There is no electrical grid in Buhoma – the name of the settlement that includes the buildings both inside and outside of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It took 180km (111 miles) of poor dirt roads to get here and the nearest paved road is 85km (53 miles) away. Our purpose for coming to Buhoma was to see the mountain gorillas in the wild.
After spending time in national parks, arriving in a big city like Chicago was a big change. During the three days we spent here we visited several museums and saw a Chicago Cubs baseball game.
This was no ordinary vacation; instead our Cosmos (around the world) journey with our kids was a lifestyle change that lasted over four months, from September 2003 to January 2004.
We are now in route from South Africa to Namibia (about 4 hours into a 21-hour bus trip). It is a fairly comfortable vehicle with 2 stories, air-conditioning, a bathroom and fairly frequent stops to stretch one’s legs.
We are currently crossing the Kalahari Desert. The distance from Windhoek, Namibia to Maun, Botswana is 896 km and will take nine hours.
We flew from Delhi to SIkkim, which is located in the northeastern part of India. It was an independent kingdom until 1974, when it became part of India.
We are now in Brisbane, Australia. To get here from Delhi was quite an adventure, with three flights and the total elapsed time taking 29 hours from hotel to hotel.
We just arrived in the sultanate of Negara Brunei Darussalam (which translated means the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace). Brunei is a quirky place located 1,800 miles northeast of Darwin, Australia on the island of Borneo.
We are currently on an all-night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. This is the sixth night we will spend on a train during our journey.
We are currently on the fast boat up the Tonle Sap River from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have just finished staying three nights in Phnom Penh, the capital city.
