Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge — Fat Chicken Meal

Driving up the winding roads to the crater rim in Ngorongoro, we could feel that the temperature was dropping. However, the air wasn't cleaner. It's as dusty as ever, and my wish of having a mask was growing stronger and stronger.

I was trying very hard to recall how wide the crater was, because it seemed that we'd been driving on the rim for really long...I guess my impatience was a little too obvious, for the guide suddenly said there are only three roads that connect the crater rim with the basin: one for going up, one for driving down, and one that goes both ways. I think we were on the both ways one as there were cars coming from the opposite direction (which made it even more dusty). Apparently the lodge is on the opposite side of the rim. After what felt like two hours, the guide stopped driving and we entered the lodge area.

Outside main building (lobby, restaurant & bar). There's an outdoor pool.

Taking our suitcases, serving us welcome drinks, checking us in and escorting us to our room...all was done swiftly and politely! We were so impressed by the level of service here ;)

Our room was very spacious. It has 2 queen beds, a sitting area by the window with 2 armchairs and a pretty big bathroom (shower only; no bathtub). There are 3 heaters in the room: one at the entrance area, one in the bedroom next to one of the beds, and one in the bathroom. We were wondering why heaters were installed in the room.

The lodge also set up the room for our honeymoon - a card with drinks, and rose petals and towel made swans on the bed. So far this honeymoon has been quite relaxing - we don't have activities planned for the entire day with a packed schedule, but always have enough free time for us to spend time with each other or with our gadgets. 😄

There's no Internet in the room so we went to the lobby lounge to use Internet (Internet was nonexistent in the Serengeti Kati Kati Camp and thus we had been disconnected for 2 days). On the way there, we heard people laughing and clapping. Upon investigation, we found a couple surrounded by locals and was preparing to tie the knot! It's such a special venue for making the lifetime commitment! (Well, of course ours was much more special haha~~~ Check out Once in a Lifetime)

Back to business. We settled ourselves in the lobby lounge and went on silent mode - transferring photos to our phones/iPad and updated various social media platforms. The internet connection was pretty slow but we can't complain.

Btw, complimentary afternoon tea was served at the lobby lounge from 4-6pm. It had a few types of cookies and cakes, and provided tea and coffee. Apart from afternoon tea, the lodge also arranged traditional dance performance in the lobby area. We're in general not a fan of those "traditional performance", but we were attracted by the noise they made. It's actually kind of funny and I was wondering if they were mimicking certain animals...?!?!

At 7pm sharp, Mr. Husband ushered us to the restaurant for dinner. It's international buffet with bbq meat serving outdoor. I was conscious of being the only Asian in the restaurant...

Anyway, the restaurant was quite nice, and our table was, like anywhere we've been in Africa so far, fully set up. I felt that I was under-dressed...I was still in my safari clothes but more than half of the people were wearing proper dinner clothes...

The spread of the buffet was quite good. The Tanzanians seem to be better cook than Kenyan 😄 The bbq meat was delicious. They served beef, chicken and snail sausage. My sausage expert was very happy with the "Wurstschnecke" (snail sausage) lol. It's really a compliment when he says certain sausage is "quite good" and wanted to have more.

With full belly we went back to the room. Mr. Husband showered first and said the water was lukewarm, not hot. Only at that time I remembered hot water supply was from 6-8pm only...uh oh! Take note if you're going to stay there, or you'd end up like me, skipped shower for one night. Ew!

When we were having dinner, the staff came for turndown service. They also turned on the heaters and put hot water bottles in the bed. Very thoughtful. We understood by then why they had to install heaters in the room. It was like below 5 degrees after the dinner. The weather forecast said the lowest temperature that night would be -5. I mean, -5?!?! My first reaction was like..."Will there be snow??? Snow, snow, snow!! Let's go outside!!!". Mr. Husband cracked up and I felt so silly...>_<

So, with no shower and no snow, I went to bed. Both of us woke up earlier than we had to because it's so cold. We found that the heaters were off...The two layers of blankets were just not warm enough. Hot shower was not an option either because it's only available from 6-8 in the morning. The timing was never right for us...

We got ready and went for breakfast at 6am. It's windy and quite cold in the morning. Hem hem, I mean, maybe like 5 degrees. I've learnt that "cold" is very subjective depending on where you're from. It could range from "freezing" for people living in the tropics to "quite warm" for people who get to live in subzero weather...

This Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge is a luxurious accommodation option in the area, and we're glad that we have the opportunity to stay here for two nights. It's very close to the road that goes down to Ngorongoro.