East Africa 2009 | Day 2 | Dubai to Nairobi
The flight from Dubai to Nairobi on October 2 was not as good as the one to Dubai. I sat next to a smelly dude who had his elbow in my seat. But I slept the whole way.
(Not my photo.)
I smiled. I was in Kenya.
B's workplace had arranged a driver named Ndegwa for us and he met me at the airport holding a sign with my name (that I later found out B had printed herself). As we walked outside it start raining. As Kenya is dealing with a terrible drought this season, and Ndegwa said the rain meant I came with blessings.
I don't know what these birds over the highway are. They are big. Did I mention I didn't have my usual camera on this trip?
He took me to Westlands Guesthouse, which B's hosts had chosen for me because it was near the people I wanted to visit on Monday. I dropped my stuff there and got back in the car to visit her at Tumaini Centre. It's always funny to travel that long to see someone you know so well from back home.
By then it was getting to be dinner time. She'd heard there was a good food court at Sarit Centre so we rode over there. It was a little lackluster after all and we ended up eating dosas and samosas from a place with the awesome name of Exclusively Vegetarian.
The lady there was really nice. She kept worrying that our food was going to be too "chilly" or not "chilly" enough, and replaced a drink we didn't like.
Nairobi is not one of the world's safer places and so anywhere Westerners stay has walls around their property and 24 hour security at the entrances. My guesthouse was no exception. I was supposed to tell the security guy I'd be back around 10 so he'd remember the car I was in and let me in, but I'd forgotten to. I was afraid I'd have to raise a bunch of noise and wake people up. (And the German nuns who ran the guesthouse had already deemed me suspicious.) Fortunately the security guy opened up the gate with no drama at all, and I crawled under my mosquito net to sleep.
Next entry: crocodiles and giraffes!
(Not my photo.)
I smiled. I was in Kenya.
B's workplace had arranged a driver named Ndegwa for us and he met me at the airport holding a sign with my name (that I later found out B had printed herself). As we walked outside it start raining. As Kenya is dealing with a terrible drought this season, and Ndegwa said the rain meant I came with blessings.
I don't know what these birds over the highway are. They are big. Did I mention I didn't have my usual camera on this trip?
He took me to Westlands Guesthouse, which B's hosts had chosen for me because it was near the people I wanted to visit on Monday. I dropped my stuff there and got back in the car to visit her at Tumaini Centre. It's always funny to travel that long to see someone you know so well from back home.
By then it was getting to be dinner time. She'd heard there was a good food court at Sarit Centre so we rode over there. It was a little lackluster after all and we ended up eating dosas and samosas from a place with the awesome name of Exclusively Vegetarian.
The lady there was really nice. She kept worrying that our food was going to be too "chilly" or not "chilly" enough, and replaced a drink we didn't like.
Nairobi is not one of the world's safer places and so anywhere Westerners stay has walls around their property and 24 hour security at the entrances. My guesthouse was no exception. I was supposed to tell the security guy I'd be back around 10 so he'd remember the car I was in and let me in, but I'd forgotten to. I was afraid I'd have to raise a bunch of noise and wake people up. (And the German nuns who ran the guesthouse had already deemed me suspicious.) Fortunately the security guy opened up the gate with no drama at all, and I crawled under my mosquito net to sleep.
Next entry: crocodiles and giraffes!