Africa

We headed to Africa for the natural wonders. We peeked through clouds at Kilimanjaro, went on safari in several nature parks, and generally did the nature thing.

We also saw some of the cultural aspects. Initially, we planned to visit South Africa and learn about the peaceful transition from Apartheid to majority rule. It truly has been an amazingly peaceful transition. However, we had also talked to several people from South Africa who warned that while peaceful, it is not safe from criminals. A little research on the topic seemed to back up that warning, and gave us the jitters. We had already crossed off most of the African countries, since we are being rather conservative and avoiding risks. For example, we'd love to visit the Shona tribes in Zimbabwe that do incredible stone carvings, or see the mountain gorillas in Uganda, etc. But, alas, Africa is still a pretty unstable place after centuries of colonialism and the cold war and now very poor government.

We were also quite interested in seeing ancient Egypt, but again several references have cautioned that ancient Egypt is not in Egypt, but instead was hauled off as loot to museums in Europe. More to the point though, Bush was threatening to invade Iraq at the time we would go into Egypt, and there was significant concern about that. So, we looked at ancient Egypt in the British Museum!

We were also a bit cautious about visiting an area so limited in precious resources. The eastern area of Africa which we planned to visit is now in a serious drought, with agencies estimating that 10 million to 30 million people going hungry. In that environment, how does it make sense for us to fly in as tourists and get the first rights to water?

So, we cut Africa shorter than we previously thought. In any event, we visited the nature parks and several cultural programs in Tanzania, and spent enough time to get a good feel for Tanzania, especially Arusha. We initially came to Africa to see the nature parks, and those were incredible. But in the end, as always, we particularly enjoyed interacting with the people. Our last day in Arusha was spent saying goodbyes to new friends.

Abu Dhabi

Okay, maybe just a stop at an airport doesn't really qualify for a journal entry. We were here quite a few hours, but while the immigration folks wouldn't allow us outside of the international boarding area, we did get an interesting peek at the United Arab Emirates.

Clearly, this is a wealthy place --oil has made a few Arabs very rich indeed. While poverty is an issue for most people of this region, the upper class is very privileged.

The airport provided an engaging mix of traditional cultures and styles. Many Indian nationals awaited planes to Mumbai (Bombay) or Delhi. Africans were heading all over the continent. The mix of traditional clothing, especially the women, was quite beautiful. Both Indian and African women often wear brightly colored and patterned clothes, draped elegantly. The men varied from stark white tunics, to full black coverings, or top-quality western suits. Muslim women were generally covered in black, with just hints of brightly colored dresses underneath. There was very little casual clothing, except for the few westerners. Head gear included every imaginable form, from caps to hats resembling straight sided bowls, to Muslim wraps, to scarves, berkas, and more.

We enjoyed people watching. So many places of the world have abandoned their own clothing styles, and just wear the western style clothes. This airport was alive with differences! Given the extreme levels of wealth, it was like a fashion show of the world's different cultures.