Flight
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| Exit Belgium's airsapce and enter Netherlands' at 10pm |
My
Kilimanjaro trek was to begin on 10 June. I decided to reach Arusha
on 7 June so that I would have adequate time to get used to the environment and to find my bag should it get lost. On 6
June, I took the 8pm flight from Madrid to Amsterdam, with the
intention to sleep in the airport lounge and to catch the 10am flight
from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro the next day.
The
night before I left for Amsterdam, I found that there was a hotel (Yotel) right in the transit area in the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol so I
chickened out from sleeping in the lounge and opted for the room instead. The
room was small but bigger than those in the capsule hotels in Japan. It had
everything that I needed – internet, television (first time I've
watched tv in a month!), shower, towel. The table could be neatly
folded away and the chair folded and hung on the door. The only thing
I could not understand was why the lights were pink. Given that there were so many rooms in such a small place and people going in and out, it was
surprisingly quiet.
On
the flight from Amsterdam to Arusha, I sat next to Natalie, a Dutch, who was on her
way to Moshi to do her research on malaria for 2 months. We talked
about travelling, how her research took her to many parts of the world, where I should travel to, malaria, my medication
for malaria (which was only a generic drug for malaria and everything
else). We laughed at how I was still speaking my baby Spanish in Amsterdam and on the plane when everyone was speaking in perfect English to me. Thanks Natalie! You were great company!
We
flew over the Sahara Desert. The environment looked so harsh, it felt
like flying over the moon or mars. Yi Hui, could you remind me again
as to why you walked across the Gobi Desert? During that walk, did
you wonder a million times why you were torturing yourself? Are you crazy, girl? : )
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| Sahara Desert |
Arrival
We arrived in the Kilimanjaro Airport at about 7.30 pm. It
was kind of chaotic clearing the customs. Everyone seemed to be queuing in however manner they wanted. I did not need a visa but the lines for
customs clearance were slower than the line for visa (which
needed more paperwork). After clearing the customs, I waited forever for my bag and started to worry that I was in
the wrong airport (there were people holding papers written with names before the
custom clearance and I did not see mine), that my bag had gone
missing (with the long layover in Amsterdam) etc. Then I realised my bag was sitting on a conveyor belt that had stopped nearby. What a
relief!
When I stepped into the arrival hall, I saw my name on a paper. Hallelujah!
Mshana had come to pick me up from the airport. As we drove into Arusha town, we passed by the
lights from the airport and from tanzanite mines. Otherwise, the road was pitch-black. A million stars lit
up the sky and it was really beautiful. Despite the darkness, there were
many people riding bicycles and women walking alone without lights. Hmmm...
Lodging
I
arrived at Outpost Lodge safe and sound. I had chosen the lodge
because it was in a quiet area but close enough to town and had wi-fi
network. Surprisingly, 12 out of the 17 climbers from the same trip
chose to do the same. My room was big. Lights were dim (small flourescent tubes were used and on top of that, unremovable lamp shades which made
the room even dimmer). There were warning messages in the room and
bathroom to remind one to save water and electricity and not to wash clothes and I
was quite worried that the hot water would run out when I showered.
Food
I
wanted to walk into the Arusha town centre but the lady at the reception frowned upon it. Hence, I contacted Mshana to bring me to somewhere local for lunch and then into town to
get what I need. He brought me to a street across from Mt Meru Hotel,
to a bar called VIP Lounge. We said hello to the chef and he ordered
lunch.
Except
for the furnishings, it would have been the same as the bars
anywhere else – there was the usual bar counter, pool table and dart
boards.
The only difference would have been the grills at the bar counter to protect the barman from robbery.
The only difference would have been the grills at the bar counter to protect the barman from robbery.
Before
the food arrived, one of the waitresses came with water for us to
wash our hands (we were going to eat with our fingers). I think I got
the VIP treatment because I had a warm water poured from a kettle to wash my
hands (as opposed to cold water from a pail). There was also a tiny
piece of soap on the lid of the kettle which was turned upside down.
Our
tomato (with chili) salad, soggy fries and ugali arrived. A waiter
brought out the nyama choma (grilled meat) we ordered (lamb) and cut
it in front of us. The ugali is a cornmeal ball and Henry Stedman,
author of “Kilimanjaro, The trekking guide to Africa's highest
mountains”, described ugali as “usually served in a single
cricket-ball sized lump and has the consistency of plasticine”. I
thought it was very similar to the ketupat that we have back home and is
a good match for grilled meat (much like ketupat and satay).
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| Barbecued lamb (sorry, we finished the ribs) |
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| ugali |
I
liked everything except for the soggy fries. Even though I ate with my fingers, I think the alcohol content in the beer killed all germs so I did not have any stomach upsets.
Town
After lunch, we drove into town, changed some US$ into Tanzanian shillings, got
my postcards, bottled water and chocolates for the trip.
I
had a crash course on swahili from Mshana and the locals were quite
amused when I used swahili for greetings and to thank them. There
were people on the streets peddling artworks, accessories and
football jerseys. They very much left me alone when I smiled and said
“no, ahsante sana”. (The next day, I would hear how Gloria and
Anna were pestered and how Jack was threatened with death. Phew!
Lucky me!)
The town was tiny and I
could not believe that I would be stuck in a traffic jam.
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| Drogba |
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| Arusha Declaration Monument |
Gloria and Anna
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| Gloria |
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| Anna |
Jonas
The
chief guide for my group, Jonas, came to brief us in the evening and to
pass me the items I have rented.
We found out that 17 people have signed up for the Rongai Route with Team Kilimanjaro and we would be split into 1 group of 7 and 2 groups of 5 trekkers.
Gloria and I would be in the group of 7 and Anna would be in another group.
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| Jonas, dead tired, after 7 days of torture from us |
Jack
When
I went back to my room to get money to pay Jonas, I met Jack, a British
from Brighton, who was staying in the room next to mine. He had just came back from the same Rongai trek with
Team Kilimanjaro the day before. Gloria wanted to discuss about
tipping so I asked Jack to share his experiences with us.
Jack's group was made up on 4 people and he showed us the photographs he took. He recalled how his teammate, a girl, who had no symptons of acute mountain sickness and did not take diamox, had collapsed at the Gilman's Point. They had to force a lot of energy gel into her, she recovered and they ran up to the peak and down again.
Jack's group was made up on 4 people and he showed us the photographs he took. He recalled how his teammate, a girl, who had no symptons of acute mountain sickness and did not take diamox, had collapsed at the Gilman's Point. They had to force a lot of energy gel into her, she recovered and they ran up to the peak and down again.
It was great to hear a realistic first-hand account but I thought I was going to freak out soon with too much nervous energy. For the 1 millionth time I had wondered if I am fit
enough and if I was crazy and paid money to torture myself. Jack
tried to boost my confidence but I remained nervous. I NEED TO GET ON THE MOUNTAIN. NOW. PRONTO!
