Joined the Drago group on Monday AM. There are 2 Brit drivers & 11 passengers (pax, in future). For those who care about statistics, that breaks down into the following:
- Two Americans (me & my Dad)
- One Canadian (male)
- One Australian (male)
- One Estonian (male)
- Six Brits (3 each)
Are the ingredients right for an awesome time? That, my friends, remains to be seen. My current roomie, Chris from London, seems great. The Australian seems great. There is one male Brit who was on part of my India trip last year. That's all I'm gonna say on the subject right now, but you can email me privately if you know who I'm talking about and wonder if anything has changed. (Short answer = no.) Oh yeah, there are definitely no potential love connections. That would be zero with a big FAT capital "Z," even though the odds are in my favor given the male/female ratio.
Sights have been amazing, food delicious, alcohol minimal (not necessarily by choice) and the Drago accommodations (Canadian Hostel) are neither the best nor the worst of the bunch. The sheets are a little scary, but no bed bug bites. The showers are dirty, but that's why you bring flip flops. The toilet seats aren't attached to the toilets so you need to be careful when you sit, but there is TP. It's one of those kinds of places.We took our first ride on the truck yesterday. It has no name. Yep, it's a nameless truck. It is also an Encounter style truck vs. the Classic style we signed up for. What does this mean???? Well, the roof is made of vinyl and the sides are roll-down/velcro/plastic. This equates to great views when the sides are rolled up. Also the anticipation of huge amounts of dust in the desert. And coldness. And lots of moisture/no visibility if it rains and the sides are down. There are no roof seats. The cab with the drivers is separate from the part with the pax and you have to communicate with them via a buzzer. There are no speakers, thus no truck music. The luggage "locker" is a wire cage at the back of the truck, visible to all & sundry, and it is secured by only one mid-sized padlock. There IS a lot of room and a cool seat configuration. People aren't too happy about it overall, but - again - the real impact remains to be seen.
We leave for an oasis at 8AM tomorrow, supposedly short driving day (3-4 hours) and camping! Glad I'm not in the first cook group so I can see what kind of standard is being set.Hope everyone's New Year is off to a fab start!!!!!
The truck doesn't sound so great? Is there a safe? Sounds like you will be carrying a lot in your backpacks at all times! Do you get a partial refund because of the truck style?????
ReplyDeleteHi Stormi,
ReplyDeleteMy first Drago truck in East Africa was like the one you're describing. Really good for socialising with other pax but excludes the crew. We only had one crew member so took it in turns to sit in the cab. Is the weather likely to be not so good? I think we only put the tarps down at the sides once and that was for security. The cage at the back - known as Nicolas by us - came in quite useful a couple of times for locking people in. Think about it - you may want to succumb at some point!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!
Stormi, hope you and your Dad are having a fantasic adventure in Africa! How does the travel style and accommodations compare to our trip through India with Dragoman?
ReplyDeleteHi Stormi, how's it going over there, where are you?! Looking forward to some news. On my end I resigned today! A and the kids are good. Hope you and your dad are well.
ReplyDeleteTom