My last post before i leave for London for 6 months. Frankly speaking, i am not excited to go at all. I just feel that there are still so many things which are unaccomplished back here and now i am leaving. Yet at the same time, i know i have to leave.... for some reason.... for some cause. Probably it is a time for me to learn something.... i don't know... but i know God will reveal it to me in due time. ALright... a Happy New Year... and see you guys real soon in June =)
I would most probably type a post on my recent Mt Kilimanjaro trip when i am over in London. I would have all the time in the world over there anyway. =P
Today marked the start of the combined church camp. Was really encouraged by the sharings of my group tonight... and they really got me thinking a lot of issues. Really thank God for it.
*and i sure do feel insecure having 6000 pounds in my pocket the whole day
It was close to a 24 hour continuous flight back to Singapore. Frankly speaking, i felt that the trip back home could be comparable to the arduous climb up to the summit (Stellar Point). First was the domestic flight from Arusha to Lake Mikawe, Lake Mikawe to Zanzibar, and then Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam. Next was the international flight from Dar Es Salaam to Dubai, transit from Dubai to Colombo (Sri Lanka) and then to Singapore. Oh gosh... thank God my next flight to LOndon on 31st Dec is going to be a direct flight. YES!! DIRECT!! NO MORE TRANSIT!!
Anyway, am glad to be back at home though i really did missed Tanzania a bit. It was an enjoyable and memorable experience. Will update you guys in my future posts with videos and pics... but i need to get my portable harddisk first... LObang anyone?? =P
A thought came to my mind on the way to the domestic airport. Looking at the large population of Africans on the streets, it just got me thinking that these people has never been part of my knowledge before. It's just amazing how there are so many places and people out there in the world that never kind of 'existed' in the consciousness of our knowledge. Taking this experience in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania as an example, I never knew this place exist at all. There's just a kind of surreal feeling that these people here could be doing the same things at the same time while i am at the other side of the globe and yet i never knew about their existence. Sorry if this part seems a bit confusing but i just find it hard to put my thoughts down in words.
Looking at the influx of Whites in the domestic airport made me ponder about the polarisation of the society in Tanzania. It's only the Whites who are taking the flights while Africans hardly uses the airport. From a previous conversation i had with the cab-driver, he said that the Africans usually take trains rather than planes as they are much cheaper. It seemed that the only Africans in sight were those working as porters in the airport.
photos of the domestic airport in Dar Es Salaam
I have never taken such a small plane in my life. Frankly speaking, i was pretty worried about the instability of the aircraft. My fear was unfounded of cos [or else i wouldn't be here blogging this post] The aerial view of Tanzania was indeed spectacular. I was marvelling over the intricate complex network of meanders at one moment, and ooh-ing at the gradual change of the colour of the land from green to reddish brown. When we finally arrived in Arusha, i got a scare in that i could not find my baggage. But thank God it was found in the end and we continued on our journey to our lodge.
That's the plane we took to Arusha.
In the plane
Aik keong got to sit right next to the pilot
Aerial shot of the urban settlement
Aerial shots of the meander
Aerial shots of the plain
Arrival at Arusha airport
Love the designs on the tail of the planes
A drive towards our lodge
After 10 minutes of 'treacherous' road drive, we finally arrived at the lodge which was located in a plantation. It was pretty obvious that the lodge was a gated community with security system to keep the locals out. I have to admit that the lodge was beautiful beyond words. The route leading to the main building of the lodge resembled the scene in qiu1 tian1 de4 tong2 hua4. The huts in which we stayed in were pretty nice and cool too. I really adored the flower petals that were scattered over my bed. After lunch, there was a debrief by the person-in-charge and basically the conclusion of the briefing were 1)drink lots of water 2)walk pole pole (slowly) 3)Listen to the guide.
Our little chalet Number 14
Can you spot the flower petals on our beds? Sunbathing at the poolside (a simulation)
We took a cab down to town to buy some cough syrup for aik. Along the way, we passed by the UN tribunal for Rwanda genocide and the Arusha Clocktower.
When we returned from town, we decided to take a short hike around the plantation. It was like a teeny warm-up for the big thing the next day.
The donkey oblivious to the presence of human beings
A beautiful road
Resting at a shelter
A big milipede
The entrace to our lodge
Aik keong's arty shot of the sky Ok...i'm not exactly into flowers but i think the flowers in the garden were really nice
The preparation for the Kilimanjaro climb was an arduous one in which our training has included weekly hikes at Bukit Timah Hill, cardio workout few times a week, stairs training at Toa Payoh, as well as a hiking trip to Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. It was really sad that Jiahui could not join us for the Kilimanjaro trip due to some personal reasons so i kind of dedicated this long post entry of the trip to her. Some videos and photos during some of the trainings.
One of those routines at Toa Payoh
2nd last Sunday before trip... training at Bukit Timah Hill
Last training before the trip
13/12/07 - SINGAPORE CHANGI AIRPORT TO DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
As i was sitting in the plane waiting for take-off, it dawned on me that i would be on the African Continent in a few hours time. Frankly speaking, i was not exactly very excited. It was pretty weird in a way that normally i would be feeling ecstatic over any kind of departure to an exotic country but this time round, it seemed different. After much pondering over ths issue, i came out with two conclusions: 1)My lack of geographical imagination of Tanzania This is due to the fact that i have never heard of or done any research on the country of Tanzania prior to the trip. If the word "Tanzania" is conjured in my mind, i would not be able to come out with any sort of images in linkage to the word. In a funny way, its this 'unexpected-ness' which kind of dampened the excitement level.
2)My student exchange in Kings College London Prior to the trip, i have been busy settling the adminstrative issues for my student exchange in London. It was probably this 'over-excitement' over both trips at the same period of time that the excitement has waned off somehow. The plane took off before having a short stopover at Kuala Lumpur. I really have to give 2 thumbs up for Emirates. I would think its one of the best flight i had so far among so many airlines. Watched 4 movies in all: Hairspray (i think its not bad), High School Musical 2 (i think its very corny), Transformers (real cool) and Stardust (airie-faerie). And finally, we arrived at Dubai International Airport.
I was indeed very excited to come to Dubai (despite only being in the airport) and it was indeed a cosmopolitan city. Just looking at the airport you would find a cosmopolitan mix of people from everywhere in the world. At first, we intended to find a space in the airport to prop ourselves before the next flight which would be 7 hours later. However, the whole airport seemed to be a gi-mongous refugee camp with people of all colours sleeping on the floor or on their mats. It was pretty amusing to find DUBAI, a world-renowned developed place having such sight in its airport. Moreover, i felt really uncomfortable and 'out of place' as the airport was dominated by the presence of the Arab people. In the end, we settled for the airport hotel all thanks to tien and her father's credit card. =P The hotel room was really cool, with a toilet bowl for washing your butt as well as a massage chair beside the bed.
Dubai International Airport
The 2 toilet bowls found in the toilet. One for big business, one for washing up after big business.
Our room in Dubai International Airport Hotel. Can you spot the massage chair?
It was a super long flight to Dar Es Salaam and when we touched down at the airport, we were greeted by the super long queue at the Visa section. And quite disgustingly (cos its really stuffy and hot in there), the queue didn't seem to move one bit. After what seemed to be like hours, we finally passed our passports to the guard before the counter. Guess what? Singaporeans do not have to apply or pay for Visas to enter Tanzania. WOW!! Great discovery! I was pretty surprised at the fact that Singapore is exempted from visa application to Tanzania. Unfortunately, Tien is a British citizen so we had to wait for her to clear her Visa application before we could get out of the airport.
Ireland: USD 100
Pakistan: USD 200
Singapore: Priceless aka Free
Welcome to Land of Mount Kilimanjaro in sweat and long queue.
We took a cab to Holiday Inn to deposit our bags. Along the way, i felt very 'out-of-place' in a way that there were many Africans around. I am not trying to be racist here but its just that i'm too used to being in a multi-racial and cosmopolitan environment that to be an ethnic minority seemed too weird an experience for me. The cab took us for a tour after we have deposited our bags in our respective rooms. First stop was the local fish market. When i stepped out of the cab, immediately i was greeted by a sense of fear. We were the only Asians in the vicinity and i personally felt like an exhibit being scrutinised by the majority of Africans. I did try to rationalize within me why i would have that kind of 'Orientalist' notion but i just could not help it. Anyway, we did entered the fish market and were pleasantly surprised to see the rich variety of produce from the Indian Oceans. There were cockles the size of your fist...imagine that being in your plate of char kuay teow. Yum...
After the fishmarket tour, we passed by a 'White area' where the residences of the caucasians were built. Through some personal observation, the area was like a gated community with high security. We did stopped by the Shoprich Supermart and the goods were very expensive for the locals. The average income for the locals was only US$50 a month. It seemed that the social polarisation of the Tanzanian society was pretty large.
The main transportation of the local Tanzanians is car. I don't mean the automobile car, but the 'kar' aka legs. It was a common sight to see them walking or running on the streets. The city bus (vans) wre normally sardine-packed with people. It was interesting to see the buses adopting names like "God is One", Ebenezer etc.
Holiday Inn Dar Es Salaam
At the local fish market
A streetscape along the way
Selling produce on the streets
How do these people do that?
The 'rich' side of Dar Es Salaam
A bar that doesn't seem to a place where the locals will go
After the tour, we settled down to have our dinner at the restaurant in Holiday Inn. Aik and I had a whole chicken each to ourselves and it was a sumptuous meal. After that was rest for the night. =)
Here I am, typing my last post before flying off to Tanzania. Frankly speaking, i'm not exactly excited over the trip and indeed i tried to figure out the reason behind it. First, it might be due to the fact that i've never known what Tanzania is like and therefore devoid of any kind of geographical imagination of the place. Seriously, i could not even conjure up any images of Tanzania. I mean, if i'm going to NZ right now, i would be super ecstatic as I've already have a GI of blue skies, green fields, fresh air etc etc... Well, i supposed i would get that excitement when i land on African ground.
Alright, do take care people... and enjoy your holidays (to all NUS fellow friends)
Will be back on 23 Dec... if i'm not back by then.... my body should be strewn somewhere in the mountain. And seriously i did think about not coming back at all...
Started off the morning with acupuncture session at Raffles hospital. This was my first time going for such stuff and it was truly an experience. I felt really funny having many needles poked into my legs and my back during the session. The acupressure (those glass-like pressure stuff) for my back was pretty interesting too... leaving behind quite a number of black marks on my back.
Next was acquiring of a couple of equipments for the kilimanjaro climb. Goodness gracious, spent another $250 bucks again.... sigh....
So happy today... managed to accomplish many many things to set my mind at ease. First and foremost, i've finally submitted my SEP applications (etc.) to MOE! A note to all my fellow TAs who will be applying for SEP... my condolescence to you all.... BUAHAHAHAHAHA!! Suffer suffer suffer!! =P
I'm currently in AS7 Computer Lab typing this blog entry. You might be asking... "what am i doing in school since i've finished my exams?" Eh.... oh well... staying at home is super unproductive for one. My second reason is that i need to get my international student travel card. However, my main motive is to show how free i am to Huishi who is going to have a paper at 5pm and its her birthday today. Alrite...
To President of Abi Dhabi: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Waiting for the rain to subside so that i can take a bus down to borders to get some stuff. Hopefully can hop over to Sim Lim to get some stuff too.
Couldn't believe that i'll be flying off next week. Frankly speaking, i'm not exactly excited over the trip. Somehow or another, i kept having this ominous feeling of going to Mt Kilimanjaro... hmmm or am i thinking too much?
Alright, think so much also no use. =) Better be off to take the bus... still contemplating a nice cuddly afternoon nap. =P
It was a pretty tiring day. Woke up in the wee hours of the morning to embark on a monotonous super sian training at Bukit Timah Hill with aik keong. As Tien was having a bout of headache this morning, she was unable to join us for training. Anyway, i love hiking BTH in the morning. The air is fresh, the temperature is cool, the crowd is sparse... but the idea of waking up early... eh eh.
Oh gosh... my legs are like aching. Not exactly from the hike, but more of like accumulated from my jogging a few days ago.
Just had dinner with weesiong and his gf - Mutton Briyani and bandung... and am now in the central library studying (more like wasting time). I think i've really lost that drive to mug intensively liao... Probably due to the fact that it is my last paper, it is open book, i'm going Mt Kilimanjaro on 12th Dec, plus in a frenic activity of preparing for SEP in London in January etc etc etc... no mood to study at all.
Alright... i confess... accompanied with the constant facebooking...
better go now.... and i will be uploading photos of my last Mt Kinabalu trip very soon. =)
Number 14
Sunbathing at the poolside (a simulation)
Ok...i'm not exactly into flowers but i think the flowers in the garden were really nice
Turning in for the night zzZZzz
Our room in Dubai International Airport Hotel. Can you spot the massage chair?
