Arrived into Nairobi, finally, on Saturday night, after traveling for almost two days! I was so grateful to arrive on time and with all my bags...Emily from our group had her bag stolen in South Africa, Daniel's luggage is stuck in Hong Kong, and Grant was traveling in Thailand before Kenya and is stuck in Bangkok! On his way in from the airport, Daniel forgot to put his seatbelt on, got
caught, and they had to bribe the policeman with money to let them go
so he wouldn't have to go to court!
Nairobi is absolutely insane. The traffic, just for starters. There are no lines on the road and everyone drives pretty much wherever and weave in and out of traffic, and roundabouts are indescribable! There are 3 lanes of cars going around, but they never stay in their lane! And there is a lot of traffic during the day. There are many, many vans on the road, all decked out with stereos and painted the most incredible colours - mutatus, they're called. They are usually choccas full of people! The roads are there, but are mostly dirt and completely full of potholes...we had an interesting trip into the city on Sunday! We split into 3 groups on Sunday and had a local take us around...it was interesting to get their perspective on the country - mostly that their Government is very corrupt and that the country in general is a mess and needs a lot of work. I had ndengu pileau for lunch, which was lentil/chickpea type stuff with garlic-flavoured rice, it was yummy.
In the afternoon we went to a giraffe park, which was about 30mins outside Nairobi - it was fantastic, we could feed the giraffes and I even "kissed" one...hold a piece of their food between your lips and they grab it with their tounge...it was an experience, but don't worry Peg, their saliva is antiseptic!! I thought I may as well give it a try! The thing I find very different is there are always so many people walking everywhere - and I don't mean in the city itself, but further out, there are always people walking on the side of the road and I wonder how far they have already walked and how much further they need to go. And mostly men. Men are everywhere and there are a couple of women imbetween, it's quite odd and a bit intimidating.
The place we stayed was basic, we were in a dorm with 6 or 7 beds, there were two toilets and two showers, but quite dirty and the showers barely dripped with water...needless to say, I haven't tried washing my hair yet!
That's about it for now, I'm sure I've forgotten heaps, but am trying my best to remember things as I go!!
Miss you all xoxo
