Kerala

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  Kannur After an overnight train, we got to Kannur bright if not early. We had intended on visiting Wayanad Nature reserve but decided against it based on cost (something that seems to have become habit). The first thing we noticed stepping off the platform was the heat. It was incredibly hot and humid, so much so that we were covered with sweat by the time we actually left the train station (this around 8:30AM). We got checked into a hotel and lacking much to do we went to see St. Angelos Fort, the fort was somewhat deserted but quite Continue Reading →

Goa

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    Panaji After the overnight train journey into Goa we arrived a few kilometres away in the state capital Panaji. We got off the train and Mike (the Australian we met in Mumbai) was (somewhat irritatingly) waiting for us, he had intended on getting off further south but decided to follow us (a trait that continued). One thing we’ve found incredibly useful throughout India are pre-paid taxi booths. You turn up at the booth, give them your destination and they hand you a slip of paper with a fixed price and allocate you a taxi. This saves you getting Continue Reading →

Mumbai

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Mumbai     As Laura has already said we left Africa with mixed feelings, we were glad to be away and to experience something different (and cheaper) but we were going to miss Africa’s picturesque landscapes, people as well as it’s little eccentricities. Our flight to Mumbai consisted of a flight from Nairobi to Ethiopia, then Ethiopia to Mumbai. Before I continue the smokers reading this will be astounded to know that Ethiopia airport is a smoking zone. Being a smoker I was pleased to have an 9 hour flight split so that I could have a rollie, what I Continue Reading →

Kenya

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    Nairobi We were pleasantly surprised by the Akamba Bus service to Nairobi. We had heard some horror stories about buses in Tanzania and Kenya and we also heard that the route between Mombasa and Nairobi was particularly dangerous and had the highest death rate in Africa. Great news! In fact the bus was very comfortable with loads of leg room and the roads were not as bad as I expected. We arrived into Nairobi at 9pm, another fact I had worried about alot due to the amount of robberies in Nairobi at bus stations at night. Luckily we Continue Reading →

Tanzania

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    Mbeya Laura: We were all feeling sad to leave Nkhata Bay but on the other hand, we had spent nearly a week relaxing by the lake and needed to head back to civilization. We left Mayoka at 8am and headed into town to catch a minibus to Mzuzu. Travelling with Clayton (originally from Zimbabwe) made it alot easier to negotiate prices with the locals and we got a pretty good deal on the minibus. At Mzuzu we were mobbed by guys at the bus station and eventually settled on a 12 seater to take us to the Tan/Mal Continue Reading →

Malawi

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    Lilongwe Laura: After crossing the border we tried to get a taxi to the nearest bus station to get a connection to Lilongwe. We made a deal with one guy but we would be sharing a cab with two other people which was fine. The other couple were going to the airport so the driver kept trying to convince us that he could take us to Lilongwe direct for a good price. Eventually we settled on 12 quid to take us directly to our hostel (120km).

Zambia

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Livingstone   Laura: We arrived in Livingstone early in the morning to the usual insane scramble and hustle/bustle that follows you all over Africa. Every time you rock up to a station you get mobbed by locals who will try to carry your bags or persuade you to stay at their friend’s hotel. Some of them get a bit over excited and will try to run away with your bag. We were pretty used to this so when a guy approached us and said that he was from the hostel we had booked we just ignored him. He had a Continue Reading →

Namibia

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Windhoek Ahmad: After the fun, games and a near pick pocketing in Cape Town we left South Africa via Intercape, a cheapish bus service that runs between most of what was Rhodesia. Intercape in southern Africa is reliable, relatively comfortable and affordable, definitely the way to travel on a budget. If anyone does feel the pressing need to cross the African continent I would recommend using Intercape, taking a good book, ear plugs a warm blanket as well as swim wear (the temperature on the bus is either arctic or sweltering.

South Africa

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Apologies everyone for not updating the blog. We’ve been pretty busy over the past two months or so. Laura (very kindly, if not without berrating me every minute of every day) has blogged about most of Africa. I’ll be adding her blog entries per country bi-weekly till we are up to date. Cheers, Ahmad