I cannot remember how and when the idea of climbing Kilimanjaro took hold. It might have begun as a vague thought sometime this year, but it’s a dream that’s been taking shape for the last few years, ever since I did the high-altitude trek in Ladakh in August 2003. That was the start of the mountain madness, and the weekend treks in the mountains on the outskirts of Bombay only fuelled the mania. Moving to Dubai in 2005 put paid to that obsession, but only for a while. And now, Kilimanjaro beckons.
There couldn’t be a more curious bunch than the four of us who are doing this trip. Alpha and I have known each other for close to 4 years, through our blogs, then through emails and then the surprisingly lengthy phone calls. We’ve never met, although we’ve been in the same city on one occasion, and in the same country, another time. She’s tried her match-making skills on me a few times, unsuccessfully, I might add, and I’ve asked her for recipes a few times, which she still hasn’t parted with.
I know Pi, her husband, only through her (expectedly biased) posts, and I don’t know much about Nai, the 4th member of our troupe, other than the fact that he was Alpha’s classmate, and of good character - as I was repeatedly assured by Alpha when she tried to book us into the same room. The last ditch attempt at match-making might just have borne fruit, except that Nai’s wife wouldn’t hear of it. So separate rooms it is.
We still have about 7 weeks to go before we meet up for the first time in Nairobi. And a busy 7 weeks it’s going to be, with training, gear shopping, and of course, regular blog updates at The Kilimanjaro Blog. Your comments and encouragement, are welcome as always.
14 comments:
Lee: What??! I do suck at matchmaking! I hope I can impress you with my horror stories at the summit. Here we come!!! Can't wait to see you...finally!!! The best bloggers meet ever. Any press coverage?
put this post up at the kili blog too!
having met alphu i can tell ya that she drives people up the wall. kili would be a piece of cake.
good luck!
chugsiee!!! Is that some sort of revenge for not buying you the pink kurta you wanted in Fab India?
btw, lee is quite smart..she's figured that already.
Sounds exciting. Good luck, Lee
...and for the occasion, I have my latest composition ready which with your permission I shall now proceed to render...P.S. when did Barista and bloggers meeting up there go out of fashion? No one tells me ANYthing :(
I once saw a Nat Geo documentary on a bunch of guys doing the Kilimanjaro climb. Dont think it should be that tough ... but you will need to work out a little - lower back & legs especially. That is if you're planning to carry all your stuff yourself. Or you could take the easy way out and hire a bunch of coolies ... or whatever they're called in Africa.
Sad to have missed you the last time you were down. Hope all is well. Merry Christmas.
last comment was me.
Here you go Baby Lee --
goto website http://www.radioblogclub.com/
Type name of song or artist in search bar and hit 'Search'
A list of songs will show up.
Click on the Blue arrow to the left of the track you want to play.After you've done that you will see three numbered circles in grey on the right of your screen:
(1) Preview
Click on the Play arrow to the left of the preview bar to listen. Some songs take time to load, some start playing at once.
(2) Configure
Use this to change the colours of the player. Any changes you make automaticlaly get reflected in the HTML code below.
(3) HTML Code
This is what you must copy paste into your blog post for others to listen to the song.
... Should be easy enough I think :)
...so baby Lee gonna get abs like shahrukh huh? :))
Alpha: Who needs the press when the 'world famous' bloggers are around? :-)
Chugs: That's exactly what I suspect we'll need at some point - Alpha with a whip.
Unratiosenatic: Heyyyy! How and where are you? Thanks for the wishes.
Cacophonix: Guess someone tied you up before you could render your composition. :-) Blogger meets never went out of fashion, it's just that the venue changed. (I'm guessing you're one of the bloggers from the early days, but I can't place you.)
Saltwater Blues: What makes the climb tough is the altitude. We've been doing a bit of training, and we will be carrying a day pack. Let's see how it goes. :-)
Thanks for the radioblog info. It seems easy enough when you describe it. And hey, don't believe everything these spammers say! :-)
Good Luck for your Kili Trip :D and Merry Christmas!!
Aye, I was 'bound' to be one of THOSE guys ;)!
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