Author Archives: Kathryn
Signs in Japan
I've always appreciated a good stick figure or a good sign. Lucky for me, there are plenty in Japan! Deposit crying children here. Go ahead and let your children lean over ledges. I enjoy the formal presence of hats in Japanese signs. This guy's crime? Hat lacking. Polar bears and … Continue reading
Vientiane, Laos
Some friends recently moved to Vientiane, so I spent a week visiting them and their awesome kids and watching select scenes of Kung Fu Panda 2. Vientiane was far calmer and quieter than I had expected. I thought it would be like chaotic Bangkok, but I was happily wrong. I would definitely like to … Continue reading
Tokyo
It’s pretty crazy one Saturday I was hiking in Rwanda, marveling at glamorous Kigali and the next Saturday I’m visiting a high school friend in downtown Tokyo! We spent a day visiting a popular temple. Rieko took me out for a traditional Japanese dish. I can’t remember what it’s called, but I have … Continue reading
Africa stats
In just under two months in Africa, I’ve been on… 1 flight (1:15), 17 buses (87:40), 1 ferry (2:20), and had 1 private driver (13:30). I’ve stayed in… 2 tents over 11 nights, 21 hotels and 28 different hotel beds, 1 bus station, and 1 airport. I’ve visited… 16 different towns and cities … Continue reading
Rwandan Roadtrip
Posh and Kathryn in Rwanda!
Goodbye, Kigali
Arriving back in Kigali after spending the past week in rural Rwanda, the city seemed so big and cosmopolitan. We were too late to get to the genocide museum, which may have been for the best anyway. We’d had such a great trip that it was nice to not end it contemplating genocide. We … Continue reading
Dian Fossey trek
Our last morning in Rwanda was spent hiking to Dian Fossey’s camp. The American came to east Africa in the 1960s to study gorillas and her ceaseless work until her murder in 1985 has been pivotal in gorilla conservation. We had about ten people in our group. The guide said the hike would take … Continue reading
A muddy drive
After the gorilla trek, we had lunch and recharged our camera batteries. The original plan was to drive out to a scenic spot to look out onto a lake. It started to downpour the way it does only in places where seasons are named “dry” and “wet” so David thought we were kidding when we … Continue reading
Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park
This was the big day: gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. You are supposed to stay ten meters away from the gorillas, but the gorillas like to come a lot closer than that. There were about ten of us in our group, plus the guide and trackers. Each group is assigned a … Continue reading
Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village
Our next stop was to see Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village. It’s set up so tourists, both foreign and domestic, can see what life used to be like in Rwanda. But first, a few photos from the road. Posh, David, and I were dressed up as the king’s mother, the king, and the queen, respectively. … Continue reading