Self was curious about Goodall’s research. She’s now reached a part of the book where the scientist lures a particularly unfazed male chimpanzee to approach, using a banana.
Because now Google has placed the world at our fingertips, self discovers the following:
Goodall came to Tanzania in 1960 (54 years ago, dear blog readers! She is alive and well at 77). She lived in a makeshift tent. Today, there are the following lodging choices:
- The Gombe Forest Lodge
- The Kungwe Beach Lodge
- The Tarangire River Camp
- The Katuma Bush Lodge
- The Soroi Serengeti Lodge
- Kigoma Hilltop Hotel
Furthermore, there is now a Jane Goodall Institute which has programs in Tanzania as well as in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Guinea.
And there are many chimpanzee safari tours, but these are not cheap: For example, one tour charges $4,664 per person for a 4-day safari in March.
In addition, the BBC and many other stations have produced documentaries on Goodall.
The jungle where Goodall first interacted with the chimpanzees is no longer the wild and inaccessible place it was when Goodall began doing field work there. In fact, there is now a wide array of accommodations, and all kinds of tour operators.
The situation reminds self a bit of Siem Reap, jumping off point to tours of Angkor Wat and the rest of Cambodia. Self was there in 2006. At that time, there were already many hotels, but more were being built.
She travelled with Dear Departed Sister-in-Law Ying, and we both became quite frustrated with the crowds. We decided to wake at 4 a.m. and experience Angkor Wat at dawn. By the time we got to the ruins, the causeway was jammed with tourists, most of whom had set their cameras on tripods and were just waiting for the sun to come up. The place was busy, like a market.
When we asked to take pictures of a monk, the man held up two fingers. What? We were quite puzzled, until it finally dawned on us that in order to take his picture, we had to pay him $2.
Finally, Ying and self decided to stick it out in the temples at noon, when it starts getting really, really hot. And yes, then we were completely alone. And wandered the buildings by ourselves. But it was so terribly, terribly hot, and the heat made self dizzy. And she was panting. And it was just something that perhaps self should never have considered.
She wonders what Siem Reap is like now?
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
Kanlaon 