Brainstorming on decision making

The grand journey ended the day before yesterday. Even though traveling for a whole month seems almost eternal, it eventually comes to an end. On one hand I already miss the frequently changing locations bringing along unexpected situations, but on the other hand I am ready to return home (yes, Kampala is my home for the time being). It gets a bit exhausting trying to make the most out of every day, thinking everything as once-in-lifetime opportunity.

Right now I am all on my own somewhere in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam (pics 1&2&3 at fish market). I am the only guest at an isolated beautiful villa and there is no one to talk to. After a morning run I have done nothing but laid on the sofa reading, watching movies, sleeping and writing. I feel like I need to do some consciousness thinking before going to continue my life in Uganda tomorrow.

"It is always necessary to know when a stage of one's life has ended. If you stubbornly cling to it after the need has passed, you lose the joy and meaning of the rest." - Paulo Coelho

It is obvious that it was a good time to end the grand journey at a point when continuos moving still felt exciting. However, the unanswered question lays in deciding what to do in October; Should I end this stage of discovering development work and go back to IT business? Or should I pursue into finding more inspiring but risky career opportunities either in Uganda or some another country? Let's consider the different options analytically.

In Finland I would have my old job with a good salary, established position, reasonable work hours and great colleagues. I just lack the passion towards IT. I would also have my nice apartment, a bunch of loved friends, close-by relatives and extensive sports facilities. Moreover, I would have access to functioning public transport, security, shopping, you name it.

To a high degree, I know what I would have in Finland. I would have everything I left behind that I have learned to appreciate during my stay here. As a complete opposite, I do not know what I would get abroad. I might get a job enabling me to use my whole potential, exciting social life and new hobbies. Just as well I might get a poorly paying frustrating job, zero like-minded friends and disappointing boredom. Almost certainly I would earn less money abroad. I am not saying wealth necessarily makes me happy but I do need to maintain a certain lifestyle.

To avoid adding complexity it would be smart to refrain from falling in love with anyone now. Having learnt from past, my relationships tend to be interesting but non-lasting, thus hardly worth investing in. If I got a boyfriend I sure would let him impact on my decision making, removing the focus from what I want from life for myself. However, to be honest that is exactly what I wish would happen! I would like to meet someone with whom to make compromises that, instead of being sacrifices, would be preferred choices because of loving each other.

"Far better is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy or suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat" - Theodore Roosevelt

What to value more, settling for achieved good or risking for potential great? For me, when is the right time to end the stage of discovery life? Ever?

Paradise in Zanzibar

Long powder sand beaches, turquoise water, quiet romantic spots, authentic fisher boats, hot kite surfers, parties. Sounds like a paradise, right? This is the island Zanzibar.

At breakfast you sit at a seafront restaurant watching the sun get higher (pic1), eating juicy tropical fruits on top of hot pancakes. When tide gets lower and wind picks up it is time to get into the water for kite surfing (pic2&pic3). Being just a beginner, you keep loosing the control of your kite, you smash onto your board and you swallow liters of salty water. But you keep trying over and over again, more or less following your teacher's shouted instructions. On the last go you finally do everything right - you surf towards the horizon, feeling surprised at your success and scared of the increasing speed. Your teacher gives you a thumbs up and you feel a sense of accomplishment.

Every paradise hosts a snake. It may manifest itself in the form of a dispute between friends or a stomach bug. Not all snakes are throughout evil, though. Solving disagreements and misunderstandings leads into deeper understanding, while being sick reminds to appreciate health.

Right after you get out of the water you drink down a well earned cold beer with just one sip. Then you hop on a motorbike and drive along the coast looking for a peaceful dinner location (pic4). You are lucky to find an empty restaurant furnished with comfy futons and atmospheric lights. As it gradually gets dark you can no longer see the sea but keep hearing its immediate presence. You enjoy the still quietness until you feel like completely chancing the mood and entering into a party. It is just a short ride before you are surrounded by joyful young people, well mixed house music and cheap cocktails. You end the day getting a bit too tipsy by drinking an over strong mojito.

No paradise stays annoyance free. It is no longer possible to aimlessly wander around the narrow alleys of the historic stone town (pic5), without being interrupted by persistent people selling souvenirs, tours and refreshments.

You sit in a taxi that is taking you to the ferry terminal from the lodges that have become so familiar to you during the past week (pic6). In your mind you say goodbye to the kite surfing hoods, the forests homing rare monkeys, the local villages, the picture-like shore line - the paradise in Zanzibar.

A matter of life

Thoughts from Serkan:

Well.... Sometimes your mind is full of thoughts, you wonder around, go back and forth in the room. Is it going to help you to find the answer? Heyyy, before getting to the answer, let's not make the common mistake, what is actually the question? What do you really wanna know?

I know this blog is about the trip, so now I immediately change the way this entry goes so that Maria would maybe post this to her blog... (hello Maria :) ) Okay let me give it a try...

In Zanzibar. That was probably the part that I was waiting the most, nice beaches, very beautiful scenery, a nice bottle of wine and a nice company were my only expectations, no more no less. What would you like to have more in a life? Today is our first day here, the scenery and everything looks really great, after the slight disappointment that I got from Mombasa, it feels good to be here all in all. Maybe Maria would be able to write something nice about Mombasa, let's see :)

It is really peaceful here, seems I will have a lot of time to think about everything, maybe I will even find the answer that I am looking for. Sooo, if I tell you the answer, could you tell me the question?

Safari, once in a lifetime experience...

Wild life greetings from Serkan:

So, now is the time for my 2nd entry in this cool blog. By the time of writing these lines (basically now), I still don't know what am I gonna write about :) But I always like the best plan is no plan approach. I also appreciate the best plan is the one you make to not to follow approach as well. However all the efforts of trying to find a topic for this entry is still in progress, maybe a glass of wine would help in a moment :)

I like cats and I have 2 cats. Finding the similarities between the domestic cats and wild cats were always interesting to me. Those big cats, even though they are really wild, they roll around themselves and play with each other, exactly like my petties, this is impossible to not notice. Maybe one of the reasons that this Africa trip was tempting to me was the opportunity to see the real cats. Today we had first opportunity to see 2 lions, a little far away but it was great (I have some photos which might end up here at some later point of time). When I was in our little van, watching the cats, my breath was taking away; I have seen cats in the zoo but seeing them in their wild environment was an incredible experience for me.

Anyways, we are in a police station, officer is asking if I am Turkish what am I doing in Finland which I reply; I am an expat in Finland. He tells me expats in Kenya are generally from Somalia and they are involving in drug trafficking. We kept calm, honestly Maria did better than me to explain that I was working in Finland, so he seems to be convinced that we are not criminals :)

In Amboseli, we stayed in a very nice tent, bestest that I have ever stayed; showers, electricity, fridge and all. It was simply a luxurious tent, sleeping in the wilderness and listening all the sounds was a good experience on my behalf. We slept quite early to be able to go for early game drive.

Our driver took us to very nice location close to a lot African elephants and even very cute baby elephants. I managed to take a lot photos of elephants, which would eventually end up here at some day. First day after seeing the Zebras, lions and elephants, we were happily heading back to our camp next to Amboseli parks gate.

Maria is calm, she can observe the situation and take wise decisions; I cannot always do that. That's maybe one of the reasons I enjoy traveling with her. I had slight disappointment with the driver of our safari on the day as we supposed to have much longer game drive but all of a sudden he left the national park. I got a little bit mad at him but Maria kept her calm and tried to find a solution even though it was not really possible. As it was my only chance to see to see more cats, I was really upset with the driver and decided to take this case to police. Well, being in a foreign country, having a practical mind I asked him to drop us to airport so we can find a safe place and take the issue to the police. This is probably where the story has started.

That was the morning Tony took us from our hotel. I was a little excited to start my first safari, maybe I can finally see some cats. It's a bit of a long drive to Ambosseli from Nairobi. I am watching from the cars window and thinking about everything possible, mostly about the safari, if we would be really able to see the wild animals?

Policeman is interesting; he took us to the taxi station and ask one of the drivers to drive us safely back to our hotel and call him back from the hotel. Last time I have seen something like that happening was, probably my mother worrying about me, this actually triggered a question: Even the police asks the taxi driver to call him back, is Mombasa really safe?

Remember Orfin, the cool guy from Naivasha willing to share his experiences with us. He was indeed cool, that's how we got to meet to Moses, through whom we got to meet Tony. We were a little desperate for finding a nice safari while trying to save some time also from the road. This is how we decided to start the safari from Nairobi, going to Amboseli and ending in Mombasa.

Finally relaxing in our hotel pool, enjoying few "well deserved" beers after a tiring day. Maybe that was the first time Maria has also agreed that we earned the beers :) We actually made the life of the con-man a little more difficult. Even the outcome was not that of a great success, I hope they understood that not all the tourists are stupid. We actually got to know some policeman, but the guide (in my opinion) bribed them to get this case go through in the way he wanted. Well maybe it was not the wisest decision to keep discussing that long but whatever is done is done and it cannot be undone. I think it was a nice experience for both of us and and opportunity to get to know each other little better...

Excellent outdoor activities around Lake Naivasha

Our first destination in Kenya was Lake Naivasha, around where we spent two days with variable outdoor activities at exceptional surroundings. Just staying in a banda right by the lake was an experience. One evening we were ordered to leave the deck (pic1) because a hippo was getting alarmingly close and the following night monkeys were dancing on our thin roof.

On the first day we hiked around the crater rim of volcanic Mount Longonot, which had last time erupted in the 1860s. Views over the rift valley made it worth climbing up to the highest point of 2776m (pic2). To get added exercise after the pleasant 4-hour hike we ran down the mountain hill.

The next day we rented bikes from our campsite and cycled to Hell's Gate National Park. Unlike most other national parks hosting big animals, where only driving is permitted, this one encourages visitors to walk and cycle through it. Sure watching animals from a car is cool, but I much prefer really being among them (as long as they are not dangerous or too close). For instance, in order to get better photos of zebras (pic3) and giraffes we left our bikes to the side of the road and quietly walked on the savannah to expose to them.

However, the day's highlight was climbing to Fischer's Tower, a 25m high pilar rock (pic4). Local climbers provided us with ropes and quick-draws, and despite their squickiness we had to trust them. It was amazing to sit on top of the rock all on my own, belaying and enjoying the 360-view over the park.

We also did a guided hike through a canyon-like sandstone ravine with springs hot enough to boil eggs (pic5). Nearby locals actually use the hot springs for bathing, laundry and little cooking. Our guide taught us some basic Swahili words, which have since proven very useful, as Kenyans get delighted when you greet and thank them in their language. By the way, Ugandans are very friendly, but so are Kenyans, too!

From Naivasha we took a matatu to Nairobi. There we ate local Kenyan food, which has more variety and spices than Ugandan food, walked around the city centre (pic6), visited the national museum and a big shopping mall, and spent one evening climbing at a brand new indoor gym. To me Nairobi seems just like a big city with more modern buildings, western-style dressed people and shopping alternatives than Kampala. However, for living I prefer the more characteristic and lively Kampala, where I look forward to returning after our trip.

Journey with music

At sunrise we step into a comfortable Easycoach, departing from Kampala and 11 hours later arriving in Naivasha. Sitting still for such a long time is constraining, both for my butt and head. What saves my journey is borrowing Serkan's mp3 player and diving into the world of music. For me, music is not about names of songs and artists, genres or reviews. For me, music is about memories throughout lived years and feelings of happiness, sadness, excitement and partying. When I hear a song, I may not recall it for anything else but it reminding me of a particular special moment or period of time.

Looking out the bus window I return to Sydney's Darling Harbour to watch planes fly over skyscrapers and dream about success, to nonsense crazy parties of first university semesters, to a dark autumn night in the streets of Helsinki when a guy I fancy kisses me for the first time.

I realize that so far my life has been filled with a variety of good times. Still I tend to wait to be happy until I am in an established relationship, I reach the next salary level (which keeps raising as my career progresses) or I am as fit as I desire to be. Only when looking back, I recall that during those specified moments I was indeed truly happy even though I had not fulfilled my goals. I decide to attempt to recognize special moments already when they are present, not just when they are past. Yet I should not desperately stick to those moments but let them pass, trusting that other ones will follow even if I have to wait for a while.

As the bus approaches its destination I take off my earphones and return to reality. I am convinced that this trip through Kenya and Tanzania, which is just beginning, will enrich my bank of unique moments. Knowing that, I feel happy.

(Photos from Mombasa, the half-way pitstop of the trip)

Let it be!

We are walking on a path leading up to Mount Longonot, panting slightly because of the uphill and altitude. Serkan suggests about becoming a temporary guest writer for my blog. I am delighted he wants to contribute and even offer him one cold beer for award. Here is his first post, enjoy!

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Samoi , he is a Kenyan guy living in Naivasha, it is a small town in Kenya near Nairobi. He is 26 years old, married and he has 3 children.

It is an ordinary day at work in Fisherman's camp where he is the waiter in the restaurant, not many customers on a normal week day. Two people in the restaurant, they have chosen some nice bottle of wine and good food, they should know how to enjoy their life!

The girl, she has high expectations from the life, she would follow her dreams regardless of their costs. She is strong but weak in the same time, I don't know what is it exactly but there is something extraordinary in that girl!

The boy, he is like her, they have many things in common but they are also very different from each other. He likes traveling, he is social, in the same time he appreciates being alone. He seems like a person to whom your first impression is most likely wrong!

Orfin is watching them, he is planning to go and say the last few tips about Hell's Gate but he doesn't want to disturb them, maybe he will wait until they finishes their dinner. He really likes sharing his experiences!

Regular working day, kind of boring, he is dreaming his motorbike trip to UK, Ireland, France and Spain. Can he actually go to Morocco? is it safe enough? An email comes, gotta reply fast and he needs to make some decisions now!

Maria is on a beach in Uganda, drinking nice wine with somebody.They seem to enjoy a nice moment together, maybe he challenges her a little bit. She likes challenges!

I am in my hammock in Kenya, I have my favorite friend with me, Mr. Walker, the black edition. Thinking maybe I can write a blog entry as a guest writer in her blog.... Maybe I should do that!