Mar 17, 07:00 PM
Arrival in Kenya
International travellers should learn this above all else: No place you’ve only read about in books and newspapers is what you expect it to be. It will be more complex, it will be more interesting, and, in some respects it will be overwhelming. Depending on what you were expecting, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Arrived in Nairobi today, and after so many warnings about “Nairobbery,” and about tourist hustles and scams, we were rather delighted to find that big beautiful trees line the (pitted but passable) streets, and that the people walking along mostly ignore or smile at two Americans with over-large backpacks. The weather, as we were told it is nearly every day, is beautiful.
The family of a dear friend from Chicago welcomed us (strangers, essentially) into their home with a delicious breakfast, much needed bath, a nap, and then a full lunch. We were going to join the son on a work related trip to Lake Baringo, famed for its hippos, but a family emergency has delayed that trip until tomorrow morning. Tonight, then, we’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the Terminal Hotel, which is hardly five-star, but nice enough and within our skinflint budget.
Earlier in the day, I went to the NakuMatt, which is a combination supermarket and department store, and bought a canister of fuel for the camping stove we’ll use on our trek up Mt. Kenya. Also picked up some Ramen noodles and fig newtons. Paid with a credit card. On the Kenya Airways flight, everything was very modern and we watched movies on screens in the seats of the people in front of us. Most of our fellow passengers seemed to be on their way to luxury safaris.
Is this the country where 3.5 million people need food aid and an entire way of life is threatened?
You learn a lot by visiting a foreign country, because countries are so much bigger than news reports. But I think your perspective can also shrink, if you’re not careful. It’s important to know that no place is all urban slums and rural disintegration, yet those things do not disappear when you’re sipping a Tusker in a (perhaps surprisingly) comfortable restaurant.
Wonderful to read what you’ve written. Enjoy a Tusker Premium on me; it’s my favorite beer.
— Radhika Mar 26, 12:43 AM #