Wanderingtamil

It's been great to be back in Kenya. It's a bit difficult to cope with the slow pace of things after spending a busy few weeks in Chennai. The change of pace is good for me, but I think Africans are too laid back for my style of things. I really loved seeing the kids again. I really missed them when I was in India. Last Saturday, I met some of the kids. I sat by the side of the road and have a little "chat" with them in little Swahili that I have learnt so far. I wish I had learnt more, sometimes they ask questions, but I don't understand them at all. When they see my hairy legs, they always ask questions about that. Some kids are very cheeky and they pull them to ... read more

Here is what Koyembedu market looks like. You can buy fruit, vegetables and flowers in these markets. It gets so busy early in the morning, there won't be much room to walk around. I have been to this place so many times and it is always busy with people...... read more

Have you ever wondered the rubbish that we throw out every day, where it ends up? well, in Velachery rubbish dump. It used to be a swampy area , but now it looks terrible with rubbish everywhere. It can be quite depressing. I think we are going to pay for all these bad things that we do to our environment. For our mistakes our children would suffer. The whole thing reminded me of a song "Where do the children play?" I guess in this case, away from the rubbish dump, I suppose. ... read more

I arrived in Kamapala on the new year. The city was very busy with lots and lots of people walking around. They were so many shops on the streets selling clothes, toys, shoes and various things. It didn't take very long for me to find a place to stay. In general people seem to be lot more friendly than in Nairobi. I never had the guts to walk out on the street in Kenya whether it was in Nairobi or in Kisumu after it was dark. Here I was in Kampala, I wasn't afraid at all. I was very impressed by the locals behaviour as well, they treated me really well. There were heaps of Chinese selling things. I guess they are pumping in all their products to Africa in exchange of minerals and other natural ... read more

I think I am pretty spoiled with good food all the time and never really appreciated the food that is available everywhere in Kenya. It seems ugali is the Kenyan national food with almost everyone likes to eat. Ugali is just a bit like the raggi balls in Bangalore, India. Except the Ugali is made with maize flour. It really has no taste by itself, it can be pretty blah when you compare it with most Indian food. But having said that if anyone (non Indian, of course!) ate idli by itself without the sambar, I reckon he would hate it... any way, ugali generally served with meat soup or sukuma wiki (collards). It's ok I guess, but it really puts me to sleep. I should say my favourite food is githeri. They put the maize ... read more