To Kenya and back...

November 5, 2008 11:41 AM

I love adventures, especially ones that leave some of the planning up in the air. Adrenaline is my friend. So when I got up Friday morning at 5am in preparation to head to Nairobi I was a little nervous, scared and worried, but also excited. Moses, my taxi driver, showed up right on time at 6am to take me to the shuttle office. Along the way we had the usual conversation about how long I am staying in Tanzania, where I am going and questions about my family. Then, probably not really unexpectedly, Moses asked if I would be willing to consider him for a possible husband! Just when I thought I had found a reliable, safe way to get around town! I explained to him that I wasn't looking for a husband and planned to return to Canada in less than two months. He replied that it would be totally fine for me to go home for a while then come back, and that I should consider him. I hope I smiled. Then I paid him and wished him a nice weekend and got out of the car at the Impala shuttle office.

The shuttle to Arusha wasn't full so I had enough space to stretch out and enjoy the ride. Or at least the first half of the ride. Somewhere around Arusha National Park we were diverted off the main road for reasons I do not know, but police were diverting all traffic. We took a side road to the Old Moshi Road, which I quickly learned is all dirt. The next half hour to 45 minutes was very bumpy and dusty, but it was cool to see a different part of the area I hadn't been to before. I saw many green houses lined up along the road and many schools with children just arriving. Also, many people giving us dirty looks for spreading the dirt into the air as we flew by. I also finally saw where a few of the clubs I had heard about are located…quite a distance outside of Arusha city centre!

At the Impala hotel in Arusha the passengers from Moshi were shifted to a new shuttle bus which was full. I was seated next to a rather large African woman and realized I wasn't going to be shifting around too much over the next many hours. The drive up to Namanga wasn't especially exciting, since I had done this drive before, but getting out at the boarder and having another stamp in my passport gave me some energy. That is, until I watched the shuttle bus driving away from inside immigration. Then I remembered some of the other volunteers had warned me about this, you have to walk through a "non" country zone between Tanzania and Kenyan immigration while your shuttle drives through. Still, it gave me a minor heart attack watching the vehicle containing my laptop and most of my clothes and toiletries driving away.

Once at the long line up at Kenyan immigration I was informed that as a Canadian I would have to pay for a visa. I thought this might happen, but I had also read that sometimes when Canadians are in Kenya 2 days or less they wave the fees. Not in my case. $50 US later and I have a Kenyan Visa. Then I had the fun task of trying to find my shuttle bus, thankfully they decided to stick around and many of the Africans were curious about why I had taken so long, was everything ok? Everyone was very nice and surprised to hear that I hadn't applied for a Visa ahead of time.

Not long after we left Namanga the shuttle pulled into a curio shop for a toilet and snack break. This little shop was also full of men trying to sell me things I didn't want or need. I'm not sure how many times I heard someone say "its ok to look". Finally I went to the food shop and bought some cookies, chips and a soda, not exactly the breakfast I wanted but they didn't offer many choices.

I had been warned about the drive from Namanga to Nairobi but still was not prepared for the roads. For roughly 3 hours we drove along either paved roads with huge pot holes or dirt roads, very bumpy roads. I kept my bag on my lap because I was afraid of what the bumpy roads could do to my computer. The good thing about constant bumpy roads is that they are good for sleeping, by the time we arrived in Nairobi I had enjoyed a few nice naps.

Our first stop was at the Nairobi airport to drop some people off. The highlight of the trip for me was a billboard that said "We finally figured out a way to get a hooker to wear one of our shirts", an advertisement for Virgin's rugby team.

The traffic in the city was horrendous which I later found out was a result of a bad accident near the museum. I noticed that while Nairobi also has many round-a-bouts, they also have round-a-bouts with lights. Craziness, not organized chaos, just chaos. (Note to Laura, do not add round-a-bouts with lights to your urban planning projects). I think we drove for over an hour before finally getting downtown. During this time one of the small children that was on the shuttle turned into a broken record and made me question my own love of kids. I was very tempted to ask his mother why she didn't tell him to shut up. Listening to a 6 year old repeat "I'm not your boyfriend" over and over for an hour is not my ideal way to spend an afternoon.

Finally arriving at the Parkside Hotel the shuttle driver found me a taxi that knew where I was going. Gigiri is an area of Nairobi just outside the city. It is a nice safe neighbourhood where many of the embassies, high commissions and the UN offices are located.

I arrived at the Gigiri Homestead just after 4pm (after leaving home at 6am) and was extremely excited to see my king sized bed with duvet. Stella, the girl on duty gave me a small tour and directions to the nearby mall. I took sometime to unpack and clean myself up then headed down the road. The mall in this area is called the Village Market and is a number of buildings formed to look like a village. There is a movie theatre, bowling alley, many stores and a supermarket. I had also checked ahead and knew there was a Maasai market on Fridays.

I spent my evening at the Village market doing some shopping which I hadn't done for a very long time (by Amber standards) and wandered the market as they were packing up to get a few deals. Realizing I hadn't adjusted to the Kenyan Shilling from the Tanzanian one, I probably paid more for things than I would have in TZ but still less than I would have at home. When I left TZ the exchange rate was 17 to 1 (TZ to KsH) which does not make for easy conversions!

I wound up back at the guesthouse fairly early but excited to enjoy the free wireless internet and super big comfy bed. Plus, I was informed that breakfast would be served at 7am!

Waking up the next morning at 7am was not fun, but I quickly learned that they meant they started to serve at 7am not that you could only eat at 7am. I took my time getting ready and joined two other guests around 8am. One of the guests was from Gambia but was recently relocated to Nairobi from the US working at the Gambian consulate. He had been living at the guest house but that day was moving into an apartment and was very excited. The other spoke very little English, but I believe his first language was French, so the three of us stuck to French for a while before heading off to enjoy our days separately.

Over breakfast I learned that there is very little to do in Nairobi by yourself (and recommended not to do things alone) other than going to the Village Market or to some places in town, but the taxi fares are quite high. Considering I had to be at the Canadian High Commission by 2pm and it is located in Gigiri, I chose to wander back toward the mall and looked around the crazy huge supermarket there for things I haven't been able to find in Moshi. I did manage to find baking soda and an affordable book. While in the supermarket the power went out which was amusing because everyone seemed to freeze until they lights came back on about 3 minutes later, then continued on in their business. This supermarket was filled with expats, many seemed to know each other.

I wound up in the store Mango and bought a cute skirt and top at their "everything for 999 KsH" sale. Then sat down to enjoy an iced mocha and an almond danish.

The Canadian High Commission was very easy to find, although it took some convincing on my part to get the guards to let me in. I guess they were told not to let anyone in after the testing began and since there were 3 tests that day and I was only writing one of them they were confused. They did let me in, copied info from my passport then opened the gates and doors to the building.

The building is very beautiful. I do not doubt a lot of money was spent and I have no idea of whether it was needed or not, but the white building is built into a hill and when you walk through the lobby onto the patio in the back the view is spectacular. There is a forest and hills and just down from the building an amazing looking swimming pool! Maybe I'm naïve but I didn't know that High Commissions had swimming pools! I chatted with some of the other test takers while waiting and learned 2 of them are living in Tanzania. I was surprised that this group of test takers was much older than the group I sat with in Ottawa 2 years ago.

Our test administrator was very nice and seemed amused that I had only signed up for the one exam, and perhaps that I hadn't chosen one specific job I was aiming for. As with all government exams he read over the instructions from his book taking time to make sure I was following, since everyone else had already heard everything twice before. The exam that I was writing is the Written Comprehension Proficiency Test, which basically meant I had to read a whole bunch of paragraphs then answer what could be improved, added, changed etc. 50 multiple choice questions in 100 minutes.

I think it went ok, although it had been a very long time since I had written an exam. I was happy when it was over.

When I walked out of the building with a plan to find some food and maybe catch a movie (since it was already after 4pm and dark would be coming soon), I didn't realize that Nairobi was smack in rainy season and rainy meant storms. I made it about halfway home without getting totally soaked when the rain picked up pace and I had to hide under a bus shelter. I was lucky because also hiding in this shelter were a couple Nairobi policemen. One of them loaned me his phone to call a taxi, which never showed up, but we chatted and he said if he comes to Moshi in December he will call me. We'll see! I ended up calling back the taxi and asking them to meet me at the guesthouse because the rain had lessened enough for me to walk the rest of the way then dry off and grab a sweatshirt at the guesthouse before heading out again.

The taxi driver took me to a new area of town, which the cop told me should cost around 600 shillings but the taxi driver charged me 900. Once there, I didn’t' have much of a choice so I paid him and went inside after agreeing he could pick me up in a few hours. Where he dropped me was a huge building which I had heard had many things to do, but really was just a huge mall with a movie theatre - I really should have just walked to the Village Market again! But I found a huge bookstore with affordable books and swahili dictionaries. Then I went to see Mamma Mia! Which was playing at the theatre. There were only 2 movies there and the other one had started an hour before. At first I was really disappointed because I had downloaded Mamma Mia when it first came out, but after it started I realized I must have missed a good chunk of it before and really enjoyed it.

After the movie I found my way to the food court and ordered a good ol' fashion hamburger combo with fries and a coke. The way it worked was I guy came over to me while I was thinking about where to go and handed me a menu. Then I sat down at one of the plastic food court tables and he came over to take my order! Like a restaurant but fast food. Each little food place had waiters hanging out at the counters to serve people.

By the time I ate and wandered around a bit, it was time to meet the taxi driver. I was glad to see he was already there because all the pay phones I passed did not work and my cell phone was dead.

The next morning I was very excited for breakfast and had the chef make me some crepes and bacon, with tea and juice. I could barely finish all the food but was excited to have something different for a change. I was joined by a man from Canada who now lives in France and was in Nairobi for consultancy work that he does a few months of the year, since he retired. Then I packed up all my things and was sad to say good bye to Gigiri, but excited to return to Tanzania.

I called a taxi and asked him to take me to the museum. The girl working at the guesthouse had said it would take an hour to get there, which worried me but I learned why she had said this after we had started the drive. I guess the museum is usually about 15 minutes away but the main road there was blocked by an accident. The main road was really just two lanes through a forested area through a valley, no way to go around the accident. We tried a different route and arrived in about 20 minutes total.

The National Museum of Nairobi is quite beautiful with many different rooms of exhibits. I wandered through the mammals room, the life cycle room, the birds room, an art exhibition where the paintings were for sale, and a special exhibit on rock art. The rock art was actually pretty boring because I had seen some of the art up close in Namibia a couple years ago but at the museum it was just photos they were showing and a lot of writing.

I wandered through the museum garden and snuck around a fence to see the crocodiles. The snake park where the crocodiles were is closed for a few months but there are still some crocs you can see just off the main path. After hanging out with the crocs I realized that probably wasn't a very good idea and maybe it is that easy to see them so the museum can save money on feeding the animals. There was also a random monkey in one of the trees but I couldn’t' see any others.

Before catching a taxi to the shuttle I stopped in at the café and was excited to see a special halloween menu. I ordered a café latte and a pumpkin muffin, only to realize that pumpkin muffins in Nairobi just aren't the same as the ones back home. I should have splurged the extra money for the pie.

At the Parkside Hotel I was swarmed by men trying to convince me to take their shuttle. I settled on one where the price was good and the seats reclined. Then wandered around the area since I had about an hour before the shuttle was to leave for Tanzania.

I didn't find downtown Nairobi very exciting. It looks like many Western cities with big building and stores I have no interest in going in. Random little parks fill some of the blocks and there are big hotels and office buildings. I was pretty happy to be leaving.

We left Nairobi at 2pm and didn't make it to the border until close to 5 and I was getting worried about the sun setting before I arrived in Longido. Just before the border we stopped at the same curio shop again but this time I stayed on the shuttle to avoid spending money and pushy salesmen. Kenyan immigration was quick with no huge line ups or Visas to worry about then I started to walk across to the Tanzania side and was quickly bombarded. Two men in plain clothes were trying to tell me I had to pay to get into the country. I told them I didn't have to pay and they said that I had to pay for a Visa. Seriously, just random men. I told them I had a visa and that I knew they were just trying to get my money. They left me alone. I feel bad for travelers who do not know better.

Then a bunch of Maasai women came over trying to sell me jewelry. I said no, hapana, asante etc but they still walked beside me. One of the women put a bracelet on my wrist and said "gift" I said I couldn't accept a gift from her but thank you. Then she insisted so I said fine if she was sure. Then, she pulls out a necklace and says "$5" I laughed and said no and handed her back the bracelet, she took it and left me alone. Then another woman tried to put a ring on my finger. Just plain random seed beads in a circle. I had to keep my hands closed and just kept walking til they all left me alone.

Once inside the Tanzanian immigration office I was happy to not be hassled and the woman at the counter was very nice and I was in and out very fast. But then we all had to wait because the driver of our shuttle didn't have a passenger manifest or list of items that the shuttle was carrying. After close to half an hour of waiting we were finally allowed to leave, it was after 6pm by this point. I chatted with another passenger who is Kenyan and travelling to Tanzania for the first time. He was very excited but worried that he would not have access to the internet or tv to find out if Obama won the election. I told him not to worry, that it would be in all the papers and on the radio, but he assured me that he had to see it with his own eyes right when it happens. I wished him luck!

I arrived in Longido right after Phillipe and Emily had arrived from Arusha so it was very easy to find them and Katrijn at the side of the road. We said our hellos and good-byes quickly because Katrijn and I had to hike up to the tents before dark since neither of us had a flashlight.

The walk up to the tents was more difficult than I had thought, maybe because I had my filled backpack on my back and a bag to carry, or I'm just not in the shape I thought I was. Plus, since it had gotten dark I couldn't even see where I was headed or how much farther it was. Picture walking up the base of a mountain, where the base is pretty much sand and weeds. Eventually we saw a few lights and had arrived at the tents!

Corey had 3 tents built to preserve land that a Maasai family owns, to protect it from others building on it. I could explain more, but I would probably get it wrong. There are 3 tents, all built on platforms with roofs over the tents and little patios. They all face down Longido mountain with beautiful views of the region and on a clear day, I'm told, you can see Kilimanjaro. It wasn't very clear when I was there.

I shared Katrijn's tent, which has two beds, a small table and a storage area for her things, plus plenty of space for my own bag to explode in true Amber style and space to move around. We spent the evening with Corey, Shanna, Lyn, Tim, Katrijn and Jo, mostly chatting and Corey had cooked up some pork chops and a piece of chicken for me, with mashed potatoes and salad. I had also brought along a $2 bottle of vodka which came with a free pen to go along with the red wine everyone else was drinking.

The temperature dropped pretty fast up there and by the time I went to bed (still early by Canada standards), it was very windy and the wind was flying through the tent windows. Katrijn informed me that leaving the lantern on while changing in a tent is not a good idea, and I also noticed that the toilet build in a small shed up on the hill is much nicer than the one in my house!

The next morning Corey and I had a short midterm evaluation meeting then I went with the others to attend an opening of a Montessori school in a near by area. There were so many kids! And so cute! I hope to post some photos of them soon. They were singing songs and dancing and playing. Then the dignitaries arrived and some of the students were ushered in to the thatch roof building to play with the stimulating games: blocks, puzzles, etc. There were some speeches, then Corey drove Tim and I back to the main road to catch a shuttle, for me to Moshi and Tim to Arusha.

It turned out we were in a shuttle filled with people from a Kenyan resort who were on holiday heading to Arusha. Everyone was in great spirits and I even briefly fell asleep before realizing there was no upper back to my seat which is not really conducive to sleeping. In Arusha I had to switch shuttles and was getting annoyed around 2:30pm when the driver said we were to leave Arusha at 2pm, but then by 3pm we were on the road with just myself and one other lady in the whole shuttle, perfect for sleeping! We picked up some passengers along the way but still did not even come close to filling the coaster. The driver even dropped me off at the Keys hotel so I could grab some food before walking a short distance home!

So that was my weekend…my long weekend. Nairobi is a very big busy city and Moshi is quiet. Which I think I appreciate more now. Plus I find people here much friendlier, even if they speak less English, and everything is much more affordable. Although I heard in Kenya they got a public holiday when Obama won the election, while we just sat around talking about it all day…