A Crazy Idea

I have a fantasy; let me disclose it to you. I want to circumvent Lake Victoria and visit the surrounding cities.

This desire probably stems from my admiration of road tripping – traveling on the go. Also, as a person who grew up near the Great Lakes in Michigan, I hope to see this “other” great lake they keep talking about.

My dream trip will probably go something like this (click on the photo for a better quality):

Day 1: Take a bus from Moshi, Tanzania (Point G below) to Nairobi, Kenya (Point B), get a hotel, and experience its infamous nightlife.
Day 2: Explore Nairobi during the day and learn more about its blossoming art scene
Day 3: Take a bus to Kisamu, Kenya (Point C) and see Lake Victoria for the first time.
Day 4: Take a bus into Uganda and travel to Kampala (Point D), it’s capital city – also known as the “Pearl of Africa” (courtesy Winston Churchill).
Days 5, 6, & 7: Meet up with a two medical school friends and explore Kampala. Also, visit Entebbe (on the cost of Lake Victoria) and Jinja (where the Nile begins). We’ve discussed the possibility of white water rafting!
Day 8: Via bus, trek around the western edge of Lake Victoria into Tanzania to Bukoba (Point E).
Day 9: Travel to Mwanza, Tanzania (Point F). In lieu of a bus as indicated on the map, I intend to take a cross-Lake-Victoria ferry.
Day 10: Set off on the final branch of the trip: a 12-hour bus ride back to Moshi, exhausted and gratified.

Because transportation is often unpredictable, who knows if this plan will work or how long it will take, but I can’t give up the prospect of visiting all these cities.



However, there is a caveat. I will most likely do the traveling alone…

Part Three: Ngorongoro Crater

Formerly a volcano – now collapsed and inactive. Our campsite overlooked the crater and chilled us to the bone. The temperature at night fell to 12-15 F.

When we first arrived, we encountered a surprise: two thirsty elephants! They often visited to drink water from the campsite’s water tank (in between the two elephants in the first photo). One walked among the tents for a bit before leaving.

The following, bone-chilling morning we paid the crater a visit. Despite the chills, this place easily became my favorite of the three parks – abundant animals, endless clifts, and spectacular views – especially the sight of cloud shadows. Whenever I think of God, my mind’s eye pictures this:

Lions. Lions. Lions. They ruled the place and knew it. Though today must’ve been their day off because all they were all napping. We even found a couple lions lounging in the middle of the road. The approaching cars only succeeded at making these lions even sleepier. We had to drive around them, but again appreciated the proximity. Our guide, during lunch, described a scary moment when a lion once jumped on the hood of a truck and fell asleep – he apparently liked the warmth of the engine. The lion was so heavy that when it finally left a dent in the hood remained.

Again. Kings of the jungle!

And here are its subjects: wildebeest, zebra, ostriches – we had a fun time.

More photos:

Lion cubs!

Part Two: Serengeti National Park

Siringit = endless plains in Massaai. 14,763 square kilometers of endless plains grazed by tens of thousands of wildebeest during their annual migrations. We visited during the dry season (June to November) and easily spent two days here. Every tree, animal, cloud reminded me of the movie the Lion King. I’m not sure why they don’t sell it at the gift shops here.


Our first animal of the park: the superb starling. The metallic blue-green feathers caught my attention. However, I saw hundreds of them over the next two days, and the novelty wore off.

More elephants. We spied another grazing herd move through the plains. I adored the proximity.

More acacias. They never get old.


We arrived at our campsite for the night and caught the sunset while fighting off mosquitoes. Also, a hyena paid a visit to our campsite during the night. My classmates were worried, but I slept through the entire thing.

We arose early enough to see the sun rise and spy a few more animals. We saw lions from afar, though we saw most of them the following day at Ngorongoro Crater.

Safari: Part One

If given the opportunity, how would you describe the universe? Would you start with a physical description of its stars and move forward to the galaxies? Would you explain the universe in the form of a story from beginning to end? Would you be concise? Is that even possible?

If you replace “universe” with “safari,” you have my problem. We finished our safari tour of three national parks a week ago, and I’m still racking my brain to figure out how I can describe the amazing things I’ve experienced with you all.

I’ve decided to rely on pictures with a few highlights. Brevity is the soul of wit.

Part One: Lake Manyara National Park

Less famous than the other two, this park is known for its birdlife and abundant hippos. The park lies between the lake and a series of cliffs that resemble the hills of Los Angeles – we looked for the “Hollywood” sign.

We awoke at 4:30 to be picked up at 5:30 from our compound by the vehicle below. The first night we slept in a luxury lodge; we would camp the following two nights.

We (and our stuff) waited to start an adventure!


Hippo pond – with storks, hawks, wildebeest, zebra, and of course, hippos. This is what I call an ecosystem.

While driving around, we spied the rear of an elephant snacking on a nearby bush. While verbally coaxing it to turn around, we almost missed this family of elephants behind the truck! They sprinkled themselves with dust to “clean” themselves. How it works, I have no clue.

An acacia tree – the symbol of both East Africa and the movie "the Lion King." Often, we would break into song.

The velvet monkey. The first thing I noticed were the bright blue genitals. That’s how you can tell its aroused, apparently.

What I wish I had done differently

To anyone who is traveling to East Africa: bring a ton of cash in US currency! Not just cash, but $100 bills. Here’s why:

• Credit Cards are useless here. Everywhere I ask about using a credit card (restaurants, stores, etc.) I just get laughs. Plus ATMs do not withdraw US dollars, only T shillings (T /=), of course.

• ATM’s mostly Charge. This may come as a surprise to some people (it was a surprise to me), but there are ATMs in Tanzania, and you can withdraw money from them with your American debit card – for a fee. It depends on your bank, of course, but I (and my classmates) are charged a 3%conversion fee for every ATM withdrawal. Some banks, charge a flat fee of $5 dollars on top of a 3% conversion fee. Go figure.

• The exchange rate is much stronger for $100 dollar bills. When I arrived in Dar Es Salaam, the best exchange rate I could find was 1465 T/= (T shillings) for $1USD, but that was only for $50 and $100 dollar bills. For USD$20, $10, $5 dollar bills, the exchange rate was a mere 1420 T Shililngs per dollar.
  
• ...Furthermore, to buy back US dollars with T Shillings, you pay more: 1520 T/= per US dollar. For example, if you had $100 US and you wanted to exchange that for T Shillings, you would receive (100 x 1465) 146,500 T/=. However, if you wanted to take that same amount of T Shillings and exchange it for US dollars, you would recive only (146,500/1520) $96.38 – you would lose $3.62 for each 100 US dollars. This is illustrated in my next dilemma.

• Many touristy expenses charge only in American Dollars. This includes excursions, hotels, hostels, travel agencies, and some (but very few) restaurants. For example, My classmates signed for a four-day safari to both Serengeti and Ngorogoro national parks. The Tanzanian-based company that is organizing our trip charged us $530 US dollars. However, I didn’t bring enough American currency with me from New York, which forces me to buy back US currency with T Shillings. The exchange alone will cost me an extra [(530x1520)-(530x1465)] 29,150 T/= (or $ 19.90 USD). I should have brought more American currency.

I think the last bullet point is especially strange. I never knew the power of US currency in this country. Even those from European and Asian countries who travel to Tanzania must exchange their euros, pounds, yen, etc. for US dollars before leaving their home countries if they expect to go on bike trips or safari trips.

That’s American privilege.

Research Failure

When I decided to work at KCMC in the Obs and Gyn department, it was with the expectation that I would assist with an ongoing research project that assesses methods to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. In New York, if a new mother is HIV positive, we would just encourage her to avoid breastfeeding her child (which can transmit HIV) and use a formula for her child instead. However, in a developing country like Tanzania, one can’t guarantee a stable, clean water source with which the mother can make formula. Hence, the mother risks transmitting fatal diseases, like cholera, from the potentially-polluted drinking water – especially if the infant’s brand-new immune system lacks the antibodies necessary to ward off these diseases.

To prepare, I’ve read a few studies from Malawi and Botswana that discuss the usage of prophylactic HIV medications to prevent the mother from transmitting HIV to the infant with good rates of success. I was hoping to participate in a similar study at KCMC, but to my dismay, I was informed that no such project exists anymore at KCMC! I must’ve come too late. When I asked about other research projects in the OB/GYN department (including the famous Pre-Eclampsia/Eclampsia project), they either have already been completed or were awaiting approval. I was in shock. My classmates, also hoping to assist with some sort of research project, experienced similar disappointments.

Now, I’m considering the possibility of spending six weeks shadowing physicians, which isn’t unappealing. The staff and faculty of the OB/GYN department have been really helpful. One physician offered to give lectures on important topics in OB/GYN.

I could also use the spare time to conduct research of my own in the library. Giant obstetrics, surgery, medicine, and physiology textbooks await.

Now, I'm updating this blog on real time. I go for a four-day safari tomorrow. Can't wait!

Obs & Gyn

… in Tanzania; Obs and Gyne (pronounced guy-knee) in the UK; and OB/GYN (oh-bee-guy-nn) back home in the US. No matter how you abbreviate it, obstetrics and gynecology is an interesting and interdisciplinary medical field.

Though obstetrics (the medicine of pregnancy and childbirth) and gynecology (the medicine of the female reproductive tract) are two separate fields, they intertwine very closely. Hence, most doctors specialize in both, which gives the OB/GYN field the multifaceted approach I especially enjoy.

In fact, at the age of 13, when I first considered medicine as a career, I wanted to be a gynecologist. I told everyone. The initial interest stemmed from my mother’s explicit descriptions of puberty, birth control, menstruation, childbirth, and pelvic exams; explanations that would have terrorized any pre-teen fascinated me. At 14, I built an anatomical model of the female human body, which still resides in my room back in New York. One could change the breastplate, intestines, and uterus to make the model 7 months pregnant.

The 9 years between those awkward adolescent moments and my first year of medical school have seen multiple changes in both career aspirations and academic interests – including serious time commitments to both HIV/AIDS issues and mental health issues. However, OB/GYN (and women’s health in general) has always held a special place in my heart.

In college, as I developed other medical interests, I’ve looked away from OB/GYN. Mental health is a heavily overlooked issue I desire to pursue, first of all. Also, the medical malpractice insurance for OB doctors is ridiculously expensive in the US (in the range of 150,000 to 300,000 a year), and not many doctors are compensated enough to cover such an egregious expense.

I decided to work in the Obs and Gyn department at KCMC this summer to acknowledge my initial interest – and because it is more difficult to shadow a psychiatrist in a country where everyone speaks Swahili.

Let’s see how it goes!