Kenya Trip Part 1

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A group of us had decided to go to Kenya to visit the Masai Mara National Park. One of the interns, Jet, had been before and gave us the name of a good tour guide. Thanasis organized it all for us which was nice. The more people that we got for the trip the cheaper it became. Soon enough we had 13 people all signed up (6 of them Chinese). I'm not a very big fan of traveling in large groups but it made everything so much cheaper that we couldn't really do it any other way. It was a bit frustrating since we had to pay the person with a wire transfer in USD. This meant we had to go to the ATM which gave us money in Ugandan Shillings (already converted from our home currency), then we had to go to the bank to have our Shillings converted into USD.
We started Friday evening by catching a night bus from Kampala to Nairobi. The bus station in Kampala is near the new taxi park. We had to find a taxi to fit all of us. Most can only hold 14 people and there was 13 of us so finding an empty collective taxi seemed a bit hopeless. Luckily we found one that only had about 3 people in it. We told the driver that we would pay a bit extra to have him take us directly to the bus station. We agreed on a price and then the driver proceeded to apologize to the original passengers before kicking them out to make way for our group. I felt bad that they had to do that but it was much easier for us and it would have been very easy for the people who got kicked out to find a new taxi.

The ticket said we needed to arrive at the bus station an hour early to board it and check our baggage. We were good passengers and did just that fully knowing that this is Africa and leaving on time doesn't happen. We waited around and boarded the bus about 45 mins late and the bus left about and hour late.

We tried to get seats next to each other but with our large group it was almost impossible. I was one of the people who was stuck sitting next to a random person. I normally wouldn't mind but on a night bus it's always a bit more comforting to sit next to someone that you know. I'm always worried that while I'm sleeping my mouth is going to be wide open and my head facing the person next to me. Then I think about how strange that it would look for them. I'm sure that I would be breathing hard, perhaps snoring. It doesn't paint a pleasant picture. Apart from my awkward face there is always the worry that the person next to you smells bad or is touching you. I was fortunate. I was sitting next to a girl who was a student at the university that I teach at. She was from Mombassa and during the trip she was telling me about her home town and different facts about Kenya. She warned that the night buses got cold, I brushed that comment off thinking "what does she know about cold weather?" Yeah, I should have taken her more seriously as I spent most of the night huddled up in my hoody. Liza was going to Nairobi (12 hours bus ride) and then from there catching a bus to Mombassa (another 10 hours). Way too long of a journey for me. Although when we arrived in Nairobi we would have about a 4 hour car ride to get to the Masai Mara national park.

We got to customs which was a bit of a mess. We had to stamp out of Uganda and then wait forever to pay for our visas to Kenya. Each visa was documented by hand and there was only one person working behind the counter. It cost 25 USD and they were very picky about which bills you give them. They have to be after the year 2003 and they can't look very dirty. Also they didn't have change which was a pain since many of us had $50 and $100 bills (larger bills give you a better exchange rate). We all partnered up so some people would pay for two and some would pay for 4. Then we would pay each other back.

We got back into the bus and continued our way down to Nairobi. The bus stopped at Nakuru where we were able to stretch for a bit. Then we got back on but this time accompanied by a lady selling health products. For the next hour we had to listen to this woman shouting to the passengers in Swahili the benefits of her Aloe Vera soap and lotion. I had a similar experience when I was in Ecuador and we had to listen to a guy talk about a colon cleanser. I was just happy I wasn't sitting next to her otherwise it would have been very loud.

The ride during the day was actually really nice. I couldn't help but think of the movie The Lion King (I'll save this reference for later) as I saw zebras near the highway eating in the savanna. We hadn't even gone on the safari and already I had seen some animals. As we got closer to the city I really noticed how much more built up Kenya is compared to Uganda. The roads had lines on them. It was just more westernized. It looked as though there was actually infrastructure. Not to say that I don't like Uganda but Kenya is much more developed. It's like comparing Thailand to Laos. Similar cultures but very different countries.

Finally we arrived in Nairobi only about 2 hours late. The tour guide was supposed to meet us at the bus station and he wasn't there. We figured it was because we arrived late. Thanasis called him while we just sat and waited at the bus stop. We weren't in a terminal but just dropped along the street so there we were a group of Mzungus standing with all of our stuff in the streets of Nairobi. It wasn't very fun especially since the only thing I had heard about Nairobi is how dangerous it is. In Uganda they told me "don't talk to anyone" "you can't trust Kenyans" "if you have a cell phone it'll get stolen" "don't walk around at night and don't walk by yourself during the day". Needless to say I was on guard and would not let anyone distract my focus of standing and making sure nothing was getting stolen. A bit of a worthless effort considering if someone tried to steal anything I don't really know what I would have been able to do about it anyways.

After about 30 mins Eric (our Kenyan tour organizer) showed up with his car ( for 4 people) and a van (which fit 9 more). I was happy to get everything loaded into the car and out of the street. We then needed to stop and change our money and then some people were saying that they were hungry and needed to eat. We stopped and then we realized the chaos of 13 people. People spread and tried to find a place to exchange money and find food. After about 2 hours we were finally able to get everyone back into the car. It was about a bit after 1pm and we still hadn't left Nairobi yet. I was very frustrated since I didn't care about being hungry I just wanted to get to the park and see as much as we could before it got dark.

After the group was situated (I was in the van) we started our drive to the Masai Mara. Not long after leaving the Nairobi area we were instantly struck with one of the most magnificent views in Africa. The road was along a ledge that overlooked the Great Rift Valley. You can just see land and savannah for miles. Now would be the cue for "Circle of Life" to start playing. I just looked out into the distance and kept thinking that this is the place. This is where The Lion King took place. I know it's a cartoon but I was convinced that Simba and his friends are out there and I'm going to find them. From this moment on I continually had The Lion King soundtrack stuck it my head (we still had another 3 hours of broken concrete and dirt roads to go).

The drive continued down through the Great Rift Valley. We saw some giraffes in the distance followed by more zebras. To me it was incredible that these animals existed in areas other than zoos. I couldn't help but think that there was a cattle farmer out there who probably had a problem of giraffes and zebras bothering the cows or eating their food.

It was a long car ride but I didn't mind because I was enjoying the scenery. I did want to get to the park as soon as possible so anything stopping us felt like a major inconvenience. Every time the car stopped for gas or for a quick bathroom stop we were always waiting for the Chinese. They would always get out and at the last minute decide that they want to head into the store and buy something. I was getting a bit frustrated with them. We got to the park around 5pm and had to wait for the car to catch up before entering the park. While waiting our car was taken over by people from the Masai tribe trying to sell us some of their jewelry and blankets. They were persistent. They would come up to the van windows and try to slide them open. They would shove their necklaces into the car constantly saying "you look" "you look" "500" "500 for all this". Sometimes they would try and drop a necklace on you so you felt more obligated to buy it. It took a while before I was able to ignore it.

Finally the car arrived and we had to pay our $60 entrance fee and at 5:30pm we were in the park. We only had an our before it closed so we needed to hurry. Since it was raining and cooler outside they said that the park would have more animals. They were correct. We entered and saw zebras immediately. We drove in a little closer and we saw a pack of vans together. We soon meant that a group of vans means they're looking at an animal. We drove up to take our peak and we saw a lion (too far away for my camera) eating part of a zebra that he had just caught. The van roof lifts up so you can stand up and take pictures which was great. After the lion we drove around to find a family elephants hanging out around the road. Our van guide, Sammi, then heard information on the radio about a cheetah so we drove to another area and saw a cheetah. I didn't think I was going to be able to see one and yet there was on just sitting. It looked tired and full. I think he had just eaten. We were only in the park for an hour and I had already seen more animals than I would have expected to see in an all day trip.

We headed out of the park and to our campsite for dinner and sleep. The campsite has large tents with beds set up in them. Thanasis, Steve (China), and I shared a tent. It was really fancy for a campsite. We ate together under a large tarp. The food was delicious and it wasn't Ugandan! (in Uganda I really get sick of eating the same thing every day. Matoke is nice but I'm over it). That night though it continued to rain and it was cold outside. I would have estimated around 55 degrees which wasn't pleasant since I only had a hoody to keep me warm (which was also getting wet). We didn't stay up for very long after dinner since we knew that we would have to wake up early to head out to the park the next day.

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Photos

In Nairobi
van just arrived. time to get going

Camels in the Street
I only saw this once though

Great Rift Valley
and cue "The Circle of Life"

Giraffes in the Distance
This was along the highway between the park and Nairobi. All you can see is in the distance their long necks against the white background. Better photos of them to come.

Lion
In the distance you may be able to see the lion standing there.