Friday, July 22, 2005

Want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro? Here's the itinerary.

Day 1 - VANCOUVER TO LONDON TO NAIROBI TO KILIMANJARO
Depart Vancouver airport in the early evening on an Air Canada flight to London.

Day 2 - ARRIVE LONDON
Arrive at Heathrow airport and you will have a layover of 8 hours prior to connecting to your onward Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi.

Day 3 - NAIROBI TO KILIMANJARO
Arrive Nairobi and connect onto Precision Airlines to Kilimanjaro Airport. Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport where you can meet a local representative and board the minicoach for a transfer to Moshi and your hotel. Upon arrival you will have a briefing on what to expect over the next 6 days of trekking.

Overnight at the Springlands Hotel on a bed & breakfast basis

The Springlands Hotel: This is a small modern, family-run hotel located just outside of town. It has pleasant gardens, fine views of Kilimanjaro and a pleasant covered dining area in the gardens. There is also an indoor restaurant and small bar. En-suite accommodation is available in the main building with showers, mosquito mesh in the windows, fans and very clean bore-hole water. A large swimming pool has been recently completed together with a new dining area.

Day 4 - MOSHI TO KILIMANJARO NATIONAL PARK (BLD)
This morning, enjoy breakfast at the hotel before you are picked up for your road trip to Kilimanjaro National Park. After registering with park authorities, the climb will commence to the Mandara Encampment. This 4 hour walk passes through a thick rainforest zone where there is a high chance of rainfall in the afternoon. Spend the night at Mandara Hut located at 2,750 meters.

Overnight at the Mandara Hut on a full board basis

Day 5 - TREK (BLD)
This morning, after breakfast, you continue the ascent through forest for a short time before reaching the heather and moorland zone at roughly 3,000m (about a six hour walk). There are beautiful views of the mountain peaks at this altitude. You will spend the night at Horombo Hut (3,720m) which lies in a valley surrounding by the giant lobelia and groundsel, flora characteristic of this semi-alpine zone.
Overnight at Horombo Hut on a full board basis

Day 6 - TREK (BLD)
Today you will pass the last watering point, and ascend onto the saddle of Kilimanjaro, between the peaks of Kibo and Mwenzi. The vegetation thins out as you enter the desert-like alpine zone at around 4,000m and, when you cross the saddle, Kibo peak comes into view. This seven-hour walk will be done slowly.

You will spend the night at Kibo Hut (4,703m), a comfortable stone construction. This semi-desert zone receives an annual rainfall of under 250mm; the ground often freezes at night, but ground temperatures soar to above 30 degrees Celcius by day. Few plants other than lichens and grasses survive in these conditions. Overnight at the Horombo Hut on a full board basis

Day 7 - TREK (BLD)
Today trek up to Mawenzi and walk around the Hill and back to Horombo just for acclimatization and to get familiar with the altitude and weather on the mountain.
Overnight at the Horombo Hut on a full board basis

Day 8 - TREK (BLD)
Same as previous day.A day of acclimatization.
Overnight at the Horombo Hut on a full board basis

Day 9 - TREK (BLD)
Shortly after midnight, you commence the climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro, since it is easier to climb the scree slope to Gillman's Point (5861m) on the crater rim when it is frozen, and an early start for the six-hour hike impoves your chances of reaching the summit in time for sunrise. From Gilman's Point it is a further two hour round trip along the crater's edge to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. From the summit it is downhill all the way to Horombo Hut where you will spend your last night on the mountain.
Overnight at the Horombo Hut on a full board basis

Day 10 - DESCENT FROM KILIMANJARO (BLD)
The descent continues past the Mandara encampment to the bottom of the mountain, where you will receive your well-earned certificates. You will be collected by the shuttle bus and driven to Moshi. (B/L). Overnight at the Springlands Hotel on a bed & breakfast basis

Day 11 - KILIMANJARO TO LAKE MANYARA (B,L,D)
This morning after breakfast at the hotel, you will board a minicoach for transfer to Lake Manyara. Lake Manyara National Park contains a view dense equatorial forest and this is home to a remarkable concentration of wildlife. If you’re not relaxing at the lodge then you will be enjoying game drives looking for lions perched on trees, or countless colonies of pink flamingos, pelicans and thousands of other lake-dwelling birds flapping and splashing amid hippos. Check in at the hotel.Lunch at the hotel prior to an afternoon game drive. Get your camera ready.

Accommodation: The Lake Manyara Hotel (1 Night)The Lake Manyara Hotel, perched on the edge of the escarpment overlooking Lake Manyara, has the most outstanding views. At this height the air is much fresher than in the valley below making this an ideal place to relax. Facilities include fine gardens, restaurant, bar, and a swimming pool.

Day 12 - LAKE MANYARA TO NGORONGORO CRATER (B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.This morning you will depart for the 90 minute drive to Ngorongoro Crater. Listed as a World Heritage site, Ngorongoro is the world’s largest unbroken caldera, with walls rising 2000 ft. straight up from the crater floor. Often described as the world’s eighth wonder, Ngongoro offers the opportunity of viewing an amazing variety of wild animal life in a concentrated area. This veritable Garden of Eden is home to ostrich, wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, warthog, long eared foxes, jackal, hyena, lion, cheetah and the very rare black rhino.. in all, some 30,000 animals inhabit the crater.
Lunch on arrival at the lodge.
Enjoy an afternoon game drive.
Dinner at the lodge.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge (2 Nights)Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge is located on the Ngorongoro Crater Rim, just off the main road to the Serengeti. The Lodge has 75 rooms. All standard facilities available. Located at 2290 metres above sea level it can be quite chilly. Rooms are centrally heated and each has an en-suite bathroom. The lounge features a fireplace and panoramic windows which give on to a terrace serving as an observation deck for the crater below.

Day 13 - KILIMANJARO TO NAIROBI TO LONDON (B)
Take breakfast at the lodge. Morning game drive if time permits.Early afternoon departure from the lodge for the 3 hour drive to Kilimanjaro Airport.Check in for the flight.

Depart Kilimanjaro Airport on Precision Airways flight RP 725 at 7: 30 PM for Nairobi.
Arrive Nairobi at 8:30 PM and connect with Kenya Airways flight KQ 102 departing at 8:30 PM for London Heathrow.

Day 14 - FLY LONDON TO VANCOUVER
Arrive London Heathrow and connect on Air Canada flight AC 855 departing London for Vancouver. Arrive Vancouver.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

What to do in Vancouver? All you need is this guide.

It's summer in the best city in the world and finally there's a guide which synthesizes all the things we can take advantage of. And I think it's the best guide I've ever seen of what's happening in Vancouver - the Spirit of Vancouver Summer Event Guide; and I've been searching for 10 years! The only thing it doesn't have is the Richmond Night Market... :)

It has a calendar of summer events and feature articles on:
- Bard on the Beach
- Vancouver Folk Music Festival
- HSBC Celebration of Light
- Powell Street Festival
- Taiwanese Cultural Festival
- Vancouver Diversity Festival
- The Fair at the PNE
- The first annual Sea Vancouver Festival

http://www.boardoftrade.com/spirit/Newspirit_JulyAugust2005.pdf

Enjoy the summer boys and girls!

Great ready to be amazed!

Okay guys this is truly symbolic of the time we are living in... this program shows of our Earth and everything on it. It is unbelievable and a must try - seriously.

You can pin point your house, your friends house or Mt. St. Helens if you want to. You can find your parents old city in India or a travel destination simply by typing the address or name!

Prepare to be shocked...

http://earth.google.com

Monday, July 11, 2005

Don't make or take drugs unless necessary: go out and Exercise!

Okay let me correct my last post, make peace do not make or take drugs...

Great article on getting more physical to treat one's ailments instead of the quick fix... talk to you after I'm done my bike ride around the seawall...

http://www.thetyee.ca/Life/2005/07/08/BackPain/

Let's make peace not drugs!

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=57e546c0-406a-4f21-8892-cabd934688ee

This is one of the main reasons why we really need a south asian youth group to be formed... these youth and south asians really need to understand the implications of their wrongful and bluntly stupid actions. I can't believe they got so much out of her, just plain stupid she is for even getting involved in the drug trade. Argh, it just makes me so sick. We really need to help our community to get out of this lucrative and dangerous business...

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

An Indian Author's Top 25 of Indian Authors

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/28KWYLJQKV2A3/102-5828194-1660928

Unfortunately I've only read Fine Balance (which is highly recommendable!), but collection has 3-4 of the others (once I get some time they are totally on my to read list).

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Another Walmart application bites the dust...

As with the many rejected applications Walmart has for Vancouver, another region of BC is also rejecting the US Big Unneeded Box:
http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bc_walmart20050705

Monday, July 04, 2005

Maneesh in India

Okay so this is an email that Meechie wrote July 3, 2005 after his trip from India (on his vacation from studying Medicine in Nepal).

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hi guys!!

so i arrived back to pokhara after a nice visit to delhi! it was very, very hot in delhi though.. i think the temperature got up to 47 degrees! it was extremely fun. i thought i might get bored after a while but mommy and papa kept me quite busy. we went out to eat to some nice places.. we saw some nice monuments and tourist spots.. we even took a delhi tour for half a day.... we kept busy by seeing lots of our relatives .. i saw charlie bhaiya and mona and their kids, bonu didi and her daughter... kittie didi and gijaji ankur (her son), i saw raja and promil bhuji, urmil bhuji, balraj thuji and thiaji,sonu and chotu, akil and minder bhaiya...and i saw titu mama, jyoti massi and kalbushan massarde and anurag and aman.....

i also went to jammu.. that was fun.. i wanted to go there so badly b/c last time i was supposed to go there i got very sick.. but this time too i got a little sick but i wasnt gonna let that stop me from walking 11kms up and 11kms back down .. yup .. thats right the little cold didnt stop me and daddy from going to vashnudevi.. however, we did have to change the timing that we had planned out.. originally to beat the heat we planned to start our journey at like 4 in the morning.. and we had a late dinner the nite before.. i wasnt feeling that good and i knew that there would be now way that i would be able to get up at like 3 am to start getting ready to go to the base camp.. i needed about 6 hours of sleep.. so instead we changed the timing to go at 6pm at nite.. this way we could make it to the top by around 11pm or so.. it takes about 4 hours to walk up the mountain.. it was fun.. papa and i thoroughly enjoyed the experience..it turned out to be a beautiful nite clear and just the right temperature.. warm enough to wear a t-shirt and cool enough to not break a sweat..we even got to make a wish when a noticed a shooting star!!! it was the perfect way to spend father's day....

while in jammu i was asked papa if we could go to his old home just to see what it looked like and if it was still there.. it had been ages since papa ever went back to where he grew up.. it was really awesome to see the old place.. mind you it was totally renovated but it brought so many memories back to papa.. he started telling us how he used to run to and fro from one side of the building to the other side.. (his neighbours part) ...and they had such a nice view of jammu from the top of the house.. they could see the whole of jammu from there.. and it still was one of the tallest buildings in the neighbourhood...jammu too was very hot.. the temperature climbed up to 45 degrees when i was there.. the papers were saying that it was one of the hottest summers in the last 10 years!

i did get to do a little of shopping.. and the shopping is great.. i went to a place called sarojini market.. and i found some nice Zara replica shirts.. really nice.. and i bought an armani exchange and fubu and pepe jeans shirt there.. pretty cheap.. the zara shirts cost me Rs. 400 or about $12 for both! and i got the other three t-shirts for also Rs.400...
i got nice glasses made too.. but the way the lenses were made really bugged my eyes.. so i had to return them.. i was sad.. cuz they really looked nice and they too were relatively cheap.. i was able to get them for less than $80 canadian for 2 pairs of high index glasses.. which is really a good deal b/c my lenses alone in canada cost about $200!!!
all in all.. it was really relaxing .. and a much needed break from my hectic med school life..but in a way it was neither too long nor too short.. at some points i had an itch to back to school and start studying.. overall it was fun.. but extremely hot...
okay well take care and email me later some time!!!

love maneesh