house or resident city. Home is instead where my roots have been and where my love lies. Home is America. Home is my family and friends.

Enough of that! Let me tell you about my amazing few days in the Arusha area. After relaxing with my friends in Dar for a couple of days I felt rested enough to catch the bus to Arusha. I found the driving more organized and safer than in Asia. I had heard such horror stories and there are bad companies, but this driver was good and the others on the road weren’t the daredevils of Asia.

I sat next to a very patient boy (maybe 12) for the 11 hour bus ride. As you might remember from earlier blogs, I have been constantly amazed at how quiet and still babies and children have been. No iPods and video games to make them crave constant outside stimulation. The scenery varied during the trip, but was just stunning. Many areas were lush and flat with mountains rising here and there. Something about the landscape and horizon just made Tanzania seem massive. The land just seems more expansive and impressively large than anywhere I’ve been. There is also something very pure and old about the land. Maybe my mind thought of the oldness because Africa is where humans originated. In the cultivated areas you mostly see maize and sunflowers.

Anyway, I arrived in the dark (the sun sets around 6pm) and had several very pushy touts vying for my business. One even grabbed my arm at which I told him sternly not to touch me. I have become much more direct and assertive on this trip rather than being the quiet polite Oklahoman. I knew the walk to my hotel wasn’t too far and I just didn’t want to give any of these men my business so I hit the road. I figured on a busy street with car lights and such I’d be safe. And my book had not warned about this area. I was safe and arrived at Arusha Backpackers Hotel and settled into my dorm.

The next day I wandered the city and hunted for a safari company. The city center is more pleasant to walk in than Dar as it’s cleaner and more spacious. It also seemed more prosperous. I found a couple of western style cafes that were nice for a tea. Touts were obnoxious in the tourist areas. They were mostly trying to get you to sign up for a safari. Signing up for an expensive safari with a guy you meet on the street – I don’t think so!

I ended up getting a company recommended to me by another travel so I went to their office. I only wanted a one day safari to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Since I was heading home I decided to splurge for the last few days to make sure I ended with a bang. But a small bang – a one day safari and a Maasai village tour. Most people do at least a three day safari and one group of three was already in the bush and I could join them that night and see the crater (Ngorongoro) the next day. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the company to come down as much as I’d like. They first quoted $200 and came down to $180. One of the guys working there, Thabit, called in his friend from another company who had a group of four I could join (the more people the cheaper the price). He again started at $200, but I ended up with $160. That included a hotel room, three meals, transport and the safari. Not bad I think! The receptionist at the hotel in Arusha seemed to think I got a good deal and the guy at the first company later told me I did too.

Once I decided to go on the safari it was a rush to the hotel to get a daladala (local transport van) to the camp where I’d join the group. The daladala was a bit cramped, though only two others were in my row. The row in front had four. After two hours I arrived just in time for dinner. Three of the other travelers were siblings from Germany and the fourth is from London. I felt lucky to have been grouped with them because they are all really cool.

The Safari. Amazing. Abundance. Travelers had told me if I was only doing one day to do Ngorongoro because it has all the animals (except the giraffe) and there are tons of them. I was not misled. By the end of our five hours I had seen 12 lions, 2 cheetahs, 3 rhinos, hippos, 4 elephants, 2 jackals and countless wildebeests, zebras, hyenas, Grant gazelles, Thompson gazelles, flamingos, herons, warthogs, cranes and buffalo. Of course there were others, but you get the idea.

This crater was made two million years ago when a meteor crushed the land down 1600 meters. It created a great fishbowl for the animals. It’s about 20 kilometers wide and the edges of it can easily be seen as you don’t find the dense forest of the rim down below. Maasai live in the upper parts. Actually, Thabit said his sister lived there and farmed and was killed by a crocodile!

The lions were all lazy and sleepy so there was no hunting. We even watched three buffalo walk into the path of three sleeping lions with no dramatic result. The lions watched them, but made no move. One of the buffalos stopped and watched them from about 50 feet away – maybe to make sure his/her two friends got away – or to gauge their intentions. That was the closest I came to seeing a hunt! :) I must admit the lions looked a little puny compared to the dominant male Bengal tiger I saw in India. That thing had a massive muscular build. These lions had massive paws, but the body was trimmer. The lions seemed to enjoy the attention of the safari goers because all 12 (in different places) were near the road and didn’t bat an eye at the trucks. The cheetahs on the other hand preferred isolation and were very hard to spot with the naked eye (fortunately, we had binoculars!).

The predators could be found hanging out somewhat close to the prey, but I guess the prey get a sense of if they need to flee. I thought they would stay completely away.

The rhinos also seemed to like more distance and our first sighting of was a pair in tall grasses way in the distance. We were debating if we could really claim we could see rhinos after that. Later the same mother/child pair had come out of the grasses and was much closer. Now I have no qualms about saying I’ve seen a wild rhino.

We saw small birds, but others were massive like the Secretary, Crown Crane, Corey Bustard, stork and black-headed heron. Africa does produce large species!!! The zebras were really fun. Their face patterns looked painted on – ready for war. They were sweet resting their heads on their friends’ backs.

The wildebeest are funny creatures. Their body seems so skinny in proportion to their large head and neck. The delicate gazelles seem out of place in this land of hefty, strong animals. Their legs look so vulnerable that they would break at the smallest misstep. I must be wrong though because here they are in abundance.

After driving the open landscape of the crater we headed to once edge near the salt lake. Here there were trees that sheltered the elephants. They are so much more wrinkled than the Asian elephants. For some reason they cannot be tamed like the Asian ones so no elephant river swims for me.

My guide, Eric, used to be a porter for Kilimanjaro climbs. This seemed to be common among tour guides. He was able to stop that really difficult work, which gave him health problems, because an American woman, a soldier in Iraq, funded his college training for becoming a safari guide. Cool story!

The day after the safari I started doing my souvenir shopping and visited the UN courts for the Rwandan genocide. It took three attempts to get in and I still didn’t see a trial. I had forgotten my passport when I first went so was turned away. Then I came at 1:30, but it was still lunch. I got in, but the two trials in progress were closed sessions. Frequently, for the safety of witnesses the judge won’t allow the press or public in. However, the status can go from closed to open quickly and without notice. A group of us waited at one trial for an hour and I just decided to give up at that point. I saw a few judges rushing around, but that’s the extent of it. The trials are supposed to continue for another year or two. They have brought a lot of wealth to Arusha and created many jobs so I think the city will suffer when the trials end.

To get around Arusha I either walked or took a daladala. The first one I took the guy tried to short me 100 shilling (1500ts = $1) and I had to bang on the van as it pulled away to get it back. He gave me a knowing smile and gave me the coin. The city is frequently without power and finding decent internet was difficult and expensive.

The next day a roommate and I headed with our Maasai guide to his village, Ilkurot (25 km north of Arusha). In this village there is a combination of cattle herding, sand mining and maize cultivation. We took two daladalas to get there. At one point I had a goat under my seat! He was nonplused.

Our cultural tourism tour began with a very long walk into the grazing fields. Some Maasai were heading out into the fields too. We were told to ask if we took pictures of the people (if we were nearby) because some will want money and others think they lose part of themselves. From the top of one hill we could see a forest area in a valley. Jeremia said that the Maasai warriors (their main job being protecting cattle) take the really large herds there. If a family has a smaller herd they graze where we were. The warriors will also take the cattle to other places if necessary for grazing. So now the warriors are nomadic, but the rest of the villagers are sedentary. You can see in the pictures that the grass is very dry now. Jeremia said at this time of year it should be green, but they didn’t get enough rain. So tribe members are scouting out where to move the cattle to.

All Maasai men have obligatory warrior service. In this village, circumcisions happen every seven years beginning in October. The young men who are circumcised replace the now retiring warriors. Usually the young men are about 16 years old. They used to be about 20, but for some reason that changed. They serve as warriors for seven years – longest compulsory service I’ve heard of!

The circumcision ceremony includes singing to protect the young man and in the evening he is taken into the bush. The next morning he is circumcised.

Jeremia told us that the hill we were standing on is being mined for sand. It isn’t really sand, but a light porous rock that is used to make concrete. For 14 years the Maasai, mostly women, here have been mining and selling the materials. We walked into the tunnels and I was shocked to see there was hardly any lighting. We had a couple of flashlights, but for the workers there was only one candle every several meters.

We took a few pictures down below and, like everyone in the village, they were anxious to see the pictures in replay. I also finally got a photo of the tire shoes. I also saw them in Myanmar, but apparently their cheap and frequently used here. I mostly saw Maasai wearing them. I also saw a lot of used clothes for sale in the markets. Maybe some of the clothes I donated when I put all my stuff in storage made it to their markets! There were new clothes too, but it was amusing seeing people walking around with Gap and Old Navy clothes.

We walked to the other side of the highway where the village is. We met with a midwife and craftswomen. We also got to go inside a boma (the round home). The outer ring inside the boma is for cattle and goats at night. It’s made of wood and can be built in one day with the help of 30 men. The man of the family (he might not live there because they can have several wives) asked men for help and provides them with lunch. After the men construct the wooden portion the women spend the next couple of weeks doing the rest, including applying cow dung mud for the walls. You can see they also include glass bottles to make little windows – clever. The center piece is the stove, but now many household have a separate kitchen building.

Lastly, we met the chief. You can see my picture with him seated. The men here no longer wear the traditional clothing and I found it amusing he was wearing an old baseball cap. He was born in1934 (they usually don’t know the exact date, they just remember what eventually gets written on their ID cards) and became chief in 1953. His main role is to settle disputes and that might involve fines in cattle. He eventually married nine women, seven of whom are still living. The chief is chosen by a council. He was utterly appalled that I am 35 and motherless. He told me I was old! :) He said he doesn’t like education because the kids that get it lose respect for their parents. They no longer obey them and won’t help watch the cattle, etc.

We hitchhiked back part of the way and then on the outskirts of Arusha caught a daladala. I had arranged for Thabit to take me to another village in the afternoon, but it was late by the time I was ready to go so instead we walked around town. He took me to the souvenir market and I did more shopping. I told him some of the prices I had negotiated for things on the street and he was surprised at the deals I was getting. He said somehow I’m not getting mzungu (white person) prices. He mentioned the souvenirs, safari and a taxi ride. I guess after nine months I’m finally good at negotiating! Mostly, it’s clear I’ll wake away and not budge after a point. I am very pleased to know I’ve been getting good deals recently. I still don’t like negotiating, but it’s not quite as miserable when you learn how to do it.

The weird thing about Tanzania is that traveling here is expensive (for a developing nation), but the souvenirs are very cheap. At least something is!

That brings me to the 10 ½ hour bus ride back to Dar and the beginning of my blog.

June 24, 2011

It turns out the Accra à D.C. fight Star Alliance put me on doesn’t run on Thursday’s so I have a day in Accra. Everyone I’ve met in Ghana has been very friendly and helpful. I look forward to coming back one day. My buffet breakfast this morning consisted of eggs, French fries, hot dogs (‘sausage”), bean (a tip of the hat to the British), toast and fruit. Tanzanians also seemed to French fries and “sausage.” I have enjoyed all the fries. Wonder what lunch will be…. getting hungry…

June 26, 2011

The “welcome back” from the customs officer was to a ring to my ears, especially after being stuck in Accra, Ghana for two nights and days. I arrived this morning at my friend’s home in DC. Already the new, modern, wealthy and clean buildings, streets and signs are a shock. I wanted to reach out to touch them to make sure they were real. I also had the shock of paying $30 for SuperShuttle – more than my daily budget in SE Asia.