2 Days of Traveling

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I left SF on 12/22/05 at 2pm for the airport. It was raining like cats and dogs. I hope the weather in London would be better.

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I sat next to a girl (about 6-7 years old) and her mom. During the long flight, the girl at times would fall asleep and put her head on my shoulder (perhaps thinking that I was the mom). I didn't have the heart to wake her up...although she was far from a petite size girl...taking after her mom.

With kids....that's when you experience unconditional love (please don't say that my biological clock is ticking...it is on silent mode).

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The plane landed in London Heathrow Airport at 11am. It was typical London weather....gray and dreary. I have a long lay over ... board the flight to Nairobi at 7pm. I did not get much sleep on the plane. Once I got to LHR, I just wanted to lay down my bag and sleep for a bit. Although they have shower facility at the airport, Madhavi and I couldn't find the attendant to access the shower. So, the first day without shower.

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I landed in Nairobi airport at 6am. Saw the first sunset in Africa :)
As with any developing countries, once you exit the airport, there is always a mob that wants to offer service to you. We have made reservtion online prior to landing, so we firmly said no to the mob. The lady from the travel agency came by to welcome us. She was very friendly and talkative. We later learned that we got charged $5 more than other people since she is an agent and not the agency that actually operates the shuttle bus that would take us from Nairobi to Moshi.

The drive to Moshi took about 6 hours. Crossing the border (existing Kenya and entering Tanzania) was chaotic...but manageable.

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I saw a monkey on the road, being chased by a warrior with a spear dressed in traditional clothing... kind of like a movie setting... I almost can hear Simba roaring in the background :P The landscape is what I had in mind.... nothing less.... nothing more. Both Kenya and Tanzania are developing countries - most of the people live in poverty according to our American standard.

I got to the town of Moshi at about 4pm, after changing bus twice. Once we got to Moshi, the driver wanted to leave without taking us to the hotel. We were tired. We can not see ourselves carring our heavy backpack and walk God knows how far to find a hotel room. We didn't get off the bus... and at the end, the driver knew he went too far and dropped us at the Buffalo Hotel.

The Buffalo Hotel was quite small.... 3 stories at the most. Madhavi and I shared a double room ($15 per night). The room was small but clean. And at that point, that was all we cared for. We took a quick shower and went out to an Indian restaurant. We have not had a real meal since London. The food was great :)

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