I have disappeared from blogging for a few months because I have not been to much places. I am saving money and my leave to my one month holiday in September - Tanzania and Romania! Two different continents. Two different types of travel. Tanzania - mountain trekking and safari. Romania - culture appreciation.
Here, I shall start on my trip to Tanzania and if you have not realised (well, me neither until I researched it), Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing (not part of any mountain range) mountain in Africa Region of 5,895m is located in Tanzania.
This is Mount Kilimanjaro from our tent (the blue tent) on Day 4 at Karanga.Camp (3,995m asl).
How did the Plan Start?
After my trek to Everest Base Camp in 2013, I was not inspired to trek any mountains. I thought that was the highest I could go... until I read that there are commercial treks to Kilimanjaro. The plan to go to Mount Kilimanjaro started in late 2015. It was never in my mind to trek this mountain. Mostly because it is in Africa region and the price will definitely cost me a bomb! The trekking packages were in USD and the flight tickets were going to squeeze my budget. I know, flying to Africa region will not be cheap. Late last year, I was browsing through some photos in Instagram and I saw a local fashion blogger went to Kilimanjaro. I asked her and her boyfriend some questions but they did not respond. I guess being famous make you selective on who to respond to. So, I went on Facebook and looked for any posts in the hiking groups that have went to Kilimanjaro. I contacted a lady by the name June Faezah and she was not hesitant in responding to me. She gave me her local agent's name but of course, he did not reply too. I started my own research.
Who did I ask along?
I asked my sister. She went with me to Everest Base Camp in Nepal in 2013, and I did no further search to look for anyone else. I mean, who wants to pay and suffer? She immediately say yes. Yay! Plus I owed her a bunch of money from my Pyrenees trip in 2015. So, I will pay her fees now.
Who did I choose as my Trekking Agent?
I did a solid research on blogs and various trekking agency's websites. I realised that the research is different from the one I did for Everest Base Camp. It is compulsory to hire an agent. The National Park of Tanzania also imposes tourism tax which makes a lot of packages expensive. Of course, there are the cheap ones too but your safety may be compromised. Firstly, I decided on the route and that took a few weeks because there are 6 routes to choose from. I chose Machame 7 day route. Most agents have 6 days but looking at the itinerary, I know 6 days will be too stressful for me and my sister.
Then, I took quotations from 6 agents that offers both Kilimanjaro and Safari tour. The highest was USD4,200. Gulp. The cheapest was USD2,200. Can you see the difference? There are even cheaper agents but their services were bad. I asked questions if airport transfer was included, if they provided down jacket and trekking poles and the accommodation. I also read from Trip Advisor on the services. Unfortunately, there were not many blogs that relate an affordable price for Kilimanjaro. Most of them are US-based agents, and the price, gawk.. Finally, I chose Trekking Hero. The price was USD2,149 (7 day Machame trek and 2 day safari to Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater) with free airport transports and free provision of down jacket, gloves and trekking poles. They did not even increase my price after the increase in tourism tax to 18% in mid-2016. I met a lady during my flight layover in Turkey, who told me her agent increased the price due to the increase in tourism tax and she was shocked I don't have to rent my down jackets and sleeping bags. I liaised with David Urmann, the co-founder and met up with Jackson Lyimo in Tanzania.
How did I Train Myself?
This year, I registered myself for the 42km run in the Standard Chartered Run 2016 which was scheduled in August. I did another thing which I told myself I would never do - I enrolled in a gym because I wanted to strengthen my muscles. I have scoliosis and I am aging and I want to prevent further problems. I enrolled in the gym in December 2015. I went to gym twice a week. Then, I also practised running to earn my stamina for the 42km. I was worried if I was ready for my first 42km, and to my surprise, my legs were stronger than I imagined. I did not have any legs cramp. I completed the run without any injury. I hoped silently inside me that I was ready for Kilimanjaro. For Everest Base Camp, I trained by swimming everyday for 3 months before my trek. This time, there is no swimming because the swimming pool was closed.
What are the Basic Necessities?
What I brought:
1) Fleece Jacket
2) Running leggings
3) Sports bra
4) Thermal pants, top and socks (all for sleeping)
5) Buff
6) Shawl
7) Dry-fit pants and top
8) Gloves - these were not enough and I borrowed fleece gloves which were actually mittens from the agent
9) Trekking Pants, Socks and Hiking Shoes
10) Electrical Items - Camera, Extra Camera Battery (because I could not charge) and Power Bank (for phone)
11) Wet Wipes and Hand Sanitizer
12) Medicine supplies which must include Diamox (medicine to assist in acclimatisation)
13) Vaseline - to be applied everywhere (face, lips, hands, feet) to prevent your skin from getting dry
14) Sun block and cap
15) Flask that can store hot water
16) Headlamp (to go to toilet at night i.e. pee a few meters away from the tent)
17) Sleeping bag liner
18) Disposable underwear
19) Yellow Fever Vaccination Card
20) Sunglasses
What additional items that my sister (she is thinner than me and she is afraid of the cold and hence she has additional clothings) brought which I did not have:
1) Mid-weight base layer
2) Light-weight base layer
3) Handwarmers (sachets form)
4) Liner for gloves, sleeping bag and socks
5) Clothesline (we used this when we were in the hotel after our return to wash some of the super dusty clothes)
6) Bandanna
How do we Tip?
Now, the amount of tipping here differs from the one in Everest Base Camp (EBC) in Nepal. For starters, we were not sure of the amount of porters required. There are no lodges available during the trek. We sleep in tents. Since there were only 2 of us, we don't need a dinner tent and ate in our tent. For large groups, the porters carry a mess tent (i.e. the dinner tent) where everyone will eat inside here, resulting in the porters having to carry the chairs and tables. I feel so bad looking at the porters carrying those. Why are those necessary? Spoilt rich customers.
Then, I found out each trekker is assigned 3 porters but we had 4 porters each instead because the weight was more than expected. Each porter can only carry 20kg including their clothes. There was 1 chef (the chef is only allowed to carry a thermos flask, his or her clothes and eggs because his weight needs to be light to be the first to reach and cook), 1 assistant guide and 1 guide. Altogether 11 people. I asked if I could remove the assistant guide but apparently this was made compulsory by the National Park. There has been a few cases of missing trekkers because there were not enough guides. The number of people was 5 times more than we required for EBC. We only had 1 porter and 1 guide.
Tipping calculation: (You can opt to pay more if they are good)
Porter : USD5/day
Chef : USD10/day
Assistant guide : USD10/day
Guide : USD15/day
The total amount will be divided by the number of trekkers in the group.
Update as at 12 December 2016: David refunded us the amount of tip we paid for the extra 2 porters (we had 8 instead of the arranged 6) as he was equally puzzled how we had 8. I was very surprised on his kind gesture but I know for sure, this is one honest agent. Despite the distance, he took the extra step to transfer the monies back to me after reading on my detailed feedback.
Insurance
I was aware that I have to purchase insurance for this trip. I used the same insurance that I bought for Everest Base Camp - AIG Chartis Insurance. This is the ONLY insurance provider in Malaysia that covers trekking activity up to 6000m and provides for helicopter evacuation. The highest altitude I am getting to is 5895m which is Uhuru Peak. I bought a standard coverage for RM210 (this is a one-month coverage because I was going to be away for 1 month).
Vaccination
As I am from Malaysia, I was concerned about the vaccination requirements for our country. I read and we were required to take Yellow Fever and advised to take Typhoid vaccination. Apparently, there are some countries which don't require the vaccination. Well, Malaysians don't require the vaccination when going to Tanzania but upon our return, we need to show to the Malaysian Immigration that we are vaccinated. Oddly enough, I was not required to show my Vaccination Card upon my return to Malaysia. Maybe it is because I travelled elsewhere after Tanzania. In Tanzania, my sister who travelled separately and arrived mid-morning was required to show her Vaccination Card to the Tanzanian Immigration. Whereas for me who took Turkish Airlines and arrived at 2am, there was no one inspecting my card.
Not many clinics offered Yellow Fever vaccination. I asked June Faezah and she told me she took hers from Klinik Menara in Bukit Jelutong. I paid RM422 for both vaccinations and the Yellow Fever booklet. The Yellow Fever vaccination cost about RM300++. Please call the clinic to check if there is stock for Yellow Fever. I called 3 days before to make reservation.
I asked June if she took Malaria pills. She did not. My sister got the anti-malaria pills and she took them. As for me, I relied on mosquito spray. The question of Malaria came about because we were going to the safari, and it is hot and there will be lots of mosquitoes. Thankfully, the mosquito spray worked.
And with all that, I am ready for my trip to Tanzania!
1 comment:
Well organized! :-)
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