I apologise, it's been so long since I put up any travel tails. There really haven't been too many in recent months, so I'm giving you a double! I'm working in Islamabad, Pakistan and there are a few creatures around the place, but I'm not allowed to get out very much to see them. But I've seen monkeys by the side of the road that leads up into some hills (apparently if you walk up the tracks you can see more of them), and foxes that run across the road at night. And I'd even seen a few donkeys pulling carts along the side of the road. Of course cruising past in a 4WD does not a good photo make.
I noticed these donkeys from the roof of our office, helping with a construction site that has apparently been going on forever. There are about six donkeys that cart dirt up from the big hole in the ground to a spot behind a brick fence. If you stand there long enough and watch them (which I do when I need a break from my computer) it becomes obvious that the donkeys are pretty cool. They stroll down the ramp unassisted to where the labourers are picking away at the dirt, and wait patiently to be loaded up. Then the donkey totters back towards the ramp and makes it about half way up. It just stands there for a while, not sure of what to do next, and the labourers are so busy with their shovels that they don't notice it hasn't quite made it. Eventually one guy will walk up behind it and give it a slap on the rump, and off it will go. It becomes more amusing when there's a donkey pileup on the ramp.
After my wonderful safari in Kenya I spent a week on the island of Lamu, at the far end in a quiet little village called Shela. There is apparently one car on the whole island, but by far the most popular form of transport is the donkey. The walk between Shela and Lamu town takes about 40 minutes, and during the stroll you get passed by men riding donkeys at break neck speed (all calling out a very helpful "excuse me ma'am" just in time to allow you to get out of the way) and other donkeys that are laden with all sorts of food items.
The streets of Shela are narrow and mostly sandy, and around almost any corner there are donkeys. I liked the little ones.
