My first two rest days at the Victoria Falls were kind of wasted going to the doctor and resting my swollen feet. Having said that, chilling by the Waterfront pool bar with my laptop was not necessarily the worst spot to recover. While I had planned to update my blog, different riders kept coming...
Day 88: Don’t get fixated on highly improbable worst case scenarios
Despite taking antibiotics, my ankles are swelling up again in the afternoon. The infection doesn’t seem to have improved at all, and the sores look as nasty as ever. I go to bed early again and google for “sandflies Zambia”. The bites very much resembled sandfly bites I had in Malaysia 15 years ago (minus...
Day 87: Don’t accept short-term gain for long-term pain
Today has been our longest riding day yet and the third longest day on the entire tour—181km. Other than the fact that I’m still low on energy (though I’ve felt a lot better this morning than last night), this shouldn’t have been such a challenge. Flattish roads on perfect tar with benign wind would...
Day 86: Don’t leave small issues unattended, or they might become big issues
I mentioned few days ago my nasty insect bites which were so itchy I couldn’t resist scratching. While I have since made sure to disinfect them regularly, I haven’t covered them up nor used topical antibiotic. Since I stocked up on antihistamines in Lusaka, I’ve no longer given them much attention. That’s seemed fine, until this afternoon. When...
Day 85: All about food—in and out
Similar to Lilongwe, Lusaka doesn’t offer much in terms of must-see touristic sights. Its clear highlight number one to most tourists: modern Western-style malls. Some of us who score high on the upper end of the cultural immersion scale would disagree. They kept busy exploring the markets and other more local aspects of the town. That’s not...
Day 84: When we stop taking things for granted, we learn to appreciate them again
When was the last time you truly enjoyed a hot shower? When was the last time you felt grateful for toilet paper in the bathroom? When was the last time you literally drooled over a food menu because you felt spoilt with choice? On Tour d’Afrique, we’ve learnt to stop taking things for granted. When...
Day 83: Cycling through Africa is only the prelude to a far bigger journey yet to come
I think I’d mentioned in a prior post that I’m planning to launch a social enterprise after this tour. Starting a business is both scary and exciting. I’ve been thinking a lot about it while cycling, and the more the tour progresses, the more I’m looking forward to finally getting started. Seeing (or rather experiencing firsthand)...
Day 82: Bring enough medication to last for the entire trip
Many of the places we’re cycling through and camping at are teeming with mosquitoes, ants, spiders and other creepy crawlies, especially during rainy season. I don’t think it’s worse than back home in summer, but back home I wouldn’t be camping outdoors and constantly exposed to them. Reacting badly to insect bites and stings of...
Day 81: Patience, patience, patience
Usually, I admit, I enjoy my free time at camp (even) more than most of my cycling day. Today was different. It’s been a relatively long day, and most people felt exhausted from 176km on the bike. To me, however, today’s ride was perfect—never mind the distance: almost perfect roads, gentle rolling hills that...
Day 80: Just because I believed something my entire life doesn’t mean it’s true
Today’s entry is mostly for my Austrian readers who are all very familiar with SPAR as the leading Austrian supermarket chain. Guess what—it’s also one of the leading supermarket chains in Zambia! Earlier on during our tour (I think it was in Sudan), I had already seen SPAR. “That’s weird”, I was surprised. “It’s South...
