Dubai and India

Dubai and India. 

After leaving the lions and the giraffes behind in Africa we took a quick interlude in Dubai before heading off to India.  Upon arriving in Dubai in the wee hours in the morning we marvelled at the cleanliness and sheer length of the airport. After crossing what seemed like miles of moving sidewalks we made it to a grumpy customs agent with what seemed to be a drawn on, intentional unibrow…. Yeah I have no answers either. So still blinking in the morning sun we embark upon what may be the cleanest journey so far. Yes Dubai is spotless. Everywhere.  The subway system is spotless. The people seem to adhere to the rules about not eating drinking smoking and emptying the garbage out of their pockets on the train. The transit system was spotless… spotless. I have never seen a train this clean. After leaving the palace like train system we set off on a journey across the city to find The Mall.  After a brief jaunt through the cleanest market I have ever seen we arrived at a mall filled with expensive stores and exciting adventures. One of these adventures was an aquarium so badass it contained sharks. The second of the wonders was the absolutely massive candy store. Following this was the less impressive waterfall sculpture and celling full of fake butterfly’s. then there was the dancing fountain. Somebody spent a lot of time and money making this thing extra cool.  The full glory of this thing at night was something I never got to see but you could imagine it from what it looked like in the day time.

After the OCD like cleanliness of Dubai India came as quite a shock. The first thing we noticed upon leaving the airport was the air. It was thick and foggy and hard to breath. The second thing that we noticed was that the road lines and rules seemed to be a suggestion at best. There was lines painted on the road indicating 3 lanes of traffic however there was about 5 lanes of traffic driving on the road. Once you stop being terrified and open your eyes again you may notice something odd about the trucks. They do not really look like trucks back home. These trucks are painted. Some are painted very well, often they have streamers and garlands and bits of fabric. All in all it makes a very pretty terror monster barrelling towards you honking its horn on the wrong side of the road. Note: The horns on vehicles are used so much that may people have special honkers installed that will play you a song. A very loud not overly interesting song… the first destination after Delhi was Agra. The city of Agra bosts the agra fort an impressive bit of architecture. More impressive and fancy then you would expect from something called a fort but as we quickly discovered, In India they will decorate anything. Overshadowing the fort is the Taj Mahal. The romantic symbol of beauty and devotion from an emperor to his favorite wife. Given the reputation and the reviews one would expect the lawns to be cut. You would be mistaken. The overall impression of the site was disappointing. The structures were magnificent and detailed and beautiful but the lawns and gardens were overgrown and the fountains were skankey. This combined with the fog really detracted from the splendour of the buildings.  After our Agra adventure and some more tea. Seriously there was so much tea. We went onwards to Rajasthan to try and see some tigers. One may thing when they hear the term “tiger safari” that there would actually be a chance of seeing a tiger. Once again you would be mistaken. While there is technically a chance of seeing a tiger the situation is as follows. You get into a huge loud vehicle and drive up a road. Then you stop at a bathroom turn around and go back down the same road. While there may be tigers along the way for the most part if I was a tiger I would stay away from the road. The main highlight of the “safari ” was the bits of old buildings and shrines tucked away in the forest. As well you could see this big fort on the top of a cliff in the distance.  

After leaving the forest we ventured to Japur. This was an interesting city with a lot of big dirty markets. They were neat to wander through and we got henned up on our hands and feet making it an interesting walk while everything dried. We did some walking around and some shopping then headed out to look at a variety of forts. India seems to just have an abundance of forts. Europe has more churches then it knows what to do with and India has to many forts. They are all beautiful examples of overly fancy architecture and look quite impressive. However once you have seen 5 or 6 forts you just don’t need to see another 20 more. So we didn’t. Opting instead to take pictures in front of the floating castle and eat ice cream.

Some interesting notes on india. The people here make the best tea ever. I don’t know exactly how they do it but I have come home with a few rescipies and a box of stuff so I can try it. The tea is everywhere and it is all good. We more or less drank nothing but tea the whole time we were in India.

In India they paint, decorate and generally fancy up everything. The houses, the trucks. The camels, the elephants and the people are all covered in as many bits of fancy sparkly things that will fit.  The buildings have intricate stonework , the people have some rather impressive clothing choices and the animals are painted or shaved to make them prettier.

India Is dirty. No seriously. Dirty. Maybe the rural aireas are nicer and I am willing to investigate this possibility but the cities are just nasty. There is garbage everywhere. Everywhere. And people just don’t seem to care at all. I don’t know how they don’t notice it. This was by far the dirtiest place we have been.

Overall india was interesting and had a lot of forts. But I didn’t love it. Really I tried to love it I wanted to love it but I just couldn’t. I am not ready to write it off completely and would probably adventure into the more remote aireas of the country. It is a big place and we only gave it a week. But I expect more effort next time. Way to put in a half hearted effort India I expect you to try harder next time. 

Erin standing infront of the floating castle

more floating castle

painted elephant.

the aptly named Yellow fort in japur

dancing fountain in dubai

the Red fort in Agra

decorated camel...

The Tiger safari...

temple in the safari airea

fancy trucks

The half way point.

Half way recap

Well it has reached that time. The time when we will have been away for more time then we have left to go. I know you are all sad to hear this.  This seems like a perfect time for a top ten style recap of what has happened so far.

We will start off the top ten lists by throwing a curve ball and counting the top 5 best cities so far. 

Top 5 Citys

5) St Luce  ( while it is not technically a city… not even technically a town.. really more a collection of people it was a very unique experience)

4) Stone town (with fish markets, spice markets, the remnants of a slave market and no shortage of men who think the pretty lady needs another bracelet it was an interesting few days. )

3) San Sebaston ( Tapas, Sangria, Cider, A beautiful harbor and best of all good friends combined to make this one of the best stops in Spain)

2) Interlaken (wait… did I just step into a post card?… or maybe a cliché of Switzerland?… nope it’s Interlaken.  Breath taking views of cute mountains and crystal clear lakes makes this the most beautiful city we have been to)

1) Livingstone ( lion cuddling…  do I need to say more? No. but I will, rafting, bungee jumping, waterfall adventures and general shenanigans make this the most fun city so far)

Top 10 reasons to say T.I.A

(T.I.A meaning This Is Africa is often used in place of a shrug to explain away all the inexplicable oddities of Africa)

10) somebody tells you not to use the bathroom after dark cuz lions like to hang out there

9) you start referring to showers as “really good, not to creepy at all ”

8)  when deodorant costs more than your accommodations that night

7) your visa is supposed to cost 0$ but may cost anywhere between 0 and 50$ depending on the mood of the border official

6) You can’t have a shower tonight because an elephant drank all the water.

5) part of the transmission falls off your truck so you start scanning the trucks rolled over at the side of the road for one of the same make so you can scavenge parts.

4) the exhaust falls off your van but no worries you have aluminum foil.

3) The bridge is out… because somebody took it and hasn’t brought it back yet…

2)  we are now going to spray the inside of the plane with something… not tell you what it is, recommend that you cover your nose and mouth but assure you it is safe…

1) Dozens of people a day are not only allowed but are encouraged to lie on a ledge 103 m from the ground in a waterfall… with no safety gear at all..  

Top 10 best Drinks 

with special guest the worst drink I have ever had

10) cider in san sebastion

9)  Nile special ( local beer in Uganda )

8) Mosto  greap juse in spain

7) Tusker ( local beer in Kenya sometimes available throughout east Africa

6) Alpen Perle ( local beer from Interlaken )

5) strawberry wine ( laterburnnen)

4) Ceres fizzy green apple juce

3) Crazy strong punch made by our tour guide in kande beach 

2) amarula with peppermint snaps also known as a spring bok  

1) Sangria

-10)  crazy nasty moonshine from st Luce… it didn’t have a name or a bottle, it did have a right fowl stench. You just get it from some guy for .50$/1.5L… you know its good when you pay that much

Top 10 best foods( much of the food we have had so far has been fantastic it was hard to choose but this is the stuff that made the list ) 

10) bull ton ( SA)

9) rosti ( laterburnn)

8) churros in san sebastion

7) french onion soup ( paris )

6) chapata bread…

5) croissants by the Eiffel tower in Paris

4) tapas in san sebastion

3) butternut squash soup made by our tour guide in kande beach

2) palleya (Valencia )

1) gelato in the shape of a rose ( barcelona )

Top 10 hilarious adventures

10) driving anywhere.

9) discovering witchcraft is alive and well in zambia…

8) having a crazy man show up to help us find our lion project…. But he had no idea who we were

7) zoomba under the Eiffel towel

6) Following directions to a hostel that started with… take 60 steps south and turn into the unlit unmarked ally way…. Um??

5) Getting drunk at the cider festival in san sebastion at 11 am

4) Buying a birthday cake in Uganda…. Note… it is bring your own box….

3) getting run at by a hippo at night cuz the dogs pissed it off

2) throwing everybody into the pool at waterfront in Zambia

1) sitting under a tree with lions… and being afraid of the elephants running past you

 

Top 15 favorite activity’s see you thought I was trying to get off easy by making the first one a top 5… well here are the extra 5. ( In actuality I was unable to kick 5 of the list )

15) swimming to the island in lake Malawi

14) cider festival in san sebastion

13) swimming in the Mediterranean sea… it is sooo warm

12) giant tomato fight

11) dancing, drinking and doing a poi performance at a bush party in St Luce

10) rafting the white Nile in Uganda

9)  bungee jumping / gorge swing / zip line over the Zambezi 

8) safari in the Serengeti

7) SCUBA diving in Zanzibar

6) mycrolight flight over Victoria falls

5) paragliding in the swiss alps

4) cuddling lions 

3) Rafting the Zambezi river

2) trecking the mountain gorillas in Uganda 

1) hanging off the edge of a waterfall

more lions before breakfast then most people see all day

Africa part 5

Livingstone adventure

AKA Playing with more lions before breakfast than most people see all day.

Livingstone round 2 started with a bang. We were back on the mainland of Africa and boy could you tell. For starters soon after checking into our hostel Erin went on the mycrolight flight that got cancelled 2 weeks before because of bad weather. And wouldn’t you know it… there were elephants on the runway. Yes elephants. Just chilling, walking across the runway. Yup we are back on the mainland kids.  The mycrolight for those who cant picture it is basically a hang glider with some chairs and an engine suspended underneath. It is a really neat experience. The ride is not as bumpy and unstable as you would expect and the view is amazing. Probably the best view you can get of vic falls you circle around the falls a few times to see the rainbow and the breathtaking spectacle of water crashing down from over 100m up ( hold on to that stat for a while it will be important later ). The ride on the mycrolight also allows you to see if you are lucky hippos, crocodiles, elephants and buffalo wandering around the river.  On our previous foray into livingstone Erin Jamal and I partook in jumping off a bridge. We had the pleasure?? Of bungee jumping from the bridge over the Zambezi river. The view was breathtaking and terrifying. Erin jumped off seemingly unafraid and started to hate the journey once she hit the bottom. Disliking the jolt and the length of time she hung upside down waiting to be rescued. I on the other hand. Nearly had to be forced off the edge for both the bungee jump and the bridge swing but was in love with the feeling once I got off the ground. I loved the bouncy feeling of being weightless. Other then the initial jump the worst part of any of it was about 5 seconds after you jump off on the bridge swing and your brain tells you that the rope should have taken your weight by now… but it hasn’t. A few seconds later it does but those are terrifying seconds. After the jump or the swing just to add insult to injury they make you walk along a narrow catwalk on the underside of the bridge. With 2/4 of the adventures we wanted to undertake in Livingstone completed we set off the next day on adventure #3. Rafting the Zambezi river. Just 3 weeks prior to this the river was rated the best white water rapids in the world. We were in for a treat. The full day adventure consisted of  26 rapids in fairly quick succession. They had comforting names like stairway to heaven, devils toilet bowl and oblivion.  In the end we had a great day! We flipped our boat a few times, fell out and swam through at least 1 rapid, each had a solo performance ( falling out while everybody else stays in) and enjoyed the beautiful canyon of the lower Zambezi.

The following morning we set off to have our lion adventure. We got up and were ready to go by 10. We sat in the bar airea waiting for the ALERT people to come and pick us up…. And we waited…. And waited…. By 11 we decided that this was not just Africa time and that we should try to contact somebody. So erin took out her emergency contact card…. The one they said “call the number on the back if anything happens or if they don’t pick you up.” So she called. And got some guy, he did not sound very smart and said he would be there in 15. So we sat down to wait some more. When he arrived he said he didn’t know who we were and that we had not paid and he couldn’t help us despite his name and contact information being on our card. Eventually it was sorted out that the lion people were coming to get us at 12:30 and the staff at the hostel had been told this but had failed to pass the information on to us… oh Africa.

The lion project was 2 weeks of sheer wonder, how can something so dangerous be that cute. It is a mystery.  During our time here we got do walk lions babysit lions, make toys for the lions, feed the lions, cut up meat for the lions and generally take care of them.  We would take out up to 2 groups of lions at a time on walks through the park where the project was located. The lions walked in 3 groups. Dende and Demara two girls both with a bit of a mischievous streak and both about a year old.  Zariah and zemphara, the youngest of the lions at 10 months these 2 are sisters both a bit shy with zemphara being completely unwilling to let any boy touch her.  The last group was of 3 lions madoda, manali and Zambezi. Madoda was the only boy of the group and was extremely lazy. Manali and Zambezi liked to stalk things and get into trouble. Manali was probably the naughtiest lion of the whole bunch and she loved to give stalking eyes to people. Her favorite game was trying to stalk our guide Friday.  Through the walks we were able to learn how to interact and work with the lions. We got to pet them, first on the back and later on the face and tummy. We were able to let them lick our hands and scratch under the chin. As well we learned to greet them and to discipline them. It was very important to stand your ground and be alert at all times. While friendly they are still lions and would have hurt us if they jumped on anyone. Play full or not they play with claws and teeth and our skin is no match for that.  Aside from the occasional bout of being chased by hippoes and having to scare elephants off from trampling the garden it was a relatively peaceful 2 weeks. It was much to hot and much to short but our time in Livingstone was fantastic. we have had 9 weeks total in Africa and I would not trade a single day of it for anything. It is sad to see it go but I am excited for adventures further east.

PS

Adventure 4 was going to the devils pool. Erin and I swam across part of the upper Zambezi river from Livingstone island to the island with the devils pool ( note the edge of the falls as we were swimming was about 10 m away) then we jumped off some rocks into the devils pool and sat on a ledge about half a meter wide at the top of the falls… remember the height from earlier. Then just to make sure we went all the way and lay down on that little ledge so we could look down at the spectacular view and get some pictures. No big deal tho cuz some guy was holding our legs for safety. Oh Africa this kind of stuff doesn’t happen anywhere else…. Mostly because it would be illegal