Well first off (and sorry that this is so late), I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you and your families all the best for 2009.
My own holidays were a lot of fun, if somewhat unconventional – at least based on my own past experiences. Usually Christmas involves waking up early, opening presents by the tree with my family, watching my Dad cook dinner, maybe some napping, playing board games with my sister and cousins, and then perhaps a walk before dinner. After dinner we’re usually all almost comatose from too much turkey and trifle and so we sit by the fire and make small talk or just enjoy a companiable silence.
This Christmas, well to start, it definitely didn’t feel much like Christmas at all. Maybe due to the crazy beautiful beaches we spent it on, maybe due to the 30+ degrees weather…Who really knows but I have to say that since this was my first Christmas away from my family and friends I think the fact that it didn’t feel like Christmas made it a lot easier. But anyhow, I went up to Mombasa, Kenya to visit friends for Christmas and we spent a lovely Christmas day eating an amazing brunch and then lounging by some pools (the hotel we were hanging out at had 4 pools to choose from – one with a waterslide!). After swimming, while we were regrouping in the lobby we were serenaded by a local choir who sang Christmas carols which was really nice.
After Christmas, myself and 3 friends headed to Arusha in Northern Tanzania to start our safari (my Christmas present to myself). The bus company assured us that it was a 7 hour ride, so we budgeted for around 8…and we still ended up getting in Arusha super late (9 hours or so later). Our safari guide was almost frantic because we were staying in the park area and they close their gates at 6pm and it’s a 3 hour drive from Arusha to the park…they ended up calling me to ask what bus we were on and then driving around Arusha to find our bus and pull it over to get us off and into the safari vehicle. Definitely a good way to start the trip. But we made it through the park gates in time (with 5 minutes to spare).
There was a bit more drama when we arrived at our hotel. We had just finished our debrief with our guide to go over the plan for the next day’s game drive and were getting up to go to our rooms to clean up for dinner when the hotel staff came up to us and asked us not to move. When we asked why they told us that the President of Tanzania was coming in and they didn’t want people wandering around the hotel while he was in transit. We asked if we should stand up or anything when he entered the room and were basically told to keep as still as possible and to avoid making any sudden movements – but no pressure or anything. Anyway, so the President walks in with an entourage of like 20 people (we’re frantically looking between his group and his picture above the fireplace trying to figure out which one is him) and he says Hello to us and asks us how we are…we responded with Hello, yes we’re very well thanks (great conversation!). And then he was gone – no one would tell us what part of the hotel he was staying in or anything like that.
Dinner that night was fabulous (they had Camembert cheese! -definitely a highlight of the holidays) and then it was a pretty early night. The next day’s game drive was spectacular – we saw lions, one cheetah, foxes, one jackal, hyenas, flamingos, zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, one elephant, warthogs, the national bird of Uganda (can’t remember what it’s called) and hippos. The Ngorongoro Crater is spectacular though – the colours in that place are absolutely amazing.
The next day we went to the Arusha Reptile House where we got to look at snakes and crocodiles and tortoises. And then it was off to the airport and back to Zanzibar. New Years in Zanzibar was fun – everyone (minus Nadim) who had been in Mombasa came down to celebrate. We partied on the beach to ring in 2009. Celebrations included some hilarious attempts with some seriously flawed hot air balloons.
And now it’s back to work, but to the old routine…I think that’s why it took me so long to update the old blog. Coming down from the holidays is always tough. But (strangely enough) it’s nice to have things back to normal and the New Year always gives you a bit of a new perspective. I guess it’s time to start looking into what I want to do next – because at some point this year (I think) I do have to come home and find something else to do…
