Three days prior to departure

Back in November I was reading The Times travel section and wondering where to go on holiday. I had no travel companions for the trip, and I was working full time, so it would have to be a tour package, I thought. The word ‘package’ conjured up nightmarish visions of screaming kids, name badges and umbrella wielding guides, but I began to search the net for tour operators, and it wasn’t long before I came across Gecko Travel. In fact it was pretty much a one horse race as far as websites were concerned. Gecko’s had itineraries for all the tours, everything you could ever want to know about the tour arrangements, endorsements from lots of happy customers (including one from the Thai tourist board) and up to date pricing info. The photos were stunning and navigating was a doddle. I was hooked.

Thailand 2002

DayLocationSummary1HomePlanning2Dubai – BangkokFlight from Dubai to Bangkok3BangkokWee, Wats, tuk tuks, schoolgirls and spicy food4BangkokCanals, dragonboats, massage, snakes and stones5BangkokGovernment, Jim Thompson, Chinese New Year6Bangkok / AyuthayaBang Pa-in Palace, Ayuthaya, Massage, Happy Ending narrowly averted7BangkokNational Museum, Palm, River of the Kings show8BangkokGecko tour begins, Royal Grand Palace, Wat Pho (again)9Bangkok – SangklaburiTrain to Kanchanaburi, Bridge over the River Kwai, interesting room allocations at the hotel10SangklaburiBoat trip on the lake, Mon village, swim in lake, long wooden bridge11SangkaliburiJungle trek, bamboo rafting, bizarre location for a film set12KanchanaburiBus with chicken, huts on stilts, first idiotic mistake, shopping by sign language and pictionary, POW museum13KanchanaburiHellfire pass, kayaking, elephant riding14Kanchanaburi – Nakhon Pathom – TrangTruck to Nathon Pathom, local temple, overnight train to Trang15TrangThale Noi Bird Sanctuary, fishing contraptions, giant caves16TrangJungle trek, rubber plantation, waterfalls, giant cave17Trang – Koh MukMangrove swamps, sea caves, dragonboat to Koh Muk18Koh MukExploring, more creative shopping, hammock engineering19Koh MukSnorkelling on the reef, Emerald cave, swimming in the dark20Koh MukReading, trying not to move, making mental note to wear more sunscreen21Koh Muk – Trang – BangkokBoat and bus to Trang, lunch with Charlotte, flight back to Bangkok, dinner with Palm and Wee22BangkokSkytrain, huge market, dinner with Wee and Palm23Bangkokspent day with Wee, Palm and Bernard (Wee’s boyfriend), Zoolander, riverside, taxi to airport24BangkokCaught flight back to London (just)

Day 54

Back in Harare, I spend a week gradually shedding skin from my slowly-healing sunburn, finish deploying the new system, and then return to London.

summary:Back at work
location:Harare
ihave:Bribed a Zimbabwean customs officer
trip:zimbabwe01
day:54

Day 53

I check out of the Kingdom at around 8:45am, and leave my bag with the porter. At nine I get picked up by my last tour bus – this one is for the famous helicopter “flight of angels”, an aerial tour of the Victoria Falls. A few pickups and a short drive later we arrive at the heliport. A thatched building stands on the side of a small grassy area surrounded by a low log fence, just large enough for two small helipads. The only visible helicopter is in a service area on the other side of the field, with various vital-looking pieces of machinery exposed.

Day 52

I am awakened early by a burning sensation in my legs. I whip off the sheets to find I am throughly sunburnt from mid-thigh to toe on both legs. A few minutes later I am still lying in the same position trying to decide whether to risk moving. Touching the reddened area I confirm quickly that yes, it does hurt. A lot. I spend the rest of the day taking it easy and swimming in the pool, to the amazement of onlookers. “Isn’t it cold?” asks a middle-aged woman, looking up from her book. But I’m not feeling the cold – the cold water provides some much needed relief for my sunburn.

Day 51

Today I am scheduled to go white water rafting at 0745. After meeting at the bar in the Kingdom, the group is driven to the gorge to pick up equipment and start our descent. There are two options for making the trip – you can either paddle yourself and follow instructions from a guide, or have the guide row so all you have to do is hang on tight. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I go for the paddle boat option. The rest of the crew (of seven) consists of a group of Dutch men, who didn’t speak English very well, and two women travel agents (Lindel and Sue) from a group of ten on an educational trip from South Africa. We navigated the first ten or so rapids without incident, and not a single person overboard, quite an achievement compared to the other paddle boats. Rapid 15, or the ‘washing machine’ is where our luck changes. An enormous wave forms ahead of the raft. I can see the wall of water getting higher and higher as our boat races towards it, and I know the angle is too sharp. We were going over, and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. Our raft launches itself into the wave but with no luck – we are pointing almost vertically by the time the wave breaks, sending us all into the Zambezi and burying the raft under a tonne of water.

Day 50

A bus from the Elephant Company arrives to pick me up at around 6:45am, and has me relieved to see some native english speakers already on board. The Kingdom Hotel pickup adds myself and a group of about fourteen Dutch to the mix. Rhonda, the New Jersey minister is one of the Americans already on board, so we talk during the 25-minute journey to the elephant depot. After half an hour or so learning the various safety proceedures, such as “don’t get between a elephant and a hard place”, the elephants themselves arrive for the tour. We board them via a raised platform and sit on a fairly basic saddle. Once the elephant starts moving I begin unconsiously rocking back and forth, and my thighs quickly start complaining bitterly.

Day 49

Around midday, I leave Kingdom to find Wilderness Safaris, where Elina works. No soorner have I stepped outside the hotel grounds before I am beset upon from all directions. “Hello how are you my friend” is a common opening, which is quickly followed by attempts to sell me various souvenirs, or exchange my money at generous rates.

Day 48

Simon returns from a dance looking drunk, but is probably just tired. I’m going to Victoria Falls on a week’s break, and I’m all packed and raring to go, especially after spending so long at work. As Simon is too ‘tired’ to drive me to the airport, Chipo obliges, and I arrive about an hour before takeoff. Now this really has to be the smallest commercial air terminal in the world. My bag was weighed on a manual scale, you could walk from the entrance to the departure gate in about 10 seconds flat, and when it came to boarding, a woman wandered into the room, pointed at a distant plane and said “your aircraft is over there – have a good flight.”

Days 15-47

The following weeks are spent at the office doing the bulk of the work in the stock control system. I don’t feel this stuff is interesting enough to document, so I take a break from journal writing.

location:Harare / Reapers office
summary:Working
trip:zimbabwe01