Snippets are short stories of interest, in a bid to keep the main text clutter free and to maintain the lucid writing style, I have moved all snippets to a separate blog of its own.
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"I guess" was all I could muster
We quickly made some room in our station wagon and off we went to Arusha. The rest of the night was spent in admitting the young lad to the hospital, answering some questions to the cop and finally to the place where I could curl up and sleep.
My adventures in this beautiful country had just begun and I couldn't wait for the Safari to start.
Here is a link to the Main Blog
Date: 08.08.2013
The 8th of August, has been a tiring day, it was 9:30 pm in the evening and I had just landed at the Kilimanjaro Airport, the weather was slightly on the cooler side. I had traveled across thousands of kilometers from home and had hopped on 3 flights. The journey that started at 4:45 in the morning was still to end.
When I used to live in the UK, the jacket was the standard accessory of clothing that you would always have but having moved to the Middle East, I haven't felt the need for it.
I was supposed to meet a person called Benson, a driver from the Traveler's hostel in Arusha. My safari trip would start from Arusha and would span for 5 days across 4 parks, across the northern circuit parks.
I didn't have to wait for long nor was there a very big crowd outside at the arrival terminal. Benson had long dreads of hair, a scrawny beard and a brown leather jacket. Moments later, we were off from the airport.
For the first time tourists, driving in Tanzania can be quite scary. The roads are no-where close to the slick polished auto-bahns of the Middle East. Worse there is not a single street light on the motorway that connects Arusha to Kili. Worse still, people drive at break neck speeds. A piece of advice, if this is your first time, close your eyes and take a nap, that's precisely what I was planning to do.
Eyes were drifting but it was hard to fall asleep for two reasons, firstly, there was this fear of my host's driving and secondly the high beams of the oncoming vehicle were too strong. There I lay in a kind of suspended state, fully aware of the surroundings but too tired to do anything.
Even in the dark, the natural vegetation around was beautiful, the silhouette breaking against the village lights. I was hoping that I would see some wild animal running across or skirting across the edges of the road. When you come with so much of an expectation, you just can't wait to see the fauna. As the vehicle sped across a small valley, the station picked up an animal on the road. On first glance, it looked more like a large Scarlet Macaw. The animal lay with its wings splattered, probably dead.
Before, I could have a second look, my driver sped on, however, he quickly mumbled something in Swahili and stopped the vehicle in front of a group of youths. There was more agitated conversations and somehow you could sense that there was something wrong. I chose to keep mum and watched the group as they walked upto the still red mass on the road. I followed suit and what I had mistaken for a bird was a young boy !!!!! He lay unconscious on the road and his crown was slit. The boys picked up the bloody mess and my host quickly ushered me to the side of the road.
"Is it alright with you Ram?"
My head was splitting, a part of me wanted to help out and the other part was telling me that I shouldn't interfere with the locals, I had come here for a holiday and was least interested in answering questions with the local cops over alleged accusations or writing out statements at hospitals.
Even in the dark, the natural vegetation around was beautiful, the silhouette breaking against the village lights. I was hoping that I would see some wild animal running across or skirting across the edges of the road. When you come with so much of an expectation, you just can't wait to see the fauna. As the vehicle sped across a small valley, the station picked up an animal on the road. On first glance, it looked more like a large Scarlet Macaw. The animal lay with its wings splattered, probably dead.
Before, I could have a second look, my driver sped on, however, he quickly mumbled something in Swahili and stopped the vehicle in front of a group of youths. There was more agitated conversations and somehow you could sense that there was something wrong. I chose to keep mum and watched the group as they walked upto the still red mass on the road. I followed suit and what I had mistaken for a bird was a young boy !!!!! He lay unconscious on the road and his crown was slit. The boys picked up the bloody mess and my host quickly ushered me to the side of the road.
"Is it alright with you Ram?"
My head was splitting, a part of me wanted to help out and the other part was telling me that I shouldn't interfere with the locals, I had come here for a holiday and was least interested in answering questions with the local cops over alleged accusations or writing out statements at hospitals.
"I guess" was all I could muster
We quickly made some room in our station wagon and off we went to Arusha. The rest of the night was spent in admitting the young lad to the hospital, answering some questions to the cop and finally to the place where I could curl up and sleep.
My adventures in this beautiful country had just begun and I couldn't wait for the Safari to start.
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