oh, I forgot to mention the Tsetse fly

I got quite a few bites from Tsetse flies in the Serengeti National Park. Now each bite is bloated like a big lump in my leg and it's filled with liquid-like stuff that makes it look like a bunch of "bubbles", and they are growing bigger...

malaria again

Yes, I just got malaria again, the 2nd time this month already. The symptons were clearly more severe than the 1st time, but still "bearable" to me. After our 4 day safari, I finally bought some medicine from a pharmacy in Arusha for about $8.

theft and fist fight

Well, that bus journey has proven to be very costly to me. My Sonim mobile phone, iPod, Swiss Army Knife, a souvenir pin from the Kigali Memorial Centre and some Rwandan coins were stolen from my rucksack. I highly suspect that they were stolen while my rucksack was stowed in the baggage compartments in the belly of that bus, and the only persons who had key/access to the space were the bus conductors/baggage handlers who travelled with the bus. While there was another possible time when my rucksack was out of my sight when I put it down in my room of the guest house in Arusha and I went out for about 1 hour. But I just think that the old man working at the hotel reception just seems way too innocent and honest to steal.

the last road trip in Africa, at least in this year

I took an over 11-hour dusty bus journey from Kahama to Arusha today, this was my last and also one of the bumpiest and dirtiest bus travels during this trip in Africa. My parents will arrive to Arusha from China on Friday, then I'll join them for a safari before I leave this continent and fly to Dubai, via Nairobi and Lagos.

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

After a day and a half travelling on bus, I finally arrived to Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. A short bus ride south of the city and on the shore of Lake Tanganyika is a monument that marks and many Burundians believe where, contrary to the more widely established location further down the shore in Tanzania, Henry Stanley famously uttered "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?".

After a bit Googling, you will see that the famous meeting actually took place at Ujiji, Tanzania. However, the two men did travelled together to this spot in present-day Burundi.

Tomorrow I think I'll cross into DR Congo.

camping at Dar es Salaam airport

 Having slept at Lagos airport the day before, I arrived in Dar es Salaam around midnight last night. The taxi ride to city center cost around $20 and I was stingy enough to refuse to take it and decided to sleep by the Arrivals gates, wait till morning and take the public transport.

Initially, I slept on a long  bench. But I was being constantly and brutally attacked by mosquitoes, so I rolled out my tent and slept in it.

I was surprised that throughout the night nobody bothered me or tried to remove me, except a couple of passers-by curiously poked my tent and asked why I didn't sleep in a hotel.

goodbye West Africa

Will fly out of Nigeria for Tanzania tomorrow.