December 17, 2003

Bangkok

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Just a few days here initially... after recovering from the flight which was via dubai we ventured out....... Cant belive the difference in bangkok since i was last here 8 yrs ago, the air quality seems so much better and the traffic not quite as bad. Hotel fab, close to Kho san rd, amazing value for 900 bt, having aircon, ensuite, pool and minibar etc.Went to the royal palace and wat pao(recling giant budda), they were amazing...
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Ventured onto the river down to china town......its an amazing place, and just as good as i remember it, food is fantastic and really cheap.
Flying to changmai tomorrow for 4 days before starting our indo china tour of laos and cambodia for 3 weeks...
Our second visit to bangkok after laos and cambodia
Back in the Vienthai hotel, an excellant place to stay in the heart of bangkok, very close to khosan rd and the royal palace etc, but far enough away from the noise.
Highlights for us were a visit to Jim Thomsons house the silk trader/cia spy.....lol
The house is amazing and we had the best cup of coffee in thailand there!.
A few trips on the new skytrain which is so clean, quick and cool, its really made a diffrence to the city. A bit of needed retail therapy at Siam square and its malls and a visit to the massive I.T city. ( we were drooling over the hardware and gadgets)
A nocturnal visit to the imfamous Patpong, which isnt really as bad as its made out to be, we think Soho in London is worse. Great early evening happy hour drinks and quite a few were consumed !.....then off skipping back on a tuktuk to the hotel accross the city... Food and drink are so cheap, great cocktails on the street for 50 baht. Another trip accross the river to the southbank and lunch in one of the local markets, no more temple action im afraid, Kris canny cope!

Posted by David at 04:23 PM | Comments (2)

December 13, 2003

Phoenix Expedition E.Africa

We undertook a 3 week overland truck expedition/safari across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Here are the highlights:

Kenya
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We drove north through the amasing Rift Valley escarpment.
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for a visit to Joy Adamson’s house and a game walk to see Giraffe View image
, Buffalo, Waterbuck, Zebra and lots of birds of prey. We also took a boat ride on the lake to see Hippo’s and Pelicans.
We also did a 24 hour game drive in Lake Nukuru National Park where we were able to see plenty of rare white Rhino View image
, Leopard, Water Buffalo, Pelicans, Baboons, Monkeys, Jackals, Giraffe, Zebra and the usual Antelope etc

Uganda
Drove to the equator and camped in the open, and yes the water really does drain away in the other direction in the southern hemisphere!...and when you are right on the equator it drains straight down!
We drove into Mount Elgon National Park and stayed at Sippi Falls up in the mountains. View image
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With stunning panoramic views and several waterfalls to be seen on walks, and the opportunity to swim in the mountains streams.
We visited the capital Kampala and went on a trip to Entebee to catch a boat on Lake Victoria to Ngamba Island to the Chimpanzee orphanage View image
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We also visited the source of the Nile, which is not worth seeing as it has now been flooded by the nearby damn. You now only get a beer company sponsored plaque to inform you of where it used to be!
We stayed at Lake Bunyoni which is a stunning lake up in the mountains.
We crossed the Owen Falls Dam to stay at Bugagali Falls at Jinja( were frantically searching for the rare ginger tribe but just couldnt find them....lol), which is the Adventure capital on Uganda. Here we went white water rafting on the Nile, for 30km’s of near death experiences on the crocodile inhabited river.David nearly died after getting trapped under the boat and swept away in the rapids!...we got it all captured on vcd so should be good for comedy value!
Rwanda
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Due to problems with the mountain Gorilla permits in Uganda (they only grant 16 a day), we had to cross the border into Rwanda to undertake the mountain trek to see one of the last remaining groups of Gorilla’s in the wild View image View image

. The was an unbelievable experience and was well worth the US250 to spent one hour with the Amahoro family group and were able to get to within 2 meters of the Silverback for some amasing photo’s. The trek into the rain forest and up to the top of the volcano was really hard work and David found the altitude was very hard on his asthma, but was able to continue with regular breaks, and moaning his tits off...The best bit was trecking down the volcano through the rain forrest and constantly sliding in the mud, im sure david fell about 10 times!
Ive never been so wet and muddy in me life .
... and this is where David Lyle became David Bellamy......yes.....View image

We only stayed for 2 days in Ruhenguri and the hotel had 24 hour guards with AK47’s for protection. As UK citizens, we were advised by our Foreign Office of not to visit, but as it was a once in a lifetime experience (there are estimated to be only about 600 Gorilla’s alive in the wild), we decided it was worth the risk.

A quick note to the other guys on our phoenix truck, many of whom are carrying on right down to cape town. They were a really good bunch of people. Special mention to Jillanne jillanne.jpg
who was fantastic, and we cant wait to see her again as soon as possible, hope shes had H.H by now.....*giggles*

Bet all the guys miss our cooking, specially our beef and chicken satay and breakfast pancakes!

Some tips for any folks doing an overland truck in africa......we went during the "short rains"...emm...not very short at times, its really wet, take plenty of waterproof stuff, and clothes that dry quickly if you get a chance to wash them!.
for the gorilla treck, waterproof stuff is essential and the thicker the better as the nettles in the rain forrest sting you through your clothes!

Great tip for a fab eating place in nairobi ..place called "the carnivore" specialises in game meat, great venue and atmosphere and great food, we had crocodile and warthog, thety always have at least three game meats ever night as well as regular stuff like beef and lamb etc. You just sit there and they bring it all on till you put your table flag down!.....

Posted by David at 08:59 AM | Comments (3)