So before I came away I think I'd told almost everyone that I was going to climb Kilimanjaro. However, I started to have second thoughts; the cost was a major issue, as was how enjoyable an experience it would be.Anyway I met a few people in Zanzibar who affirmed my fears that I might not enjoy it, however subsequent to this I met some more people who had really enjoyed it and since I'd gone to all the trouble of carrying a sleeping bag, thermals and a whole bunch of climbing attire I decided to head to Moshi intent on climbing Kilimanjaro.

I arrived in Moshi at around 4 on Saturday afternoon, in true traveller style I had nothing booked. I followed one of the recommendations in my guidebook for accommodation, it was a dive so I tried another; it was worse, by now I was tired, hungry, had walked a fair bit and one of the straps had broken on bag - so back to the first hotel (the lesser of two evils). I then went on the hunt to find a Kili climb - not as easy as I had thought - maybe all the flycatchers/touts take Sat evenings off. So I went to an internet café and got some details of some companies who did kili climbs. The few I could get hold of were more expensive than I had hoped for - so a tad disheartened I went to bed.

Next morning I moved to a different hotel - this one was quite nice - I thought things were looking up! I wandered around - looking for one of the companies that had come highly recommended on some internet forums. I was really keen to join another group for the climb (help keep tip costs down and a bit of company on the trek). I was approached by 2 different companies - who offered decent prices and said they had groups leaving the following day - however I just got a bad feeling. Then I managed to track down the company I'd been looking for (Peter tours). He said he didn't have a group going but to be wary of other companies saying they had groups as they often lied (this confirmed what I already thought).

So due to his honesty, decent price and online recommendations I decided to go for a Kili climb with Peter tours starting the following day (Monday 18th Oct).

I guess I should say something about Moshi - these's not really a lot to say, a lot or tour operators, lots of internet cafes and pretty much everyone here is about to/has just finished climbing Kili.