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Published: October 11th 2008
View from the first place where I took my hiv drugs
this was the view from the stairs of a building where I went to internet caffee and as I hd to take the pills this was the view! on Tom Mboya StreetWell here I am, day 1 of a new adventure!
I arrived very early this morning, at 6am, but we were given the wrong time by captain so for a while I though I was an hour latter! an 8 hour flight from London straight here which was totally trouble free, in spite of having to pass passport control with syringes in my hand luggage as I need to inject myself blood thinners on long flights.
Check through at this end was rapid as well as I had gotten my visa before hand and 80%!o(MISSING)f other people in my flight were without so a long queue on their side I passed in 10 minutes, and luggage arrived fine as well, the usual rip off money exchange, but still the rate was higher than I expected, so somehow it is OK as when I last checked the Pound sterling was at 125 Shillings, now it is at 151 Kenyan shillings to the £1 pound, so I am better off.
As soon as I passed the control, as always lots of people coming onto you telling you that the buss marked on the lonely planet doesn't work any more
Nyama Choma restaurant,
behind the railway station on round Hallie Sellasie avenue, one of the local places, where people have traditional food, an un finished run down building, with a tent on the roof for a BBQ restaurant! and that the only other solution is what the guide claims to be dangerous to do for tourists, otherwise be charger 15 dollars to go into town.
I walked up and down, as somebody from dance4life told me he would send someone to pick me up, but as I imagine, no one was there! I didn't worry too much bought some water and made my way to the buss stop as indeed the shuttle by bus doesn't go any more as tourist staying in Nairobi itself are too few and far between to make it profitable!
So I hoped on the "citi hopper" which I waited for with 3 other Kenyans and a Japanese backpacker, for 10 minutes and made our way into town...but passing the townships where obviously the locals work and for whom this service is laid out, so it was a rather miserable sight! the filth of the water, the slums, the dirt of the roads, and the poor people selling stuff by the road side, people cooking on little fires from this water that stinks, washing their cars in it was rather heartbreaking!
Then all I had to pay 40 Kenyan shillings which
isn't really much and no one tried to rip me off, no one hassled me, people smiled and said Jambo, and all the people stepping in were immaculately dressed to go to work.
the stops took ages, as the bus was trying to fill up and it did, but not overly! but is just stopped for ages with guys shouting out and lots of little matatus (small vans that act like bus lines, in which the locals travel and get really pushed in together) everybody shouting and sounding their horns.
I made it to town in about an hour and 10 minutes and it wasn't even 8 am yet, so it was deserted in the streets, a chill in the air, clowdy! and people smiled as they saw me pass by, which was pleasant! people would ask me where I was going and give me accurate directions, so I feel that it was all going terribly smoothly!
I got to the hotel I wanted, got a room for KS1400 a night, clean, friendly and the guide says safe! they have a place to leave valuables, which I am trying out fakely, as to see what happens leaving
Views from the Helipad at Kenyatta Conference Centre
I had an all round view of the city ad its suburbs and far up to the national reserve where wildlife roam around! regrettably I cannot download the video of it here a little money in it, to see if anything disappears but keeping all my real valuables on me, any way when I returned for them everything was there.
So I got to my hotel, there was no bargaining, but it was good enough, 1400 shillings a night, just under a tenner! the bed in nice and hard, the room clean, got a towel, and a mosquito net, which I didn't expect, so I booked in for the next at least 3 nights, and will see how goes!
The guy who is the security lad on night shift was very friendly and asked why I was here, and instead of giving me the sweat talk about him needing money, what he asked, when he found out about my project with HIV/AIDS was to get my project done in his village, as he says most NGOs concentrate on the slums of Nairobi and Mombasa, but they forget about the small towns, which is why there is such a huge migration of HIV people to the big cities!
I was touched by his concern and good wish to make a difference not to himself but his community instead.
I
Kenyatta conference Centre
from the top of this building I saw the city, 29 floors up! took a shower and set off to investigate the city and the area, first off all I went to call the people that I have been in contact with by email from the charities (NGO's) that work here, none were available as it is a bank holiday this friday, and so most people have taken the whole week end away, so I'll only be able to meet one person tonite...who is in his way here from Mombasa.
So I set off to see the city, not a great city but friendly enough, some people try to get business of handicrafts so I try to tell them that if I buy it will be my last few days not yet, as I need to travel,and then there are the taxi drivers wanting large amounts of money to bring you places, so I avoid them, then the so called tourist guides who try to flog you any safari possible, but as I Am a hardened traveller, I just ignore them all or say I don't need anything , thank you! and move on...
I got to the area around River road, where the backpackers stay and in which we're told
JM at the entrance of the Elephant Orphanage
Wow, great experience! you'll have to wait to see more pics on the guide to be really careful with bags snatchers and pickpockets, and I must say it was incredibly busy and by now getting really warm! I gather around 30 degrees, with some small clouds,but strong hitting sun. I could see the looks of people who could be trouble, and I just managed to avoid them as not to get into any kind of trouble!
I also see the gay stares, the men who recognise my sexuality and think to themselves, I could be a target, but again I avoid them and walk on... homosexual acts are punished with 14 years in jail, so I'm taking no risks here!
I walked through the main high roads, and busy streets, it is really crowded now and I got all the way down to Hallie Selassie road, where the station is and all the matatus going to the neighbourhoods, with the drivers hitting their horns and the guys trying to incite people in! They all seem to charge 40 shillings to wherever you go...
I am just looking for a Nyama Choma restaurant, as they are where the locals eat their bbq'ed meat, I first found an internet caffe,
where I sent my first email to most of my hotmail friends and family, then I walked up the busy streets, I took a picture from the area, where I took my first set of HIV pills, and I must say it is a great picture, although I felt suffocated by the heat.
I asked a guard, (as all shops are heavily guarded) and just opposite, with a tiny sign he told me just go up stairs, so I did, 3rd floor and a young lady with a very ill looking man and his healthy looking baby selling fruit juices, and then besides it, what looked like what should have been the toilets if the building had been finished to be built,instead, just empty squares, besides which stood a tent, with chairs and a grill with beef and goat meat, people eating, I just got a strange stare! as if saying: "what the hell is he doing here?"
So I was asked, do you want to eat here? ( with a surprised looked questioning this white man).
I said yes!
She said: Are you sure? tourist never come to eat here,do you know what we eat?
So I answered smilingly: "Yes, Nyama Choma",
So they asked if I wanted to eat it?
I just sat down, smiled and said: "if it is good for you,it is good for me!"
The waitress laughed,
I then washed my hands from a large container with a tap at its bottom where I saw the locals do the same, and by the time I sat close to the grill, I got this plate with a large amount of puree like stuff, its like a thick paste "ugali" is its name, it tastes of nothing, but then they give you thinly sliced tomatoes, which I shouldn't eat as they get washed with tap water, and it could give me diarrhea, and way it is accompanied by a green cabbage like vegetable that is boiled and taste quite nice!
Lots of meat and I got given more when they saw with how much gusto I ate, everybody observing me as I ate as they do with my right hand.
When I saw the bbq man cut some chillies I asked for some wich he added to some of the tomatoes and I ate them, so
I gather tomorrow, I'll have the runs! never mind, when in Rome do as the Romans do!.
When I finished I paid 100 shillings for this vast amount of food, which is really a pittance!, I went over to the fruit lady and she asked me about my meal, I said I had loved it which I genuinely had, she served me a fruit salad that she was cutting right there and if you saw the water bucket in which the dishes got washed you would have run a mile! I didnt...
She asked me in, as she sat with a skinny man, a friend (I suspect very ill with AIDS) they were waiting for their salad, he was sharing with his 4 year old girl, so I bought them one each, and got one for myself, watermelon, papaya, banana, avocado, and passion fruit sooo yummy!
they were 30 shillings each!
I paid for mine and theirs, then as I set off, the woman told me:"Come any time we like tourist like you here... you are not afraid of Africans! thank you..."
So I left with a huge grin on my face, feeling happy and
feeling really full, but fearing the consequences in my tummy tomorrow.
Walking my way back, I decided to take a different way, I ended up seeing a building which after having read my guide I supposed it could only be the Kenyatta Conference building, as it is one of the tallest and it has a helipad.
The guide says when there isn't anything major happening in the building now, one can get to the top, so I went there, asked and was let in, paying 200KS, i was told to follow this young man who was on his way to study in the bottom floor, instead, they asked him to show me around, so up we went to the 27th floor and had a marvelous look of the whole of the city! wonderful!
The guy was very friendly and well informed, we spoke about the job situation in the country and the recent riots. which he said the media had enormously exaggerated!
Then I told him that the guide said we could go to the helipad, but he didn't know how to get there, so we investigated together and found a small stairway, we got up
and had a 390 degree view of the city, and the Nature reserve just outside, about 10 klm away... Which other capital in the world, would have so close by: lions elephants, giraffes and well the big 5 roaming around freely???
Well Nairobi has, and can't wait for tomorrow to go and see it all ...
After coming back down I made my way, after I gave him a tip for a beer, as a thank you and left, made my way back to the room, got onto the internet once more and then took a shower and had a snoose!
I was totally knackered by then and fell asleep like a rock!
2 hours later, I woke up showered again, got mosquito proof ready, and set out to investigate dinner, close by a nice bar, with an open area, so I sat, and asked about the smoking situation, as I had not noticed any person smoke anywhere in Nairobi yet! so the story is that for 6 months there is a smoking ban which includes the streets, so only in assigned places you can smoke and the streets are smoke free and so are the bars,
restaurants, everywhere really! that feels really nice to be honest!
this pub actually has its smoking area on the first floor where the restaurant area, is???
I had a couple of drinks, I saw some expats come here to eat! I must have seen 8 white people since I left the airport!, called again one of the people of dance4life who had not yet made it to Nairobi! so asked to call me later, I went to a small place near my hotel for dinner, a beef-fry with the same paste, same vegetable and a tomatoey sauce!
I suddenly felt really tired, so I went for a last nightcap, as the waiter is very cute there! it is always good to have some eye candy!
I went back to my room and fell asleep at around 8pm, it was very noisy, I had not seen a single mosquito, but still I got under the net, it was heavily hot! my alarm went at midnigh which is the equivalent to 10 pm English time, when I take my HIV pills, my feet were sore, I was really tired, but slept well in spite of the noise!
DAY
TWO:
First the good news! no diahorrhea! then more good news, had a good day.
after a nice cold shower, I got ready to go, asked if I could change room more to the inside of the place, as I assume it may be less noisy! so they agreed, made a few calls again,
went to the Nairobi Java House, which is 50 meters away from my hotel, more posh a place, so breakfast is my most expensive meal really (I had it yesterday on arrival there too).
They make a wicked good cup of kenyan black coffee! and set off avoiding the taxi drivers of the Hotel to take a matatu (those small vans that take so many people as possible on) and once it was full it set off to the baby elephant orphanage!
it was great, first came the tiny ones, we were kept behind a rope, they run down the hills straight for their milk bottles, they vary in age from 2 months to 1 year, they fall over trying to get in the mud, they push us trying to play with us, I wash hunched down and got pushed to the
floor to the laughter of all the other tourist!
They are so sweet! and playful, they explain the procedures and the why of this orphanage, and the places they take these babies from, 2 of the men I recognised from the BBC series the Elephant Diaries, I spoke to them about my experience living with elephants as a child in the circus and latter on in my teens working a bit with them, we saved 5 Zimbabwean elephants from slaughter at the time, as Zimbabwe had too many and was killing about 5000 of them, so before that they got in touch with circuses and zoos worldwide to give them away to save them.
After that group we got the 1 to 3 year olds, these much bigger, and boisterous, less interested in the people and more in the food! more explanations! I spoke to the lady who is the founder of the place! she was pleased to know my stand on circus elephants now! and that I work in circus with NO animals!
then I took a matatu back, but decided to instead, go to the giraffe center, wildlife endangered center.
This made me get
giraffe mansion at the back
the animals live here in peace just a few miles out of town (Nairobi) of one matatu and get on another one, which waited to be filled, 3 scandinavian embassy workers, undergraduates that don't get paid! were going to the same place, so we walked the road down together, had a laugh, people again staring at their tight pocketed whites not taking taxis!!!
there the entry was a hefty 700 shillings to just see a few giraffes, but well its all for a good cause! I fed one with my lips, they call it a giraffe kiss, got the picture to prove it.
after that I was tired, left the place, saw a few mice- kind of animals in the bushes, as I walk a trail, and some squirrel like animal and lots and lot of birds! then made my way back to the road, where I walked about 3 miles before a bus stopped, a proper bus, it was 1,30pm by now and I was starving, had taken my pills on an empty stomach! not a good thing my feet and hands are sore!
I am getting sun burned in spite of my cream! and am knackered, got to Nairobi in about an hour, stuck in heavy traffic! again people
in the bus staring! they must all think I am a tight so & so! never mind.
I saw an eagle from the bus and several storkes, by the stadium, got off at the same spot were I got off yesterday from the airport, and walked to a grill-house to have a nice stake, then to the pub for a beer, and after that I have come here to write all this blog about my adventures so far.
So what can I say...first and foremost! I HAVE NEVER in my travels felt so little harassed, threatened in any way, or have had anyone try to get more money from me, as from anyone else, some places have prices for locals end prices for tourist! fare enough but on matatus, pubs, restaurants, no a single person has tried to rip me off!
I feel safe! I feel welcome! the people smile and say Jambo every where! it is such a strange thing not to have lots of people harassing you, they leave you alone if you make it seen that you are not interested, and that is it!
I was fearing the worst! I have had the
best and easiest ride of any of my travels yet!
I cannot say better than that, Nairobi is great, of course one needs to be careful and something might happen yet! but thus far, so good!
I am meeting at 7,30 Evans from dance4life, who has come from Mombasa, and we'll have a discussion about the project and things to do tomorrow I hope! as after all this was meant to be WORK!
hope you enjoy reading and appologies for the spelling but I dont take the time to spell check whilst traveling...
I'll write more soon
hugs
Jean-Marie
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michael
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those baby elephants...
ohh they are so cute, good that its working out so well , looking forward to following your travels from good old blighty ! michael