So to put our families fears at ease, we thought we’d share this post that came across our inbox of the 10 Most Dangerous Countries as seen by the people at Quickbeds in Australia. At least we’re not going to these places… But then again, we’ve been to one on this list, The Sudan and can attest that it isn’t the big bad dangerous place that people think it is. It was actually one of the most amazing countries we have ever visited. Let us know if you agree or disagree with some of the countries named below.

World’s 10 Most Dangerous Countries

Travelling is one thing that many people all over the world love to do. Louis Armstrong sang a song titled, “What a Wonderful World.” Although he is correct that this is an amazing world in which we live in, all parts of the globe are not necessarily safe to visit. In fact, there are some places that are quite dangerous. Drugs, murder and terrorism are all signs of the perilous world today. Crime is also rampant all across the globe. People from all over the world love to travel; however, you need to think twice before visiting these hostile destinations. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

1.      Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a country at war. There are landmines dispersed throughout the region, and bombings are a regular affair in the country. Military operations continue to occur in Afghanistan, and there is an array of political unrest in the area. Even with the death of Bin Laden, Al Qaeda still operates in some parts of the country. Afghanistan remains an unpredictable and unstable environment.

2.      Iraq
Saddam may be gone, but the threat is still real. There are terrorist’s organizations and militia groups that place bombs in markets and beside the roads. Sometimes these groups take hostages and kill them. Ironically, the presence of military troops from other countries has made Iraq even more dangerous. Many Iraqis have a lot of anger towards outsiders. Therefore, foreigners could be in grave danger when they visit Iraq.

Image from Wikipedia Commons

3.      Somalia
The country of Somalia seems to be in chaos because there is no government. The country has become a home for warlords, pirates, kidnappers, Islamist insurgents and angry young people. Tensions from surrounding borders are trickling into Somalia, and the seas around the country are invested with pirates. Somalia also is suffering from drought, war, famine and high food prices.

4.      Pakistan
Militants operate freely along the Pakistani border. Pakistan also consists of massive bombings that kill hundreds of people. Violence in the country is out of control, and there are many kidnappings every day in the area. The Afghan border probably the most dangerous places to be in the country.

Dave and Deb at the Pakistan Border in India with no fear

5.      Democratic Republic of Congo
This country is afflicted with lawlessness and conflict. There are armed militias, military and policemen who pose threats to people in the region. The military is guilty of corrupt behaviour and abuse, often attacking women. Illegal armed militia groups operate in the area, often using brutal violence, such as rape, on their targets. Law enforcement officials are non-existent, and justice is nowhere to be found in the country.

6.      Sudan
Lack of control and banditry are not uncommon in Sudan. The country poses a risk of terrorism, violent crime, or getting trapped in crossfire of the genocide or militia attacks. There are religious extremist in the area that could be drastically against your presence just because of your religion or nationality.

Just some of the many kind people we met cycling through the Sudan

7.      Yemen
Al Qaeda is in existence in Yemen, as it is considered to be the home of some of Bin Laden’s most loyal supporters. In addition to Al Qaeda, Houthi rebels in the north keep this nation in constant unrest.

8.      Russian Caucasus
The Russian Caucasus continues to be in a state of unrest. People every day are being killed by bombs are gunman. Empires often meet and clash in the Caucasus, and the Russians are very unsympathetic to many countries in the Caucasus. There are still many hostilities left after the collapse of the Soviet Union, so the Russian Caucasus still remains a treacherous and unpredictable place.

9.      Guinea
Criminal gangs are known to be active in Guinea, and police presence is almost non-existent in the area. There seems to be constant fighting in the region that started in Liberia more than a decade ago. The area is also considered to be suffering with an overwhelming amount of AIDS cases, and the people live in poverty.

10.     Nigeria

Nigeria has been the source of periodic episodes of violence for decades. There are many Christian and Muslim disputes that plague the area. The country has been torn apart by wars, violence and ethnic conflict, making the area very unstable.

So when it comes time to plan your next holiday, we suggest you avoid the above, unless of course it’s necessary to travel there, or you really are an extreme adrenaline junkie! Consider somewhere safer such as Australia. Head to one of the beautiful Gold Coast hotels and take in some beach and sunshine. Alternatively you could head to the Western Australian city of Perth, where cheap Perth hotels are aplenty and you’ll find yourself surrounded by friendly locals and wonderful attractions!

Clearly most of these countries listed are common sense. Don’t go to a country that is in the middle of a war. That’s normally a good rule of thumb. As we said above we have been to the Sudan and didn’t feel threatened in any way. We also visited the Pakistan border when we were in India and the people on the other side were friendly and welcoming. We would happily visit Pakistan and plan to in the near future. 

Have you recently travelled to any of the places listed above? Do you agree or strongly disagree with any of the countries mentioned? Let us know and lets get the discussion started.

One day while we were cycling through the Sudan, we cam across an eerie site.

Dead camels were strewn beside the highway buried in the desert sand. Their decaying corpses littered the desert for several kms as we cycled by.

We had heard that as camel caravans walk through the desert some camels are not strong enough to make it. They are left to be engulfed by the great Nubian Desert sands.

Another theory that we heard was that when a camel dies in a nearby village, they are brought out to the desert and buried here.

Whatever the case may be for the “Dead Camel Highway” it made for a unique and memorable moment when a man and child rode by on their donkeys without giving us a second glance.

Bedouins ride through a Camel Graveyard in the Sudanese desert

One of the things we love the most about travel is meeting new people.  While we could compile a list of a hundred people that we have met that have become great friends and have been an inspiration, we wanted to share with you a few of the special people that have really stood out and touched our hearts during our travels around the world over the years.

1. Mary Louise in Paris, France

We have become great friends through our blog.  Mary Louise has been to India several times and started following us as we traveled through the country.  A wonderful woman that cares about social issues has traveled the world before it was easy.
She has volunteered in some of the most difficult conditions on the planet.  She has climbed the great wall of China with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, has volunteered with Mother Theresa and spent time helping people on the Gaza strip.
So what does this activist, world traveler, mother and friend do for a living? She is a gorgeous model going strong in Paris, her adopted home of 23 years.
She met us upon our arrival in Paris wearing a black beret and a big smile.  She took great care of us escorting us all the way to our hostel.  We enjoyed listening to her stories about her travels through West Africa, India, Europe and the Middle East while sitting in a café in Paris.  We are happy to have made a new and dear friend in Marie Louise.

2. Hussein in Udaipur, India

He has lived in Udaipur all his life.
Hussein was a chai wallah as a child. He would sell tea to tourists on the ghats (steps leading to water) as they stood overlooking the lake and the beautiful city of Udaipur. He had big dreams and he has fulfilled those dreams. Read more at Building a Dream in Udaipur. While his friends played cricket, he would chip away at a giant rock on his fathers land. Working for 20 years with his own two hands, he has finally seen his vision come to fruition.
Using the materials from the rock that he had chipped away so diligently, he is building his very own hotel on Udaipur’s north shore. It will be open by the end of this year.
He had worked as a manager at guesthouses in the area for 9 years honing his skills and while his new hotel will be more upscale than the places that he has worked in, he has decided to make a few rooms for the budget backpacker.  We spent a week with Hussein. We met his family, we saw his house and we enjoyed New Years Eve fireworks on the roof of his not yet complete hotel. Hussein is a role model to us all. Stick to your dreams and they will come true.

3. Ajith in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has had several years of civil war and hardships, but it was here that we met so many giving and friendly people.
There was nobody more inspirational than Ajith our tuk tuk driver.
We became great friends with Ajith and had the privilege to meet his family and enjoy his hospitality. You can read more about him at our post Tuk Tuk Driver Makes a Difference.
It was his charity work that inspired us.  While we were in Sri Lanka we tagged along with Ajith while he donated shoes to poor students in a school in the middle of the jungle.  Ajith is not a rich man. He drives a tuk tuk for a living and his wife works for the government.  He has two children and lives in a modest home on the jungle side of Hikkaduwa.  His does well for a citizen of Sri Lanka, but he has very little to spare. However, what he does have, he gives generously.  He spends his time raising money to buy the shoes, he goes to the school to measure children’s feet and he makes the long drive back and forth to Unawatuna to drop off measurement and pick up shoes from the factory.

When he came with us to a school for the disabled, he had tears in his eyes and spoke of how lucky he and his family are.  We felt lucky meeting Ajith and calling him our friend.

If you are going to Sri Lanka in the Hikkaduwa area email us and we will give you his contact information. You won’t find a better tuk tuk driver in the country.

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4. Abdulla Ahmed in Wadi Halfa, Sudan

When we had an unexpected layover in Wadi Halfa after crossing Lake Nasser from Egypt, we thought that we would be spending our day alone walking through town with nothing to do.  We barely made it around the corner when a man stopped us and invited us to breakfast.  Abdulla Ahmed is a scholar, a teacher and a kind man that shared his stories of his country with us.

He told us how the Aswan Dam dried up his formerly lush and green home town and how people had to flee to other parts of the Sudan to make a living. People are slowly coming back, but this arid land it will never be the same.  As he spoke and talked to us about his country, the food kept on coming and the tea kept on flowing.  His hospitality was touching.  He would not hear of us paying for our breakfast and enjoyed speaking to us and hearing stories from the outside world.  Abdulla is a testament to the people of Sudan. We encountered moments like this on a regular basis.  People that have very little were always willing to share what they have.   They wanted to talk with us and enjoy a conversation.  Out of all the countries that we travelled through in Africa, we never met a people that were as kind and giving as the people of The Sudan.

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5. Kul and Mim Das Tamang in Kathmandu, Nepal

It was a year before leaving for Nepal that we became friends with Kul and Mim on facebook.  They were mutual friends with people that we know and being the entrepreneurs that they are, they saw the value of facebook and introduced themselves to travelers and adventure seekers.  We kept in touch with them and when we visited Nepal, we enjoyed a tea with them and a trip to their office.

These two brothers have been working in the trekking industry for decades and have pushed through and persevered through difficult circumstances.  Kathmandu is constantly interrupted with load shedding and it is next to impossible to run a business from the internet when the power keeps going out.  They have a website that they have built, they run a trekking company from a small office just outside of Thamel and they work with charities and NGOs improving the quality of life for people in Nepal.  We are always inspired by people that are struggling themselves, yet find the time to give back to others. Mim works for Nepal Projects bringing health care and school projects to his small village in Nepal.

These two guys have big, friendly smiles and are working hard to build a business. If you are going to Nepal, consider checking out Mim and Kul to be your guides, they are friendly and professional.

Contact them at:

• Amazing Authentic Adventures
• Kul Das Tamang
• Mim Das Tamang

Travel photography has many aspects. When Deb and I travel most places are defined in some way or another by the people. Faces always have intrigued me because, as Shakespeare put it, “The eyes are the window to the soul”.

As I took these photo’s I believe that each pair of eyes offers a glimpse into the joys and hardships of each individuals life. It is amazing that with the click of a shutter you can relay such emotion. I hope you enjoy these photo’s as much as I did taking them.

Cigar anyone?

An Elder opens the shutters in Myanmar

The Innocence of a Child, Malawi

A wise gaze from a Peruvian elder.

A stunning Sudanese woman.

Digging for mussels on the rocks of Goa, India.

Taking a smoke break at the market in Myanmar.

Hard at work during the Harvest in Bali.

What are they.

Check this out…Dave and Deb’s Surreal travel moments in the Desert

The grand Desert of Peru

1. Being left in the desert. It was odd. We had a difficult time with our camel safari and guide and after a bit of a tiff, he finally agreed to find us another camel so that we could actually ride them through the Thar desert instead of being led by him walking in front of us.  The surreal part came while we were waiting.  A man walked out from behind a shrub in dress shoes and full suit.   He had come to give us information on our camel. His cell phone rang, our guide and him talked and then the two of them walked off into the sand dunes while we were left behind with two camels and a goat.

2. Watching a major motion picture in the middle of the desert.  The camel man asked us if we would mind if some doctors came to meet us during our safari.  They wanted to have dinner in the desert.  No problem we said.  As soon as the sun went down, a bunch of headlights shone in the distance.  About 40 surgeons and students arrived with wine, whiskey and beer.  They brought along a generator and as we sat around the camp fire being served finger foods on a platter, The 3 Idiots movie started up on a big screen projector.  We had front row seats to India’s hottest movie in history. That night was definitely up there as the most surreal moment in our travels.

A Movie in the Desert, now that's Surreal

3. Walking with the Indian Army on camel back.  We had been on safari for 2 days.  As we turned a corner we saw dozens of troops doing maneurvers in the desert.  They were out practicing their GPS.  These are highly trained soldiers that take part in combat. They are always on high alert with Pakistan and the desert border is a hot spot.  We distracted them so much that they didn’t get any work done.  They walked along side us asking us about Canada, the weather and how we liked India.  One squad kept getting into trouble and had to be reprimanded by their captain.  They ran off into the desert only to be caught by us again a while later.  Eventually, all the troops were together and they took off running followed by their trucks and supplies.  We never saw them again. Very Surreal.

Soldiers during our camel safari, very surreal

4. Almost being left Behind in Vietnam’s Sand Dunes. While traveling through Vietnam, we had to see the famous sand dunes of Mui Ne. For our tour, we were sold on the fact that we could go sand boarding on the dunes. We were excited to give it a try. It turned out that once we got to the dunes they didn’t bring any boards.  When we complained, the guide was so angry that he threatened to leave us behind. That was the time I learned to never accuse someone from Asia of lying.  Luckily an local NGO was on our tour and smoothed things over.  We had to go through an entire ceremony of me apologizing to him in front of the entire group to save face. Finally he agreed to let us back in the jeep and take us home. Whew. Not only a surreal travel moment, but a scary one as well.

5. Having high artillery pointed at us in The Sudan. We were traveling by bicycle through the desert in the Sudan and were escorted by armed guards all the way through.  We didn’t see them often, because our group was so spread out, but once a truck pulled up in front of Dave and I.  2 guys were in the back standing behind truck mounted high caliber machine guns.  These things could take out a plane.  The truck road in front of us and the guys had their guns pointed at us.  They were smiling and waving, but all we could see was the barrel of these guns. We just prayed that their fingers wouldn’t slip.

Many surreal moments cycling Africa

6. A loudspeaker conversation in Egypt. Once again, we were riding our bike through the desert in Egypt.  A patrol man pulled up beside us and started having a conversation with us.  He would speak into his microphone and it came out of the loudspeakers mounted above the truck.  Where are you from? How do you like Egypt? What are your names? He bellowed.  We shouted back the answers between our breaths.  It was a difficult day and we faced headwinds the entire time. The conversation eventually dwindled, but he kept giving us updates every 500 meters.  Only 5 km to camp….4km to camp…4.5 km to camp.  It was surreal.  When we finally got to camp, we shook his hand and thanked him for keeping our spirits up.

Support Trucks in the distance of Sudanese Desert

7. Stern Warning in Peru’s Desert. We didn’t eve know that Peru had a desert until we traveled there.  But it has a giant desert and some of the highest dunes in the world. We were on our way to dune buggy through those giant sand dunes. It was a festive occasion. Suddenly policemen pull up beside us on 3 wheelers.  They have a heated argument with our driver. They yell for awhile and then the police turn to us and tell us that we should not go with them.  Driving in the desert is dangerous and we are risking our safety.  They then leave and we are left with our driver.  He doesn’t speak English and we don’t speak Spanish. Another girl on the tour tells us that some tourist were killed last week in a dune buggy accident.  We want out now, but instead we all get back in and go on our merry way dune buggying through the dunes.  It was a crazy ride, but we made it in one piece.

8. Aborting our Takeoff at Kilimanjaro Airport. O.K., it may not be a proper desert, but it was dry enough that a giant sandstorm came in just as we were in the middle of our take off.  We were barrelling down the runway when the plane started fishtailing.  They brakes came on and we came to a halt.  The next thing we knew a thick dark cloud of sand goes through rocking the plane.  The captain announces that we had to abort the take off due to a sand storm, but everything is fine now. He starts the engines and off we go.  We wonder if it is safe to fly with all that sand in the engine.  We hold our breath the entire way to Zanzibar.

Travel can be filled with hairy situations. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and embrace the strange, scary and yes, surreal experiences.

Starting Line of our Cycle Through Africa

It is funny to think of all of the irrational fears that we had before leaving. Well, I should say that I had. Dave tends to go with the flow better than me, but that is not to say he wasn’t curious on how we were going to deal with problems that would arise.

So without further adieu, here are some fears that we had about camping and cycling our way down Africa, what we encountered and how we dealt with them.

On the Road in Egypt

1 – Fear of being chased by wild animals.  This happened to us on more than one occasion. Packs of wild dogs chased us in Egypt and they managed to hold on for quite a while. Luckily, we saw them coming. They hung out in fields and started chasing us as we passed. Normally we had enough momentum going so we could stay one step ahead of them. I don’t know what we would have done if they had chased us on an uphill.

Dave was also chased by baboons.  They ran along with him for a fair amount of time, but once again, he managed to outrun them. It sounds pretty funny to be chased by baboons, but they can be very vicious so it is a good thing Dave was in pretty good shape during that part of the trip. All in all, we came through the trip unscathed.

A Nice Baboon in Ethiopia

2. Peeing in Public. Ok, I was just looking for an excuse to write the word pee on my blog. But this really was a concern. I had heard that in Ethiopia especially that it was very populated and if you had to go, you wouldn’t have a lot of privacy. I was considering carrying a sarong with me so that if I had to squat in public, I would at least be covered up.  However, this never was an issue.  There was plenty of deserted areas to duck behind a tree or a mound of dirt.  I must admit though that in Ethiopia it was very crowded and you didn’t have a lot of time before people came out of the middle of nowhere. So, you just had to do your business quickly.

A Tent for Privacy in Ethiopia

3. Dealing with snakes and insects while doing your business.  Yes, I see a theme…going to the Toilet is always and issue.  We had to get out of our tents in the middle of the night and find a safe place to go.  Surprisingly, I never worried much about it by the time we camped in long grass and bushes. I guess it is because through Egypt and Sudan we started off in Deserts. We became numb to any worries after a month or so, therefore, when I when I went to do my deed, I never worried about it.  I did however make a lot of noise walking so, I am assuming that snakes and other creepy crawlies would have been more afraid of me, than I was of them.

Lot's of Crashes, Luckily we weren't a Part of any

4. Crashing. Traffic can be brutal in cities and on highways and I was pretty concerned about being taken out by a car. It ended up not being the cars we had to worry about, but the tour buses and transports. In Egypt buses would zoom passed us on the highways without a care in the world. They would also drive straight for us from the opposite direction seemingly wanting to run us off of the road. They did a couple of times, but if you kept your head about you, you just simply drove onto the shoulder to wait for them to go by.  There were a few crashes on the trip, one person broke their collarbone, one had a concussion, there were several stitches, but Dave and I were lucky with the fact that we didn’t have any major falls.  The only one that took me out of commission for 10 days was a minor scratch from a silly little fall that ended up getting infected.

My Knee Infection Slowly Healing

5- Surprisingly infection was never on our list, but it is a very real fear now. Several people caught serious staff infections and cellulitus. We were riding in the rainy season in Tanzania and Malawi, so even mosquito bites were causing severe problems. But that was not a fear of ours until we were in the middle of Africa.  A word to the wise.  If you are in Africa during the wet season and you have a cut that doesn’t even seem like it should matter, Don’t ignore it.  Clean it and disinfect it, anything can become infected in a matter of 24 hours.

An Elephant in Chobe National Park, Luckily not in our Camp

6. Having Wild Animals surround our camps. We were camping right through the heart of Chobe National Park in Botswana and in forests in Ethiopia, but we never had a problem at night. We didn’t have electric fences or armed guards, we were just a little traveling community of campers pulling off at the side of roads or in clearings.  We saw signs like a elephant dung all over the place, so we knew that a herd of elephants had passed through, but we never had the occasion of anything entering our camp.  Oh except for Hyena’s surrounding us in Ethiopia, but they kept their distance. Just don’t wander off with your shovel to do your business too far in the middle of the night.

Relaxing at the Crater Lake with Usual Crowd of Children

7. Rocks being thrown at us in Ethiopia. This is a very real fear and it is well known that Ethiopian children like to throw rocks at cyclists.  You can read all about it at my post at Brave New Traveler.

Our Bikes at Sunset

8. Contaminated Water. We were going to be riding through very dry and remote countries. We really haven’t ever had to worry about water before, you can buy bottled water nearly everywhere. Well, not in Sudan.  Our trucks would stop and fill up at wells in towns and then purify our supply with tablets.  Well, when drinking your water this way for 4 months you are bound to have a parasite or two sneak through and I had 3 different kinds accompany me back to Canada. I swear I still haven’t recovered.

Water stops in Sudan

9. Bandits. We have all heard about robberies and muggings and when you are cycling all alone for 120km each day, you would think that you would be pretty vulnerable.  I especially cycled alone more than a lot of people. I was racing, but I wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the men’s peloton and I didn’t want to hang back with the expedition riders, so I was alone with no one in sight for hours on end.  Only once did I worry a little about being robbed and that was when I was exhausted on a day in Ethiopia.  I had a group of teenagers walking along with me harassing me, slapping me and grabbing at my things.  One huge yell at them though and they left me alone.  I also managed to find some extra energy to get back on my bike and ride up that epic hill that I much rather would have walked.

10. Living in Filth and Sweat. I sweat a lot, I mean buckets and after a workout, the first thing I need is a shower. Otherwise I become itchy and my skin stings and I am just generally uncomfortable.  I burn easily too and whenever I am at the beach, sand stings my skin if I have gotten too much sun.

That is one Dirty Dave

In Sudan and Ethiopia, we were sun burnt and hot. Sand would stick to our skin mixed with sweat and we went for up to 6 days without access to water. We had enough water in the trucks to drink and cook with and that was it.  The rest of the time we were on water rations and were not allowed to use it to bathe or clean.  It was unbelievable, but I became used to being dirty. My skin toughened up and I didn’t even care that I couldn’t shower. If we had any water leftover in our water bottles at the end of the day, we were allowed to dump that over our heads, and that was really all that we needed.  When we had days off, we would shower once, but if we had a second day off we would say, “why bother, I just showered yesterday!”

So after our adventures in Africa, we feel that we will be able to handle anything that the world can throw at us during our next travel. Or at least we are ready to face our fears head on.

We are also going through a garbage strike and parks and parking lots are being used as temporary dumps. It is very unsightly and embarrassing and really shows how much waste the human race makes.

It got me to thinking about our time in Cambodia. One thing that we noticed while there was how much garbage and plastic was everywhere. Downtown at the waterfront of Phnom Penh, the grounds of the Royal Palace are impeccable, but walk to the river and look over its banks and you will see garbage everywhere. Make your way off of a main street and you will see plastic bags strewn all over the streets.

Plastic, the worst invention to hit our planet is taking its toll on the world. While once people used to pack their takeaway in banana leaves, they now toss them in a plastic bag. They drink out of plastic bags with a straw and when they are done, they throw it over the ledge into the water.

When we were in Sudan, thorn trees were covered with plastic bags. These urban tumbleweeds would blow in the wind and get caught in the trees.  They were covered to the point that it looked like a spring bloom, only with garbage. I remember riding along the Nile River and all I could think was how awful that garbage is everywhere, that people just throw their trash on the ground and keep walking.  but what other choice do they have. There aren’t garbage can’s or trash pickup?

sudan plastic bags in trees

While plastic has made lives easier it has certainly caused severe environmental damage.  What an evil invention.

I recently read in the Phnom Penh Post that most students didn’t realize that plastic wasn’t biodegradable and had a long term effect on the environment.

We shouldn’t think that we are all high and mighty here in Canada. The West isn’t any better, we are just better at hiding it. But now in the middle of a garbage strike, we can see exactly how much waste we produce. Just because it is being hidden in dumps, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a serious problem.

Last year, America spent 15 billion dollars on bottled water. How many plastic bottles is that? We don’t need to drink bottled water in North America, all of our water is potable and studies have shown that bottled water isn’t even regulated and that you can’t be sure what you are drinking. And yet, we keep drinking out of plastic bottles.

In Toronto, we are trying to fix the problem a little bit at a time. Most offices have banned bottled water and people are cutting down; making a point to drink out of the tap. I see people carrying around refillable bottles and my work at Corus Entertainment has even stopped supplying disposable coffee cups. I am sure that most other places have done the same.

It’s not going to fix everything, goods are still packaged in plastic, people still drink from straws and while many people are refusing to drink bottled water, many people are still of the mindset that it is somehow better for you. But with baby steps change can happen, let’s hope that change will happen soon before it is too late.

Let us know. What steps has your city made to start fighting the environmental problems that the world is facing?

To check out more on the bottled water and privatization of water click here

It was a topic that really made me think about all of the people that I have met on the road and how I have taken so much for granted while I am at home. In an earlier post this week, I touched on the subject, and now, in honor of our post appearing at VelvetEscape and at cheapOair’s blog today, I have been thinking again about the people that have inspired me.

Hard Roads in Ethiopia

Africa was one of our toughest travels to date. We cycled through some of the most brutal conditions the world could throw at us for 120 days.  We would cycle through the desert for 6 days in a row without showering, without cold water and without a comfortable soft bed. We cycled through some of the poorest countries in the world and since we were riding for a charity, we had the opportunity to visit developmental projects to see the work that is being done to help.  We also witnessed first hand the hardships that many people face and the want and need to make a better life.

Upon my return home, I was amazed with the little things.  When I opened my fully stocked refrigerator to to make a meal I thought of the people that I met that don’t even have a refrigerator. As I rinsed my fresh vegetables under my cold running water, I thought about the people of Ethiopia and Malawi that have to walk for kilometres on end to fetch water from the local well; the only source of fresh clean water around.  I think of the people that work in the backbreaking heat tending their crops and the people that can’t just go to the corner store because they don’t feel like cooking dinner this evening.

I can’t deny that I have guilt.  I am not special, I was just born in a rich country given everything that I could need from the day I was born.  I am not a rich person, but living in Canada, you do not have to be rich, to live a rich life.

Dave and I often discuss this idea. Who “up there” decides who will be born in luxury and who will be born in poverty.  When we were in Cambodia, we had a hard time accepting ourselves and felt guilty for being who we are.  The world is not a fair place and travel opens our eyes to it on a very real and deep level.

I am not saying that all people that we meet on our travels suffer.  Many are happy and healthier than people here. We have ended up meeting truly inspiring people through our travels and here are some of the  moments that have touched us the most while we have been on the road.

An artist works at his craft funded through Microfinance

1. In Cairo’s poorest neighborhood Plan Canada took us to see what was being done to help. The people of the inner city were so proud to show us the progress they have made. We visited a micro-finance shop. Talented craftsmen showed us their businesses that they built from the ground up and were now making a living carving beautiful pieces of art and furniture. They had big plans and I am sure that they will fulfill all of their goals.

Gate to Cambodia

2. In Cambodia, we stopped in Kampot and taught English for an evening. The teacher was so proud of his accomplishment. A local villager, he earned 2 dollars for the evening and asked us if we could help him because some of his pronunciations were not good because English was his second language. All we did was help people pronounce words properly, he did all of the teaching, but it was a moving experience.  The pride that everyone felt that evening was unshakable. The students were proud to show off their grasp of the English Language, the Teacher was proud of his important job that was making a difference and their joy and determination rubbed off of us as we felt a certain pride in being able to help in our own small way.

Tea at Inle Lake

3. At Inle lake in Myanmar, we met an extraordinary girl. She invited us into her house and showed us photographs of her mother as as we sipped tea with her grandmother. We talked the afternoon away and she asked for nothing in return.  We were just two people walking along the canal that she happened to want to talk to and our hearts were lifted as we listened to the hardships of her life, but also the dreams that she has and what she has accomplished already.

A quiet moment in Wadi Halfa

4. Wadi Halfa Sudan- we weren’t supposed to be here.  We were simply supposed to get off the ferry from Egypt and move on the next day. But as luck would have it, our support truck was stuck at customs and we had to spend another day in this dried up town on the edge of lake Nassar. It was the next morning when we were walking through the streets that a man invited us to have breakfast with him.  He fed us a hearty meal and kept the sweet tea coming.  As we ate he talked to us of the town. How it was once lush and green and beautiful, but when the Egyptians built the Aswan Dam, they cut off all of the water coming in from the Nile and people ended up moving away.  He was a retired professor in Khartoum and had now moved home to rebuild his life here in Wadi Halfa, people are slowly coming back, but there is a long way to go.  When we tried to pay for our breakfast, he waved us off and that was the first of many experiences in Sudan where people have so little to give, and yet they give so much without a thought.

Dave with students in Malawi

5. Malawi- One of the poorest nations in Africa made famous by Madonna of late. We had the chance to visit a school.  We were greeted with music and singing and smiling faces. This school was a success story in a land that needs so much and the community was so proud to show us their accomplishments.  Their was a well, a soy bean field a playground and several buildings for classrooms.  Teachers and students came out on their day off to give us a tour and talk to us about what was going on.  Children from the village have gone on to university, recieved scholarships and jobs.  Children are monitored for malnourishment and they are not only taught lessons in school, they are taught how to tend the soy bean field and take care of crops. I saw pure joy in the faces of everyone and the success of the community could be felt in the energy all around us.

Check out this wonderful series that has had incredible contributors and we are honored to be included alongside such great writers as journeywoman, MyFolieaDeux and WildJunket, SoloTraveler, Travelogged and AfricaFreak

And find out about travel destinations from other great guest bloggers at CheapOair.

One of the best things about traveling is food. Dave and I seem to plan our days around our meals.  We wake up in the morning and while we are eating our breakfast, we discuss what we are going to eat and where we are going to go for dinner.  We love food. Food makes us happy. And when we discover new and delicious food around the world, well, we are in heaven.

We thought that we would share some of our favorite food from around the world.  We have been to a lot of countries and besides meeting the people, enjoying an authentic meal is always a highlight of our trip. There are willing to try almost any type of food. We have eaten bugs in Cambodia, Snake in Vietnam and Springbock in Malawi.  We have had mystery meat in Sudan and many times we try dishes when we have no idea what we are eating.  We love sampling foods of the world though, it is rare that we try a dish that we cannot stomach. It certainly makes traveling more enjoyable that is for sure.

Here is our list of the best food from around the world

Ethiopia ……Staple Dish – Spicy meat and veggie stews served atop Injera. A type of flat bread made with fermented flour. You rip off a piece of bread and scoop up the stew with your hands.  I just love eating with my hands.  There is something about diving in to your food and grabbing a handful of hearty meats and vegetables.  Meals are just so much more fun when you eat with your hands.  And Wat stews served atop injera are heavenly delicious.

Injera and stews and authentic Ethiopian mea.

Peru….. Staple Dish – Ceviche – It really doesn’t sound like it would be the best dish on earth because it is described as a raw fish stew.  Actually, this fresh fish meal is marinated in citrus juice and it’s delicious. Here is my first taste of Ceviche while dining in Peru.

In South Africa we just couldn’t eat enough. We had finally finished cycling from Cairo to Cape Town and we needed to make up for months of eating not on the road. It was in the wine region in Franschoek that we splurged on a meal at one of the country’s top ten restaurants.  I never thought that I would like Ox Tail, but the chef made it taste so good.  We had an OxTail Pate rolled in Filo Pastry with a perfectly cooked steak piled high on fresh greens and wild mushrooms. Elegant and delicious.  The food in South Africa was delectable what makes it even better is that it is very affordable.

Splurging on a fine meal in South Africa

A decadant dish of Oxtail with Foam Gravy

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Laap in Laos – This national dish is a spicy meat meat salad made with lime juice, mint and chillies. This was our first meal that we ate when we got off of the bus from Vietnam to Vientiane. After 24 hours on a bus, it was pure heaven. They made the food fresh for us on the banks of the Mekong River and we will never forget the experience

Swiss Fondue, Raclette, Cheese Platters….- Cheese, Cheese and More cheese. We just love cheese. In Switzerland it was everywhere and we took advantage of eating their delectable cheeses every chance we had.  It seemed that every meal we ate for 2 weeks had cheese on the menu.

Cheese Fondue in Switzerland

Bali and Sudanese Coffee Africa is the birthplace of coffee and it was the best place in the world to drink it. Every chance we had we would stop for a roadside coffee.  The coffee was hand ground before our eyes, boiled to perfection over an open fire and we met amazing people while we warmed up during the cold desert morning.

man makes us delicious coffee in the Sudan

Africa may have been the birthplace of coffee, but Bali certainly knew how to perfect it. We loved their coffee so much that we took several bags home with us.  It was so sad when we drank our last cup. We need to find a way to get a shipment of Balinese coffee to Canada.

Egypt - an Authentic Bedouin Meal in Egypt. What is cooler than eating authentic Egyptian food in the middle of the white desert. Sure it was served on plastic containers, but it was delicious and we ate in sitting in the sand on blankets in a Bedouin camp.  Our guides cooked over an open flame, served us plenty of sweet tea and cooked up great red stews and meats, potatoes, rice and pita bread. Yummy.  This was certainly one of our most memorable meals during our travels.

Our Bedoin Guide cooking our food over open flame

So there you have it, Our favorite foods of the world so far. Sure we have other favorites out there. Thai Green curry is one of my favorite dishes on earth. I can eat Sushi every day and I love Vietnamese Pho. A savory duck roasted in France and Schnitzel while in Germany are a must and quesadillas and tortillas are a must in Central America. But foods  listes above seem to stand out in our memories as not only great meals, but fun situations and unique experiences.

This post is part of the Lonely Planet BlogSherpa Travel Blog Carnival hosted this time by Kat over at Tie Dye Travels on Food Around the World. The Carnival is hosted every two weeks by a BlogSherpa member

Dave Bathing in the Dongola Zoo, Sudan

Camped in a zoo in Sudan-We arrived in Dongola, Sudan after 6 days of cycling in the desert.  We hadn’t showered and we were covered in dirt and sweat. We weren’t treated to luxury though, we had set up camp in an old abandoned zoo.  Apparently a turtle still roamed the grounds but we never saw it. The zoo had high steel walls and nobody was allowed in.  It was pretty strange, because we were fenced in while the town looked at us from outside. We were monkeys in a cage?  This may sound a little odd already, but it didn’t become really strange until we all started bathing in our red supply boxes.  They were carried on our supply trucks and held all of our gear. someone found a hose, so we all filled up our little 100 litre boxes and took a bath.  Weird.

Dirty in Ethiopia, We Would Shower Anywhere

Showered in a Brothel in Ethiopia- Yet another African experience.  We had been cycling once again for days on end through sand.  Once we crossed the Ethiopian border, we camped in a patch of grass which we shared with cows and donkeys.  We had to keep an eye out for cow patties and at one point I saw a cow drinking out of the bottom of one of our trucks.  Our trucks carried our water through the desert in a big bladder underneath. They kept us alive through the unforgiving desert and here was a cow slurping from the bladder like it was sucking on its mums teet. This may sound like a strange experience, but it didn’t get wierd until we all lined up to have a shower at the brothel next door.  We raved about how amazing it was, your standards lower a lot when you are in the desert. The stalls were tin shacks with cement floors and cold water, but the pressure was good and we loved every minute of it. And we even sat down for a beer in the bar afterward as the “ladies and gentlemen” watched on.

Strange Sculptures in Namibian Campsite

Camp Site in Namibia-We approached a camp site in Namibia that completely freaked me out. I was riding alone and in the distance I saw a scary looking guy standing at the side of the road.  He never moved. As I road closer, I was beginning to wonder if I should turn back. But I was on the right route, I followed the flags, it had to be O.K.  Then I realized that it was a statue.  I was relieved, but then again, why is a statue standing alone in the Middle of the Kalahari desert?  I hope I didn’t make a wrong turn?  I kept riding down the long abandoned path and more of these creepy sculptures kept popping up.  They were set up in various strange scenes. Sitting on motorcycles, working at a wagon and perched on go carts and bicycles. They had these heads that looked like pumkins and every horror movie from my childhood flashed through my brain. I eventually made it to camp thank God.  I was happy I was with a crowd, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night if it was only Dave and I.

Shared a bus with a load of Lobsters -  This one was pretty surreal.  We got on a bus downtown Hanoi enroute to Vientiane Laos.  It ended up being a 24 hour journey. There were a handful of us waiting for the bus and we assumed that we would be picking people up at different stops along the way.  Well, we stopped alright, but instead of people, we picked up flour, rice, electronics; you name it, we got it.  We actually started to wonder if we were on a bus that was smuggling stuff across the border.  Oh yeah, I said Lobster didn’t I?  Dozens of lobsters wrapped in pretty packaging  that started to” turn” in the heat as time went on.  It was getting pretty ripe in there by the end and we couldn’t understand why they weren’t packed in ice. Were the lobster carrying something??? We’ll never know.

Loving My Clothes in Hoi An

Shopping in Hoi An-It doesn’t sound very strange, but in Vietnam, Hoi An is famous for its designer suits and cocktail dresses tailor made for a steal. Well, we were backpackers and our jobs at home never call for suits and formal attire.  We told everyone that we were never going to buy clothes in Hoi An. We just wanted to see the town and the sights around it.  However, when we were approached on the street we thought we would be nice and humor the sweet lady and go to her shop. We ended up spending $250 on suits, dresses,  silk shirts, pants and skirts we bought it all.  We stressed about our purchases that night and reprimanded ourselves thoroughly. When we went back the next day to pick up all of our clothes, we loved them so much, we bought more!!  That night again, we kicked ourselves again and again.  What were we thinking? We ended up sending a giant box home to Canada and speding over $300. That cut into our travel budget quite a bit. When we were staying at inns for $4 a night and eating meals for a couple of bucks.  Well, thats a lot of days on the road that we just spent on clothes.  What is strange about this you ask? Well we would love to know where our brains went while we were in Hoi An. (Travel tip-if you get clothes made in Hoi An, be sure to make them double stitch the threading.  It lasts better.)

Adorable Yes, but watch out, those staffs can be deadly

Being Stoned all the way Through Ethiopia-No it is not what you think….In Ethiopia the children have an odd pass time of throwing rocks at cyclists.  They get a kick out of using us as target practice.  We spent 23 days in Ethiopia, and each day we could count on getting a rock whipped at our heads or sticks stuck in our spokes.  It was nuts! Most kids carried these big staffs to herd their cattle and as we rode by, they tried to stick them in our tires to take us out.  You may think that it was because they wanted us to stop and talk. But no, even when we stopped and shared a nice little conversation, they would hurl rocks at us as we left.  It was infuriating.  They had great aim and they could run fast.  I would try to get off my bike and run after them when I was hit by a particularly painful shot, but they were long gone. They didn’t do this in Sudan, or Malawi, or Tanzania, or Namibia….so why in Ethiopia.  I also have no idea who taught them this, but as we cycled from the Sudanese Border in the north all the way through Ethiopia in the south, everyone yelled You, You, You at us. It is weird.  Not a hello or even a wave,  “you, you, you” oh and “give me my money.”  I was luckier than most, I had Dave with me to keep me safe and I didn’t get it near as bad as other riders.  Plus, we rode fast.  We were through early in the day, and it wasn’t so bad yet.  As the day went on however, people got hit worse. They knew people were coming and they were ready for them.  Here is a list of what happened to other riders in Ethiopia.  While cycling by, a woman was peed on, a man had cow dung thrown at him, another woman ran into a child and the town mobbed her demanding money and would not let her leave. The child was ok by the way, and after settling on a payment, she was allowed to go.  Many including myself were whipped with a bullwhip, and yet another woman was asaulted, but a bunch of villagers came to her rescue. Thank God. Most people are good in this world, it is just an few that make everyone else look bad. Unfortunately, Ethiopia is a very populous country and as we were cycling we passed thousands and thousands of people.  So the hundreds and hundreds that got us, made it seem like everyone was out to take us down.

Going to Bokor Hill- A popular tourist destination in Cambodia, we thought it would be a good place to visit.  We hired a truck to take us up themountain.  He asked us if we wanted to pay a couple of bucks more and he would take us on a hike to the waterfall. Sure, OK we said.  We hiked a path and then came out to a bunch of rocks.  It was dry season, and there wasn’t any water. No biggie off we went to the casino.  Another creepy place that is said to be haunted.  I don’t know what it is like today, but back then we just walked through dark hallways and looked at the abandoned hall.  It was a little unsettling. But the view was beautiful. I think they are turning it into a big resort now, I am glad I saw it when it was all run down and abandoned makes for a better story.  Oh wait, that’s not the strange part yet.  Our truck broke down at the top of the mountain, so we all had to pile into the back and coast our way down.  I remember the guys checking the engine scratching their heads and wondering what to do.  We decided that we would have to walk, but a while later, they came up behind us and we had no choice but to hop on. It was night time in the Cambodian Jungle, plunging down a mountain in the box of a coasting truck seemed like a safer option.

Bed Bugs in Malaysia, I have already talked about when we were eaten by bed bugs in Chang Mai, Thailand in a previous post, but there was something very surreal about this bed bug experience in Malaysia.  We were in Penang in a highly recommended guest house which will remain nameless. I was walking back to my room after a morning shower and I saw Jimmy the owner, squishing these creepy creatures leaving bloody smears all over the floor.  He had a big piece of wood and was swatting at them in the room next to ours. All the while, he had a big smile on his face and kept reassuring us that we didn’t have any in our room. I was so grossed out by the blood all over the floor and wall, that we had to get out of there.

Diving in Cozumel, Happy before we spent all that money

Getting taken to the cleaners in Mexico-We had just spent a week diving in Cozumel and were about to embark on our Central American Adventure. On the ferry from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen, we were approached by a time share seller.  We know all about time shares and weren’t interested.  But they offered us $100 US Cash each to come and take a look.  We said, wow, we can go see it and make sure to say NO, collect our $200 and be on our way.  Well we got their and the pressure was high.  They kept throwing everything our way and we kept saying no. The price kept going down and down and then they finally said that they would give it to us for $1000 and upgrade us to the level where we can get African safaris and luxury tours for cheap cheap cheap.  We gave in and bought.  Right after I freaked out and wanted my money back to no avail.  We did get our $200 though and they agreed to put us up in their luxury resort for a week in Playa Del Carmen. It was beautiful and we were pampered staying in this incredible hotel.  We had just come from an all inclusive dive resort  and this one made that one look like a Days Inn. So we figured it all evened out in the end.  $800 bucks for a week at a luxury resort. Why is this surreal, we were supposed to be back packing in Mexico and should have been roughing it in Tulum by now. Insead we had white robes and slippers and were sitting by the pool bar. We cut almost a month of travel off of our trip because of that resort, but we still talk about how nice it was and to this day, we still get emails from that vacation club offering us great discounts.  They do have great discounts admittedly, maybe one day we will take them up on it

4; Running out of gas on the autobahn. We rented a fabulous little car called a Twingo, it went forever on a tank of gas and we had no problem pushing it to the limit.  Gas is expensive in Europe and we made sure to use my sister’s military coupons to give us a nice discount. She now works for NATO (sorry- just had to put that in, it’s a cool job.)  Unfortunately we could only use our coupons in Germany and Belgium. We are notoriously cheap, and really thought we could make it last. So after driving from Germany to Vimy Ridge, Calais, Paris and back we were running extremely low on gas.  We had been on empty for several kms and now the highway had gone down to one lane in rush hour.  We couldn’t see and exit in sight and we were sweating bullets.  I am not exaggerating when I say that we went at least another 30km (my memory tells me 60, but it has probably gotten inflated over the years in my mind) on empty and still didn’t run out of gas! We were sure that we were going to stall in this construction zone.  Concrete barricades were on either side of us and we wondered how a tow truck would even get to us.  Stupid Canadian tourists that we were.  I seriously have to tell you that we had a severe panic attack, but we eventually made it to a cut off and luckily a gas station was not far down the road.

3; Almost being left behind in the sand dunes of Mui Ne in Vietnam because I had the nerve to complain about the service of our tour. We were in the middle of nowhere, the sun was going down and I complained that we weren’t going sand boarding when that was the part of the trip that our guide had sold us on. I learned the hard way not to ever make a Vietnamese man lose face in public.  Luckily an NGO was in our group that lived in Vietnam and spoke the language. He smoothed things over after several heated discussions and threats. I had to apologize in a grand gesture in front of everybody and he finally agreed to take me back to the bungalow. Thank God, it was late and he was going to leave me behind in the desert.  Wow, I had never seen such anger in a man’s face before in my life.  The NGO said offhandedly that I was lucky we were in Vietnam and not Cambodia. He said that they just would have shot me in Cambodia.  Luckily they have severe penalties in Vietnam, Woah, thank God I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  He must have been infuriated with me. I was pretty uncomfortable staying there the next few days, since he was the manager of my guest house.

2; Being eaten by fire ants in Honduras.  Dave was being a good Samaritan helping to take everyone’s back packs off our local bus in Honduras.  He put his down and continued to heave luggage handed to him out the window.  It was getting dark and once he had finished, he threw on his pack.  It all happened so fast, I didn’t know what had happened.  All I saw was Dave dancing around like a maniac slapping at his body.  Suddenly his white shirt turned black as thousands of Ants swarmed.  Luckily a quick thinking fellow traveler grabbed some medical gloves from out of nowhere and started brushing off the bugs.  I was busy looking for the bug spray in my back pack (right as if that would have done any good) and was no help whatsoever.  As the local people laughed, our well prepared friend swiped all of them away with little damage to himself. Where he pulled those medical gloves out of, I’ll never know. But I am sure glad that he was there. Dave didn’t have a reaction  to the ant bites luckily, but he has certainly developed a phobia of Ants.

1; Motorcycle accident in Thailand. It was our first trip to Thailand and we were newbie adventure travelers.  We had just got off the ferry in Ko Samui and during our tuk tuk ride, we noticed that several people had bandages on their faces, legs and arms.  We thought that there must be a coral break that people were surfing on or something and never thought anything of it.  The next day we rented a motorbike to tour the island and had a fantastic day.  That is until we turned a corner and lost it on some loose gravel.  We wiped out and both suffered 2nd degree burns on our calf and thigh.  Dave on the muffler and I on the back tire. Dave’s was far worse than mine and both our legs eventually became infected since we didn’t go to the hospital right away.  We made our way to the hospital after many nice people tried to help us by giving us aloe and putting iodine on them, but they only got worse in the heat and humidity. We thought that we would go and get some nice pain killers and be all better at the hospital, but instead and they proceeded to clean Dave’s wound with a razor blade as he bit on a towel. To add insult to injury, they poured pure iodine on the wound after the fact.  I had it a little easier, mine wasn’t quite as bad, so they just peeled away the skin with a big cotton swab.  It was bad, it might as well have been a razor blad.  That cotton swab on a fresh burn felt like fire. We had to keep going back for 3 days to have them change the bandages. And each time was very painful because every day our skin would get stuck in the dressings. We hobbled back and forth from our hotel to the hospital in bandages like the rest of the tourists on the island. And locals laughed  at us yelling, Motorcycle? Motorcycle?  When we got back to Canada we went to the doctors and he said that they did an amazing job cleaning the wounds.  It is 10 years later and neither of us have scars.  So, if you ever burn yourself, just grab a straight razor and scrape away at the burnt flesh until nice new bright red skin is showing. Just make sure that you have a towel to bite on.

Oh. PS Being typical Dave and Deb we were more worried about what we would have to pay for the damages to the bike rather than worrying about our legs.  Luckily we crashed close to a repair shop and they hammered out the pedal for us and straightened out a couple of other things.  We had a few scrapes in the paint, but they didn’t notice when we returned it, thank God. Can you believe, here we are with burns as big as my entire calf and daves entire inner thigh and instead we are busy at the shop fixing the bike.  Ridiculous.

Honorable Mentions.

3; Knee infection in Africa.  Many have read and heard about my knee infection, I have written about it in detail in Tanzania, but it really was one of the scariest travel experiences we have had. My small cut in Tanzania, turned into a serious case of cellulitus.  Infection spread from my ankle to my hip and it was impossible to walk or even move.  The pain was unbearable and antibiotics refused to work.  I went to 2 different hospitals, my leg swelled up so much that the doctor thought that I broke my tibia, and I was worried I was going to have to go home, that is if I could get a ride somewhere to civilization.  The most excruciating pain of my life, but 10 days it cleared up enough to let me continue riding down the continent.  Now I can’t even remember the pain.

2; Climbing in Thailand. We were standing on the beach waiting for our next climb, when out of the blue; a body falls right beside us.  He jumps up and shakes it off, but seriously, he could have died. Apparantly they ran out of rope and the end wasn’t tied off, so it just slipped through the gri gri leaving the climber in a free fall.  These guides had our lives in their hands, so we were a little nervous.  We then proceeded to do our first multipitch climb with a figure 8 descender instead of a gri gri which I am used to. Needless to say, I was white knuckled the entire climb.

1; Driving in a van from Vientianne to Vang Vieng in Laos .   Armed bandits tried to wave us down as we passed.  It is known to be a dangerous highway and when we were there anyway, it was not uncommon for tourists to be shot.  Luckily our driver didn’t stop.

As I did his make-up, I talked to him about how much I enjoy his show and how I think that it is great what he has accomplished.  He was very nice.

What I really wanted to talk to him about was how I too am an adventurer and working on my own television concept and the reason I am such a fan is because he is doing exactly what I want to do with my life.  I never did get up the nerve.

First of all, that would be very unprofessional as a persons make-up artist.  My job is to make people feel relaxed before their interview, to put them at ease and to talk to them about… well, frankly; them.

Second of all, how could a make-up artist possibly be as  hard-core as he is?  He is Survivorman.  He has been all over the world surviving extreme situations.

Hey wait a minute, Dave and I have been all over the world Surviving extreme situations.

I survived cellulitus, a serious infection in Tanzania.  I had the same knee infection as the guy on “Survivor” the other night. He gave up a million dollars to go home because it was a serious risk to his life.  Now, if I would have known just how dangerous cellulitus can be, I would have gone home myself. Fortunately the fates were on my side and I recovered from my ordeal without harm.

I have been eaten by leaches on the Head Hunters Trail in Borneo, lost in the Desert of Sudan, suffered a pretty nasty burn on my leg from a motorcycle accident in Thailand and have carried home 3 different types of parasites in my stomach at one time.  All while at the side of my husband who has suffered more than I have in many situations.

His burn was far more severe than mine from the motorcycle accident. We won’t even go into detail about how they cleaned his burn with a razor blade while he bit on a wet towel for the pain.  He was swarmed by fire ants in Guatemala,  had a terrible illness on an island in Honduras with the closest hospital being a day away by boat.  While riding his bicycle in Ethiopia, he was chased by baboons for several km and narrowly out ran them.  We were both feasted upon by bed bugs in Malaysia and Thailand, and we  slept with cockroaches crawling all over him while seeing the Pinnacles of Gunung Mulu National Park only to wake up in the morning and our hiking boots and gear covered with swarms of bees.

So, I am worthy of Survivorman. We are definitely not as extreme as he is, but we want to be. Really!  And when you put down it on paper, it looks like we have suffered a bit or two ourselves.

I really should have picked his brain more.  I should have asked some advice. Maybe I could have given him a little advice myself:-)  Ha ha, now I am dreaming.

Dave and I hooked up with Joya and George and we had a great foursome working together to battle the side winds. The Barbershop Quartet was in full force. We named ourselves that because in all of our many hours together riding, we found out that George had cut Joya’s hair in Aswan and Dave had cut my hair in Luxor. Go figure!

We have to tell you to not believe anything you hear about Africa again. For instance….It is cold here! Very cold. We keep waiting for the hot weather, but every morning we wake up and can see our breath. It is really hard to get out of your sleeping bag in the dark to pack up camp and know that you have a good 3 hours of freezing on the bike. It is that weird mix of being hot from working out, but having all of your appendages freeze because it is close to 0 degrees outside.

It is Cold in Sudan

You try getting out to pee at 5:45 am and exposing your bare bottom to a sandblasting wind.
Oh yea, Did I tell you that we keep camping in desert camps during sand storms? There is sand in everything. Sand blew through the tent all night and my eyes were full of grit when I woke up in the morning. It took a lot of finesse to apply the chamois cream and keep the sand out of our shorts. We don’t want to be exfoliating our butts as we ride now. They are sore enough, thank you very much.
We are really starting to have a lot of fun. It is a crazy thing when a 140km day isn’t too bad. We have our meeting at night and say, Oh, that’s ok, we should be in camp by about 1 or so.
Dave wants to write this, so I have to let him because I am praising him all of the time…
Deb really hammered down the time trial finishing 4th at 38:50 for a 20km distance that started out with a pretty strong headwind. She is really starting to get her legs. So who knows what will happen in the next section. She was battling her electrolites throughout this section, but Janet gave her a bottle of Thermalites and she is feeling much better. Janet,s husband, Chris is bringing some more, so Deb is going to have lots of energy for those mountains in Ethiopia.
Now back to business.
Not really a lot to say, these past 4 days were a lot of the same. Ride, camp, eat, sleep. But we are getting to know the group better and enjoying the conversations around the trucks.

We are in Khartoum for 2 rest days. We are going to be visiting our Plan Project and checking out where the Blue and White Nile Rivers meet. It seem like a great city.
Today as we entered in convoy, we felt like diplomats landing the city. Police escorts, sirens and people lining the streets cheering us through 35 km of riding. It was amazing. I don’t know if I will ever experience anything like it again in my life. It is really hard to put into words the welcome that we received.
The people of Sudan are great. Friendly, smiling and peaceful. It is hard to believe that there is a war going on in Darfur. Today, as we road to our campsite, I kept thinking that western tv should be here filming this side of the country. It would make great news to see happy Sudanese cheering and going on with their everyday lives. All we ever see are the rebels and war on television. But since we have been here, all we have witnessed is kindness and their curiosity in these weirdly dressed people on bicycles riding through town.
We are sitting in a mall sipping coffee working on the wireless internet with barely a glance from the locals. I am amazed with Africa and am looking forward to seeing more.
On that note, we found out today that we won’t be going to Kenya, we will be flying over, as our trucks drive through without us. We will have about 2 weeks on our own to kill, so Dave and I are thinking of climbing Kilimanjaro and going to Zanzibar. Its a tough life, but somebody has to do it:)
Hopefully we will make it to the internet after our Plan visit, but if not, we will talk to you sometime in Ethiopia.

Sudan's Deep Sand, Bike Stands Alone

According to Rae and John, two retired Air Force Pilots who are taking part in the Tour this year, what we have been through these past 2 weeks is as difficult as basic training for the military. And I believe it! These past 4 days have been the most mentally and physically challenging days of my life.
We had a wonderful unscheduled day off in Waidi Halfa which I already told you about. Unfortunately, we had to pay a high price. Suddenly we were forced to cram 5 days of riding into 4 to make it to Dongola by Jan 27th. No problem you say?
Well, if we had roads, it would have been OK, but instead we travelled 110km per day through the Sudanese Desert. 427 km of deep sand, loose gravel and corrugated road. I had heard about this type of road from last years tour, but could not wrap my brain around what it was. It is the most painful experience on a bike, especially one without suspension. Miles and miles of constant bumps that jar your wrists, back, neck and knees. Basically your entire being feels like you were put in the rinse cycle of a washing machine and spit back out again. You spend your day looking for and easier line to follow, but you never find one.

Wandering the Desert of Sudan

Dave and I spent 9 hours a day for 3 days on the bike. At one point Dave said to me that he wouldn’t wish this on his worse enemy. And here we are doing it by choice. We had some really low lows together that day. I put everything I had into day 1 in Sudan and spent the next 3 days suffering. Sometimes we would be so exhausted riding through the sand that we would just fall over.
To give you an example of a typical day, each morning we would wake up at 6 am, pack up our tents, have a quick breakfast and leave for a long slow day in the hot sun. Then we would come back, set up our tent, eat dinner and go to sleep.

So, now let me tell you about day 2. It was really “fun” because we became nice and lost late in the day.

No Roads in Sudan, Just Sand

You see many times you are only following grooves in the sand, so it was very easy to lose your way. We spent an hour walking from the Nile, through farmers fields, back to the desert, back to the Nile, through the most rural village I have ever seen in my life. 5 huts, a donkey, 2 dogs and a group of women watching us walk through with our bikes and dirty faces. Very surreal. We made our way back to the desert and eventually came across something that resembled a path and hoped for the best. We were both extremely worried that we were going to be stuck in the desert all night, but more importantly…Lose our EFI status!
As luck would have it, we made it into camp and hour before sundown. Yeah us.

Now for day 3. Debbie’s breakdown day. I was very very fatigued and still had another 110km ahead of me. Many people had opted for the bus by this point, but I but I am too stubborn to give in and lucky for me, I had my rock at my side – Dave. So instead, I whimpered, cried, cursed and stumbled my way through the day. Everyone was hurting and suffering also, and the bonding that happened during that time was incredible. People were so supportive and kind, I really have to emphasize what an amazing group of people we are travelling with. But then, what else would you expect from a bunch of nuts who thought it would be fun to cycle the continent of Africa. The have to be extraordinary.

Deb Kissing Tarmac after days in the Sand

So this brings me to day 4. Still riding and still suffering. But only 87km. The good new is that at 63km we hit tarmac. Can it be true? It started with a grueling morning of 18km in deep sand were everyone became lost at one point. Groups were branching out and taking different tracks. It is amazing how quickly you can be with people and then they just disappear. We all eventually made it out though and once we hit the tarmac, I got down on my knees and kissed it.

We now hove a rest day in Dongola and after 6 days without a shower, we were all bathing in our red boxes as soon as we arrived at camp. What a sight. A bunch on adults playing around the one hose of water that we had. As soon as we washed off that sand and grit, it was like we washed away the pain and suffering of the past 4 days. Add a half a chicken dinner to that mix and we were very happy campers. Literally!

Dave Bathing our red box in Sudan

If we can make it through Sudan, we can make it anywhere.
Bring on the Ethiopian mountains baby. But first there is a lot more of this great big country to go. Stay tuned.

First, I must tell you about our ferry ride. It wasn’t bad at all! They had told us horror stories about the ride before we left, but it ended up being fine. I guess Dave and I have travelled in so much filth before, that this was like a luxury. We were given a cabin in first class and were dry and warm for the night. (Don’t fall for my writing though) To the average person, this was not a pleasant experience. The toilets at times were quite disgusting, it wasn’t clean by any means and it was way over loaded with stuff in general. We saw 3 truck loads of twinkies alone being loaded. Up on deck, there wasn’t even any room to walk. Sleeping bodies and boxes of stuff everywhere.

It was really a great experience to bond with some of the other riders though. Egypt was tough, riding a lot and going straight to sleep after dinner, so to actually talk to people was great! It took two days of sailing down the Nile into Lake Nassar and a pretty painless border crossing at customs and here we are. Now, don’t get me wrong, painless doesn’t mean easy it just means we were all allowed through. It was a long process of sitting on the boat for a few hours and then an hour or so on land, but soon we were off in our convoy through the sand to our campsite.

We are not really sure what is going on with our trucks, but hopefully we will be on our way tomorrow. As for now, we are really loving the Sudanese people. We had heard stories of how friendly they are and they are all coming true.

This morning, Dave and I sat down at a coffee shop for a tea and a man named Abdulla Ahmed joined us and asked us to eat with him. The bowls of spiced beans kept coming along with pitas and sweet tea. He told us about the history of his village and how it used to be the most green and lush city in the Sudan until Egypt built the Aswan Dam. Now it is very dry and many people were displaced. Slowly though, people are returning. We talked for 2 hours and then when we offered to pay, he would not let us. He said that it was good luck to meet us and he enjoyed talking with us. It is really unbelievable. They have very little, but are very open and sharing. Most people here seem well educated, Dave spoke with a group of boys who are here studying geology at a University near by. They were eager to practice their English and very friendly. They fed him some beans and sunflower seed and then were on their way. We are in agreement that it was a good thing that the trucks were late, otherwise we would never have experienced the hospitality of this quiet little border town.

I didn’t really have much to say about our time in Aswan. We had a day there and it really wasn’t much to see. Just a dropping off point for cruise people and everyone was out to make a buck. I have to admit, I am looking forward to Sudan and just a little happy to be out of Egypt. It was a fine country, but pretty low on my list of favourites. However, to see the monuments and pyramids is worth the trip.

Can’t wait to share our time in Sudan with you all and hopefully change your perception of this misunderstood country.

Monday…..

It all started on Monday when we phoned the Ethiopian Embassy to make sure that our passports had been sent. They told us the Friday before that they were already in the mail, but when we checked the tracking number there was no sign of them. After trying to get through for an hour, they finally answered and put us on hold forever. Tseodait eventually answered at extension 30 (the lady that I had been dealing with since I realized that I didn’t apply for the proper visa) and assured us the she would be putting the passports in the mail today. We were a little upset since they told us before that they were mailed on Friday, but at least she said that she had them and that they would be in the mail today and we would have them tomorrow evening. We were relieved and could happily go on with our day.

Tuesday…

We went to in Oshawa and did a fun first interview for Cable TV telling them all about our upcoming adventure. I had to work that day, but they are so great at YTV, that they let me leave for a couple of hours. I went back to work and Dave spent the day tying up loose ends. Things were looking up and we were getting excited. But not for long. When we returned home late in the evening, there was no sign of our package on the Canada Post website or in our mailbox. Another night of sleepless stress for me. Dave takes things a lot better than me and can turn his brain off to sleep, I on the other hand, fret all night long. It is terrible.

Wednesday…

We decided to call the Ethiopian Embassy again to make sure that they were sent on Monday. It is the holidays, so maybe the mail was just delayed. Dave drove me to work because he had a ton of things to do and we were doing a pre-interview by phone in the afternoon for an up coming TV appearance.
So before he left to get things done, he started calling the embassy from the YTV Make-up Room at 8:30 am sharp. No Answer. After a solid 1 1/2 hours of trying to get through with no luck, he had to leave to pick up our boxed bikes and do a million other errands. So I took over and called continually from 10:30 to 11:30. I neglected my job and silently freaked out as I felt helpless not being able to do a thing. I called again all through lunch, but had to get back to work with no luck.

Anyway, back to our passports….We tried all day to get through. It was unbelievable, nobody answered the phone, the mailboxes were full and every extension that we tried was not picking up. I have to tell you something about the Ethiopian Embassy. They don’t answer their phones, but you can’t leave a message because they won’t return long distance calls and if you try to email them, it gets bounced back. It is really quite absurd.

I had a doctor’s appointment that evening that was 2 1/2 hours behind schedule. For some reason, they thought I had asthma, but after sitting in the waiting room all evening fretting about my passport and not my asthma, I went into his office and was told that I was completely healthy. Great news, but what a waste of time! It was now 7:30 pm and we still had to put together some photo’s for CTV to put on their website. We would rush home, get a couple of shots together and then in a last desperate move, leave for Ottawa to get our passports!

By 10pm, we were on the road ready for our 5 hour drive ahead. We were making good time until just before Kingston, at about midnight when inexplicably, the 401 was closed and we came to a grinding halt. We sat on the highway, surrounded by transports and had a nap in the freezing cold. We were awakened by the noise of air breaks and diesel engines starting up and were on our way half asleep and ready for bed. We got off at the next exit and managed to stay at the most expensive hotel in Kingston for a total of 4 hours.

Thursday…

We were up and gone by 6:30 am to make it to the embassy for 8:30. It was my turn to drive and I almost got us into an accident when I hit a patch of ice. I managed to get the car back under control, but not before giving Dave a mini heart attack.

At the embassy in Ottawa we were greeted with smiling faces and our passports. Apparently, they had been sitting in the incoming mail box. Can you believe it? If we didn’t drive to Ottawa, they never would have found them. I was all ready give them a piece of my mind the minute I had my passport in my hand, but they were so nice and polite, that all I managed to say was thank you very much. And have a Merry Christmas. I was so happy to have my passport back, that I forgot all about the stress of the past week.

So all is fine you say? Not quite, we now had to make it back to Hamilton for 6pm for an event that our friend Donn was putting on for our Charity. We took turns driving while the other slept and made it back to pick up our door prizes, clean ourselves up a bit, and scarf down a Mr. Sub.

The event at the Casbah went very well and $230 was raised for Plan Canada. It finished at 12:30 and we were happy that we would be back in Toronto for 1 am since I had to work at 8:00 am. But, of course things couldn’t go smoothly, nothing had been going smoothly lately.

In Mississauga, about 20 minuted from Toronto, we got a flat tire, awe heard something grinding when we hit a bump and concluded that the tire must be flat. We got off at the next exit and sure enough, it was flat as a pancake. We always carry puncture seal with us, so we re-inflated the tire thinking it would get us home, but nothing happened. It must have been one big hole. We had to phone the auto club for this one. It was way too cold to change it ourselves, and why pay for the autoclub, if you don’t use it right? So once again, for the second night in a row we were napping in our car on the side of the road at 2 in the morning. The tow truck came and found that our jack was rusted beyond use. He yanked at it for several minutes and then finally broke out his own. Why didn’t he do that in the first place? Our tire didn’t want to come off at all, and it took forever to get it changed. After about an hour, we were on our way and in bed by 3:30 am. I was up at 6:30 and off to work in a daze.

Friday…

Dave was greeted to an email from his mom that his dad was hospitalized. He had collapsed at home and his mom couldn’t revive him. She didn’t have our new phone number because we just changed it to take to Africa with us. We sent an email with the change, but I guess she erased it by mistake and didn’t program it into her phone. Luckily, he is going to be OK. He had a bowel obstruction, complications from an old surgery and he was in such pain, that he ended up passing out! Luckily he didn’t need surgery and he is out of the hospital and home resting. Thank God.

Saturday…

It is Dave’s last day of work on his movie and then we are free for a couple of days. He had to drive to Burlington on his little spare tire, since we haven’t had a moment to get it into the shop. The weekend is going to consist of final book keeping, sleeping, packing and oh, a trip to Canadian Tire to get a new tire! I still feel wiped out and I am sure Dave will be beat after working out in the snow today, But at least we have our passports back!

What a week!

As you may have read on our last post, we made a couple of mistakes with our Sudan visas, but it all worked out and we could laugh about it. Well, we managed to make another mistake to our Ethiopian Visa’s. Thanks to Spiros and Maria though, we hopefully fixed it before too big of a problem happened. Here is what happened. We sent a $29 money order for a 1 month tourist visa. If we would have read our notices and the application properly, we would have seen that we should have applied for a 3 month multi entry visa. The reason being that the visa is valid from the date of issue, not the date of entry. So we phoned the embassy, and through a very confusing conversation where I wasn’t sure if they understood me or not, it seemed to be O.K. I was to send the difference in money that day and they would issue the proper visa. No worries right?

Well, it is now one week later and we still haven’t received our visa’s and our passports. All I can think about is how we can’t fly without our passports and if we don’t get them back in time…how are we going to go about applying for another one with only 2 weeks until we leave! It is freaking me out. Both Dave and I phoned them on Friday and they seemed to know who we were and that apparently our passports have been sent back. But when we check the tracking number, it is no where to be found. I read that Jamie received his and I am happy for him, but it just stressed me out more that we haven’t got ours yet. I really think that the Tour d’Afrique needs to fix this issue next year. To be without your passports 2 weeks before you leave for an enormous trip, is extremely stressful.

We are excited however to have a bunch of interviews lined up over the next couple of weeks. We will keep you posted on appearances and articles and other media as they come out. It is pretty exciting!!

We have a fund raising event on Thursday and we are overwhelmed with everyone’s generosity. Thank you Sandra Kasturi, Melissa Girotti, Roger Playter, Jacqueline Vong and Lisa Wisniewski for your amazing gifts to raffle off. It is going to be a great event.

If anyone is in the Hamilton area on December 20th, come on down to the Casbah and check out some great bands playing some awesome 70′s tunes.

I will keep you posted on the passport situation and once we receive them, we will both be very happy campers.