The End!

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So after Sadha's village, we went back to Dar and chilled out there for a week, going to a Bagamoyo school trip where everybody thought we were social work students, eating icecream, eating chipsi mayai (chips omlette) and shopping, until we headed back up through the Kenyan border, to Mombassa.

Mombassa was not a great place, not much to do and we were harrassed everywhere we went - one of the first places I haven't really liked on this trip. Luckily we only spent a day there before we caught a 9 hour bus to Lamu island, off the north coast. Lamu is beautiful, like Zanzibar only less touristy and with more of a local feel as its so small. We spent days just wondering around the narrow streets of Lamu town, finding little hidden cafes and shops, playing the local board game - The Bao Game - while having the best juices I've ever tasted, eating tasty fish, relaxing on the beach at Shella, and doing alot of shopping. On monday we returned back to Mombassa by bus, then a few hours later I caught an overnight bus back to Nairobi.

After rushing around Nairobi today, visiting the Monari's for the last time, having my 'last of' everything, doing some last minute shopping, it's now the night before I leave. I've gotten so used to everything here and its become all so familiar and like home, I've almost forgotten what its like not to have matatus to ride on, everybody greeting you in swahili, the cries of mzungu everywhere you go, the crazy driving, washing clothes by hand, being excited by the rare western meal, eating ugali, seeing so many stars at night, appreciating every little thing that makes your life easier, all the little kids staring with mouths open at you, the bongo flava music, the little markets everywhere, wearing weird and random clothes, all the fake flowers and tacky decorations in everyone's house, the endless cups of chai...i could go on for pages and pages but this is making me sad so I'll stop. It's been hard coming to terms with the fact that I'm actually leaving, and I think today it finally hit me.

So tomorrow I'm heading for Amsterdam for 1 week, then 2 weeks in England, then back to Amsterdam for another 2 weeks, and then back to Australia! This will be my last post, thanks to everyone for all the donations, and support you've given me and I'll see you all in a few weeks!

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