Warthogs and Children have the right of way

It's been ages since I last blogged. In fact, I visited an entire country and didn't blog the entire time! I'm now in Bangkok Thailand, but I need to recap what I did in Kenya before I forget.

Back at the Cairo airport I met a girl from Mexico while waiting in the gate. We talked about traveling and such, and she was traveling for 7 months. I was mucho impressed. It was even more difficult for her because she had to gauge lots of things in USD when she is used to pesos. Pesos to USD to Kenya Shillings. A girl from Washington DC then introduced herself and we talked about how dangerous Nairobi is supposed to be. The locals call it "Nairobbery". We boarded the flight and I passed out for the entire flight. When I woke up we were in Kenya and the Mexican girl offered to share her prearranged taxi with me to a hostel. I was tired and didn't feel like waiting in the airport for hours to call a SERVAS person, so I took the offer.

I checked into the hostel at about 4am. In Cairo they would have counted that an entire night, but in Kenya they gave it to us for free. I chose to stay in the dormitory style room because it was the cheapest. It turns out hostels aren't just for travelers in Kenya, they're used by residents and people with jobs. Everybody was extremely nice at the hostel - an extremely good change from Egypt.

The next morning I woke up and arranged a safari with the travel agency that runs out of the hostel. I got a decent deal, but I must thank my parents for the early birthday present. I then headed to the City Centre with the Mexican girl, and we walked around and were pleasantly surprised at how safe we felt and how nice everybody was. Rather than scowling at us or ignoring us, many people smiled at us as we walked by. When we asked for directions nobody wanted a tip. The best part was that everybody spoke English. This was not expected, but made my stay easy (I could read street signs!) Because downtown is not a touristy spot we got bored and decided to go to a giraffe sanctuary that Rachel Prevette told me to visit. We took a bus to the nearest stop and were upset that we had to walk quite a way. We asked some guys in a pickup if we could hop in the back while they drove that direction. They said yes because they were nice people - like all Kenyans.

When we arrived at the giraffe sanctuary, we paid our reduced-price for students (love it) and walked to the giraffes. I didn't have my camera but my Mexican friend did so you'll have to wait until August for pictures, but I got right up close to the giraffes. You could feed them out of your hand and pet their heads. They were not afraid of people at all, even though their species was endangered. I even fed the giraffes out of my mouth multiple times, waiting for my friend to take the perfect picture. (It's good! be patient!) When we were finished, I asked a family at the park if we would hitch a ride back to city centre. They said yes because they were nice - like all Kenyans.

We then walked back to the hostel and I called home and slept. Nothing new. When I woke up early the next morning - it was safari time. The van picked me up at the hostel and inside was a girl from Belgium. She was volunteering at an orphanage in Nairobi and was staying with a host family. We drove for several hours on the extremely curvy and bumpy roads. We arrived at the great rift valley and snapped some photos. We were "kindly" hassled by people to buy their stuff, but I wanted to wait. We then drove and drove, stopped at a hotel for lunch, then drove and drove on more bumpy dirt roads to the Masai Mara park. When we arrived, we first stopped at our campsite. I've gone camping many times but these tents and beds were the nicest I've ever used while camping. Oddly enough the shower was also the best shower I got in Kenya too.

We then drove into the reserve and saw some animals. The whole point of going to Kenya was accomplished when I saw lions and zebras living their real lives in their real environments. I saw giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, topi, baboons, ostriches, lions, elephants, a leopard, gazelle, and more. I got good pictures - but you'll have to wait. I made the driver wait until the sunset so I could see it (I've already seen it at the Eiffel Tower, and River Nile). We then went back to camp and had dinner (nothing special) and slept.

We woke up the next morning, had breakfast, then headed to the reserve. It was a slow start, but soon we got a call on the radio that there was some serious animal action going down somewhere close. When we arrived we saw about 8 lions surrounding a group of about 300 zebras. We waited for about 10 minutes then I got to see the lions attack and bring down a zebra. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. The lions fought over the zebra like Carly and I fight over cookies, and they growled while they ate. Even though the zebra is my favorite animal out there, I wasn't too heartbroken because it was awesome to watch.

After looking at more animals we drove to the river where the animals migrate every August. We saw hippos and alligators. We had lunch and monkeys came and tried to steal food, but I got away with some good photos. We then drove around and looked at more animals, and left the park.

We went to a Masai village, where the tribe still lives in huts as they did many many years ago. We paid our entrance fee (for the childrens' educations) and saw traditional dances and inside one of the huts. It was weird because one of the Masai had a cell phone and while they wore traditional clothes, they all had modern clothing on in some aspect. It was a good experience, but definitely catered for tourists like myself. They then showed us to the children with jewelry laid out for us to buy. I didn't. We then went to the camp and ate and talked about stereotypes and urban legends.

The third and last day of the safari we woke up really early to head to the park. Unfortunately everything slept in because it was a Saturday, and we didn't see anything more than wildebeests and zebras. We then hit the road and left for Nairobi. We stopped and had lunch at a restaurant (with Chapati- very good stuff), and continued bumping and bouncing our way to Nairobi. Along the way we passed one of the most horrific things I've ever seen. A car vs. semi head-on collision happened mere minutes before we drove by and They had laid the mangled bodies on the side of the road. There were at least 30 people who had pulled over to help, but I didn't know how to react so I just sat in the car. The driver then took off to tell the police. We stopped and told them about 3 miles later.

Back at the city the driver took me on some errands before dropping me off at the hostel. I thought this was strange because I was supposed to give him a tip. Here's a tip: don't bore me while you pick up your dry-cleaning. Anyway he dropped me off at the hostel and I decided to try my luck with a SERVAS host. I got out my book and called the first person on my list, Charles, who worked down the street from the hostel. I waited for him in the lounge and talked about traveling (my new favorite subject) with a reporter from Holland. She was excited about her country's team in the Euro 2008. After losing several games of cards to her Charles picked me up and I went with him to his office. We talked about SERVAS and my journey, then we left for dinner. We met a friend of his at his apartment - Henry - and headed to their favorite place to relax. It was a loud outdoor bar with live music and lots of people having a good time. We ordered a Kenyan meal and drank Kenyan beer. The meal was beef cut up into small pieces on a plate with a delicious sauce. There was also some sort of mashed potato-like substance which didn't have a flavor but was still good with the meat. Charles then drove us to Henry's place (he drank soda water) and I was told I would be sleeping there.

Henry was more than hospitable. Although his apartment was a mess, it was a pleasant stay. Except for the shower. His water heater had broken years ago so you warmed a bucket of water with a heater and used a cup to pour it on yourself in the bathtub if you wanted a shower. It was a weird experience, and rather than making me appreciate what I have in America, I was just weirded out. Ethnocentrism at its finest.

The next day Charles picked me up and dropped me off downtown. I then took a bus to the Nairobi National Park and walked among in the best zoo I've ever been in. They had Kenyan vs. non-Kenyan prices too, but were strict on it rather than being judgemental. I didn't take any pictures because it was nothing new but it was a pleasant stroll. I never get tired of little children staring at me like I'm some sort of weirdo. White weirdo. Some girls even asked to take a picture with me - which I said yes to - but was weirded out by it myself. I am not an animal in a zoo to take a picture of.

I then hitched a ride back to city centre because I'm cheap and made it back to Charles' office. That night we went to a different restaurant/bar/outdoor hangout and had the meat platter again and more Kenyan beer. We went home earlier because I was to get up early the next day for my last day in Kenya.

My last day involved waiting for Charles to pick me up, getting lost in the city centre, shopping at a small market for souvenirs, and riding the bus to the airport. The airport was nice, but a little misleading for the country. I've noticed that no matter how nice an airport is you cannot use it to gauge the country. Cairo airport was clean, but the city was a pit of garbage. I boarded my flight to Doha, Qatar aboard Qatar Airways and enjoyed the "five star" experience. The food wasn't too good - it hurt my stomach - and the crew members wouldn't stop when I waved them down. I'd give them a 1.5 stars. Jerks. My flight from Doha to Bangkok was quite nice though. They were helpful and gave me a free packet with socks and an eye mask and a toothbrush. There were also individual TVs so I got to pick what I watched: Horton Hears a Who (it was good Tom), Dan in Real Life (good too) and Mary Newport's recommended The Bucket List. In the last one two guys do things they want to do in their lives before they die, and they not only see the pyramids, but also go on safari. I'm kinda like them. But not dying of cancer.

I found Kenya to be my favorite country so far on my trip. Everyone was nice and wouldn't bother you if you didn't want them to. I'm sad I didn't get to spend more time there. I don't know why I'm surprised. Rachel Prevette lived in Kenya and she is one of the nicest people I know.

Sorry about the delay with the post and the photos, and sorry to scare you if you thought (like my mother did) that my lack of blogging meant I was dead. Computers aren't exactly lightning fast over there and when I did have time to use the Internet (once) this site wasn't working.

I'll write later about my stay in Bangkok.