KenyaFriend

Pictures from Kenya

2005-12-27T15:17:00.000Z

As promised -> Here are some pictures from our trip to Kenya. And what a wonderful trip it was :-)
For now this is all - but ok, you never know :-) Enjoy!

Nairobi outskirts.

Nairobi - Narok - and a flat tire.

Nairobi - Narok road.

Kenya sunset - on the Mara.

Zebras.

A giraf.

Hippos.

30 feet crocs.

More girafs.

Lions of the Masai Mara.

Masai women selling girafs.....

Our group entering the Rift Valley.

Masai Village.

Kenya highlands.

Another giraf....

Lake Nakuru...Pink equals Flamingo.

Lake Nakuru.

Rift Valley.

The road to Narok!

Rift Valley.

Eventually you might be able to see more pictures at
Erik or Kenya pic index

If you think you should have a CD with the all the pictures, then please contact me at sil@ccieurope.com :-)

Dec. 28th 2005.
-Simon

Simon Laub.

The Shah pictures

2005-10-17T16:12:00.000+01:00

What great photographers these guys are:

Colorful Kenya

2005-10-11T10:11:00.000+01:00

Colorful Kenya
By MARY ANN ANDERSON
Knight Ridder Tribune News Service

Knight Ridder Tribune / Kenya Tourist Board
SPOTTED IN THE WILD: A cheetah surveys the Kenyan landscape in search of prey. Other exotic animal, such as zebras, lions and giraffes, roam freely in Kenya's game parks.

Even now, in the year or two since my first visit to Kenya, it is the colors of Africa that I remember most. If I forget all else, the amalgamation of so much color will always remain with me.

Every so often an event conjures back images. In this particular instance, I have just put down John le Carre's The Constant Gardener, a masterfully written novel of suspense and intrigue partially set in Kenya.

With the release of film version of The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, Kenya is once again thrust into the spotlight, just as it was when Out of Africa was released some 20 years ago.

As a travel writer, I'm often asked which is my favorite place on Earth. My first answer must always be Georgia, especially on the farm where I grew up very nearly dirt poor, with nothing surrounding our home but tall pines sighing in the breeze, dusty red clay roads, and parched, endless fields of crops. After all, Georgia is my home, my heart.

But my next answer is always, always Kenya.

When I was a child, my family and I would sometimes take the two-hour drive down to the coast at Jekyll Island. I vividly recall sitting on the gray stretches of beach, closing my eyes, and hoping that when I opened them I could see all the way across the Atlantic to Africa, a continent so far away, so exotic, so spilling over with creatures and beauty and people so mysterious that I could only imagine the grandeur of it all.

And decades later, when I made my first journey to Africa, I was not disappointed. Kenya was everything I had imagined and more.

There is no other place like it in the world. Some places may be more beautiful, some more historic, some more ancient, some more charming. But Kenya truly has no equal.

This is a country that Mother Nature has touched and blessed with only the best of her offerings, especially in all those marvelous colors: the warm rusty hues of the dust of the Masai Mara, the pure gold in the eyes of the first lion I ever saw outside of a zoo, the black-and-white stripes of herds of zebra, the pale pumpkin waters of the Mara River, the lavender explosion of blossoms of the jacaranda, the deep green of the umbrella acacia, the soft pink of flocks of flamingoes.

Bougainvillea, so prized as an exotic plant in the United States, grows wild and profuse in Kenya, often in masses of gemstone color of amethyst, ruby, opal, garnet, citrine, and sapphire. And the sky of an African sunset literally seems afire, striated in every shade of red and orange imaginable -- crimson, carmine, burgundy, ginger, carrot, and even fuchsia.

But Kenya is much more than sight and color. It is an assault on all five senses.

Once you leave Kenya, you'll never smell diesel again without thinking of the big, mad mess of Nairobi and its endless circus of trucks, cars, and minivans spewing black smoke. The city also smells of smoldering fire and of corn roasting in roadside kiosks, while Lake Naivasha, where portions of Out of Africa were filmed, smells sweet and green, almost like fresh apples. The game parks of the Masai Mara, Amboseli, Meru, Samburu, even with the scent of animal dung and dust in your nostrils, smell like dry, unshucked corn. The mist of the Indian Ocean, bordering Kenya on the east, is salty, fresh and clean.

The tastes of Kenya explode on your tongue. Carnivore, perhaps the most famous restaurant in all of Africa, is only for the brave and definitely not for the vegetarian. In a bizarre turn of events, menu items often include crocodile, ostrich, zebra, giraffe, and wildebeest, animals you have just photographed perhaps only hours earlier for their beauty. The dawa, the "official" drink of Kenya, is all mint, vodka, and sugar. Kenyan coffee, farmed in the highlands near Mount Kenya, is brewed dark and strong, and Kenyan wine, made from pawpaw, is ... well, let me put it this way: Drink it at your own risk.

Nowhere else will you hear sounds like those of Kenya. The hungry groan of a lion as it prowls through the bush, just steps away from your tent, is both tantalizing and startling. The call of the hornbill echoes melodically through the jacaranda. The high chatter of crowds of monkeys and baboons climbing through stands of acacia is unsettling, but the sounds of millions of hoof-beats of the wildebeest as they storm into the Mara from the Serengeti is one you'll never forget.

The buzz of tiny bush planes taking off one after another from Wilson Airport (mentioned a number of times in The Constant Gardener) is a sight to behold. But the best sound of all in Kenya is the intense stillness, at times as sharp as a razor's edge, and at other times broken by the hacking cough of a nearby leopard or even screams of a mortally wounded beast. But this is Kenya. It is to be expected.

Your sense of touch is heightened, as the air almost crackles with some sort of unseen energy. You feel the hot dust as it swirls across the plains, the warmth of a summer rain shower on your face, the smoothly chiseled surface of a trinket box carved from soapstone, the softness of a blanket woven in by gnarled hands of an old Kikuyu, the intricate beadwork of jewelry. Music and dance are a definitive part of Kenya's history, and it's very, very easy to feel lost in the beat of a ceremonial Maasai dance.

Yes, Kenya is absolutely beautiful, and it is sometimes very difficult -- it is for all practical purposes still the Third World -- yet it is one of the most stirring places you will ever visit.

PLANNING A VISIT
• Getting there: British Airways offers flight connections through London, a primary gateway to Kenya.
• Lodging: For the true taste of Africa, Governor's Camp (www.governorscamp.com; 800-322-3867), has six luxurious tent and home properties scattered throughout Kenya, from Lake Naivasha to Lake Victoria to the Masai Mara. Before heading out to the bush, both the Norfolk Hotel (www.lonrhohotels.com; 800-845-3692) and Karen Blixen Coffee Garden (www.karenblixen.com/coffeegarden.html) in Nairobi combine nostalgia, history, and romance.

• Information: Contact the Kenya Tourist Board at 886-445-3692; access www.magicalkenya.com.

-- MARY ANN ANDERSON

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Senator Barack Obama :

Judy Ogutu
Nairobi

United States Of America Senator Barack Obama could be coming to Kenya early next year.

Obama an American of Kenyan descent will also visit South Africa, Sudan (Darfur) and Rwanda.

The Senator of Illinois told councillor Vitalis Awandu Ondewe, whom he recently hosted in the US for two weeks, of his plans to tour Africa.

"Obama will visit Kenya early next year. He will come home. He is our son and he loves Kenya," said Ondewe on his arrival from America.

The South Alego councilor says Obama told him he was looking into issues affecting Africa.

Obama's roots are traced to Kogelo clan in South East Alego location, Karemo division, Siaya in Nyanza Province.

It was Ondewe who helped The Standard locate Obama's home in Siaya, when he was vying for senator.

Obama's grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, has also visited him in the US.

His late father, Barack Obama was among Kenyans who benefited from scholarships to study in America in the 1960s.

Senator Obama was elected to the US Senate on November 2, 2004, and will vie for re-election on November 2, 2010.

He is currently the only African-American Senator, and only the fifth in US history.

Senator Obama is a rising and charismatic star in the Democratic Party. In April 2005, Time Magazine ranked him among 100 most influential people in the world.

The Senator rose to national prominence when he delivered an inspiring speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Later, he won the senate election by a landslide.

In late 2004, he landed a $1.9 million deal to author three books. The first book, due in 2006, will discuss his political convictions. The second book will be co-written with his wife and daughters. His 1995 autobiography, republished in 2004, was a bestseller.

In July this year, he went to the UN to lobby for aid to Darfur, Africa

Looking for the perfect safari

2005-08-31T15:52:00.000+01:00

Looking for the perfect Safari. Check out the options we are considering here !

Or here :-) A listing of our options!

Amazing safari trips to amazing prices

2005-08-12T08:34:00.000+01:00

Amazing safari trips to amazing prices: kiboslopes and chelipeacock.
Chelipeacock is a bit expensive, 5-7000 dollars....

More amazing Kenya travellers

2005-08-08T12:48:00.000+01:00

Family on the move in Kenya.
Pretty amazing stuff. One of these "berejste" guys:

Obviously they have also been to the Karen Blixen farm (the highlight of our trip):

Nairobi:

And Lake Turkana:

Søndag 10/7-2005 Kenya, Nairobi
Turen mod Nairobi er flot og bjergrig. Grønne dale og høje bjerge præger landskabet og gør det til en interessant køretur.
Da vi ankommer til Nairobi, bliver vi overrasket over, hvor let det er at finde rundt i byen og hvor tilforladelig og rolig trafikken glider.
Vi er taget en tur ind til Nairobi centrum. Byen er fuld af højhuse, smarte bygninger, dyre hoteller og fine restauranter.
Byen er relativ ny. For mindre end 100 år siden var området bare en stor sump, men i dag er det en smart velfungerende hovedstad.Med alt hvad hjertet begærer.

Almost as amazing as Rans travels...

We have a quite a hill to climb :-)

40 goats to buy chelsea

2005-07-29T11:06:00.000+01:00

Got this
chelsea story from Jesper:

Former US president Bill Clinton has been offered 40 goats and 20 cows for his daughter by a love-struck African government official.

Mr Clinton was offered the deal on a recent trip to Kenya.

He was offered the animals as a traditional African way of getting a father to give away his daughter's hand in marriage.

The dowry is a very generous one by the country's own standards.

Godwin Kipkemoi Chepkurgor wrote to Mr Clinton through Kenya's Foreign Minister.

He said: "Had I succeeded in wooing Chelsea, I would have had a grand wedding.

"I would have invited South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu to preside at the ceremony."

The councillor gave the names of the former Kenyan president Daniel Arap-Moi and two of his college mates as character references.

Mr Chepkurgor also said he was also impressed by Mr Clinton's wife, Hillary, for standing by Mr Clinton during the Monica Lewinksy scandal.

He said Mrs Clinton acted like a "like an African woman".

--------------------

At the very least you could say a lot about the last remark.
Somehow I don't think akiey will be pleased with this story. But anyway - thats whats in the news. Like or not.

Collecting pictures from Kenya?

2005-07-25T09:40:00.000+01:00

Check out the Confluence site...
The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures and stories will then be posted here.
We might be able to help out here (in Kenya):
Kenya projects

btw. Remember to see the updates on nchiyetu. Including all
the new post here.

-Simon

Another dedicated traveller

2005-07-21T12:10:00.000+01:00

Enjoyed this site - another dedicated traveller:
Interesting photos of kenyan nomadic tribes, african music and more
About himself Ran writes the following, which does sound kind of dedicated:

After release in 1999 I had started to study in The Open University for B.A. in Computer Science. However, I had decided to interrupt my study after the first term in order to travel to Kenya, Africa.

On Ran's site one also reads the following:

Samburu Tribe, Kenya
Area covered

Coming back to Kenya I went to Samburu District and had an exclusive journey of several months during which I visited all Samburu towns: Maralal, Kisima, Wamba, Archer's Post. Made 35km trek to Ngilai village. Slept in traditional Samburu houses made of cow's dung, mud and sticks. Visited Lerata A, Lerata B, Ledero, Lesosio villages. Made another 35km trek from Archer's Post to Ndonyo Wasin sub-location. Visited Kibartare and Learata villages. Learata village is the last one towards mountains and one can find in this two villages last families of Ndorobo tribe. Another trek and I got the glory of becoming the First White to visit Lesisai village. Yep, I didn't mistype anything. This village had been never visited by a white man and I'm talking about 21st century! I had briefly visited many other Samburu small towns and villages not to be mentioned here though.

Family and marriage

Samburu are allowed to have several wives. The number of wives will depend on the amount of cows of the owner. For each wife one would pay around 10 cows depending on how much the family of the bride is going to ask. If the lady went to school, especially if she reached secondary level of education the husband will have to pay also an additional amount of money (as if to cover parent's expenses for her education).
The girls can be married as soon as they reach puberty. The decision of whether specific girl had reached puberty decided by her look and her breast structure. Mostly girls can be married starting from the age of 12. Practically I never seen such a young wife though. This happens due to the fact that Samburu tolerate boyfriend/girlfriend relationships prior to marriage. Thus Moran (circumcised boy-warrior) and circumcised lady can be together half-hiddenly. They are allowed to be known as boyfriend/girlfriend and the girl will carry 'BUSI' which will show that she has a boyfriend. They aren't allowed to be together openly during daytime.
They will meet at night and during traditional dances. They are allowed to have sex, but the girl must not become pregnant. If this happens, the Moran will have to pay a fine of two cows to the parents of the lady or alternatively marry her.
During marriage ceremony the parents of the girl will not be given all the dowry. A big part of the dowry will go to her uncles and other relatives.
A wife must perform all the duties given her by husband as well as all household activities, child caring, fetching water and so on. A husband must provide food for her and the children. In case wife doesn't want to perform according to her husband words she may be beaten. She will not be beaten cruelly though. In rare instances wife can be beaten by Wazee old men of the village. During my few months stay I had never seen a woman being beaten.

Certainly a dedicated traveller!............

----------

and btw:
At long last I found something about which currency to use in Kenya:

Robert wrote:
> I'm off on holiday to Kenya at the end of September for 2 weeks.
>
> I have a couple of questions?
>
> What is the best money to take, UKP or USD or the local currency?

he was given the advice:
UKP, and change that for Kenyan shillings at a Forex in Nairobi.
There are many.

> I want to do a 3 or 4 day fly safari, can anyone recommend a good company
> for doing this kind of thing.

Plan to spend that time in the Masai Mara - the wildebeest/zebra migration
will be there then. Your hotel in Nairobi can suggest a reliable operator.
Or I suggest Wildlife Safari - numbers in Nairobi are 573-630, or 573-977.

> I'd also like to hire a car and do some exploring myself, nothing out of the
> way, just up and down the coast. Is this a viable safe idea and is it easy
> to hire a car in the Diani beach area?

Car hire is easy - but a lot more expensive than you might expect.

Again, a major news story from Kenya which isnt reported in Europe?

2005-07-21T09:19:00.000+01:00

I find it rather baffling that I can't find anything about this -
at all - in my danish newspaper from today ... It does sound
like a rather big thing?

-------------->>>

Kenya erupts for second straight day

Related Articles

Kenyan police clash with protesters

Jul 21, 2005

Kenyan security forces battled stone-throwing protesters and looters in Nairobi in a second day of unrest touched off by moves to protect the president's power in an overhaul of the nation's constitution.

One person was killed, at least seven arrested and four injured as riot police and troops fought street battles that criss-crossed the capital and shuttered many stores.

Kenyans making their way home from work moved in panicked groups across the glass-strewn streets, fleeing wind-whipped teargas clouds and soldiers chasing protesters and looters.

In several hours of skirmishes, police and soldiers turned water cannons on pockets of protesters, fired teargas, beat ringleaders and hurled back stones tossed at them.

Standing in front of the police lines, scores of people sang songs calling for an uprising. "Even if you kill us, we still want our constitution," they chanted.

Protesters dragged metal kiosks into the streets to frustrate their pursuers, threw garbage cans, rocks and furniture and lit fires at intersections. Some took advantage of the chaos to steal, leading to one looter's death.

"He was looting and was cornered by the public and killed," said Nairobi police chief Kingori Mwangi. "We did not fire even a single live bullet."

Groups opposed to President Mwai Kibaki's handling of the constitutional reform process had called for three days of protests before Friday's deadline for parliament to finalise its version of the new document prior to a referendum.

The protests have been banned by the authorities.

The most contentious issue is the president's power which the latest version, the Kilifi Draft, by a government-dominated parliamentary committee leaves virtually untouched.

A previous version - the so-called Bomas Draft - from a wide cross-section of Kenyans recommended most authority go to a new prime minister's post.

'Havoc'

"The common citizen wants the Bomas draft and a small clique of MPs want the Kilifi Draft," said Nicodemus Nyabwa, a bystander who was caught up in the chaos.

"This is what has caused the havoc. President Kibaki should give the people the constitution they want."

Most Kenyans are disillusioned with Kibaki's two-and-a-half year rule, saying he has failed to live up to his 2002 election pledge to end the tribal politics and corruption that flourished under predecessor Daniel arap Moi's 24-year rule.

Critics say cronyism is rife in Kibaki's government, which they accuse of watering down initial cross-party recommendations for rewriting the constitution, drawn up by Kenyans before independence from Britain in 1963.

Members of Kibaki's National Rainbow Coalition have accused opposition parties of trouble-making hypocrisy, saying they failed to deliver a new constitution in the past.

By late afternoon, the streets of central Nairobi were strewn with stones and garbage. Police barricaded roads and shops were locked up, many with people cowering inside.

"They are just looters, idlers, thieves and time-wasters throwing stones. It's just stupid people. We cannot leave now or go about our duties," said Vicki Lucas, a pharmacist locked in her store with about 10 other people.

Many shop fronts, telephone booths and car windows were smashed. Several dozen movie-goers were forced to stay in a downtown theatre while the mayhem died down.

Google Earth Nairobi

2005-07-20T15:09:00.000+01:00

Google Earth is a great way to fly:

zooming in:

zooming in:

AfricaDotNet

2005-07-19T14:44:00.000+01:00

For those of us who will miss the dot net experience while in Africa -
help is under way: Africa Dot Net

Also quite amazed to learn about the Microsoft Community Glossary for
Kiswahili project.

...The Community Glossary Website allows a locally designated Project Moderator and volunteers to build the technical glossary for those languages where terms have not yet been standardized. The terminology is drawn from words used in the interfaces of widely available software such as Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office....

Guess people will do this for free?

Now we are 8 - perhaps 10 - going to Kenya in December.

2005-07-19T08:15:00.000+01:00

Today was a big day for our "Kenya group", as
we grew from 3 to 8. Additionally, we have two
who has given a preliminary yes to joining the trip.

Still, the intention is to keep this blog as
a scrap book for the trip - Hopefully, all group
members will give their contribution, but noone is forced.

In the end I plan to post some pictures from the trip here.
Thats the plan at least!

-Simon

That girl is funny! Emily on "My second bomb blast experience" and "Female Circumcision" !

2005-07-14T12:29:00.000+01:00

Wouldn't pretend to be as good or funny as
Emily. Boy that girl is funny:

Finally back safe from London; probably the most familiar city to visit for a Kenyan; I couldnt help feeling like I was walking along westlands ....the red telephone booths, hearing people speaking swahili loosely, traditional fish & chips (Kenchick kabisa !), driving on the right side of the road and of course.......all signs were in English !!! I was only there for 3 whole days but it felt like i had been there forever; the commotion from winning the 2012 Olympics hosting, G8 summit, crowds gathering to commemorate WW2, raves with familiar music, Oh....and theres Tusker... and not forgetting my second bomb blast experience, only that the Londoners handled it differently......I just never realised how much Nairobi is a copy-paste of London. I couldnt travel around much of course with limited transport (What are the odds that when you go visit a city bombings will occur anyway....); And oh....Buckhingham Palace is a dissapointment :-[

Back in Amsterdam; the security at the airports much tighter than in London, people looking taller and blonder and communicating in noises that sound like swear words, the signs in a language i cant pronounce, the shop attendants not knowing any form of customer service ..... I grab my bike and join the bike traffic jam along the crowded streets at the center....dodging dog poop, trams and insinuately annoying tourists......I love Amsterdam.

My second bomb blast experience ....Thats hilarious. Most people would be satisfied with one such experience :-) I could hardly read after that line... :-)

Some other posts needs a comment though!
on female circumcision:

But even after answering this question then comes the next one, to what extend can anybody say what is right or wrong? ...The only true laws are the natural ones... the one that can not be interpreted or interrupted in any way but they just are... the "laws of life"? the ones about the community of life, diversity... those laws can not be questioned, there is no right or wrong about them, they just are. Any other laws, or traditions, have been made by human beings with the purpose of controlling and surrendering the world to them; Because all those laws and traditions have come from an interpretation that human beings have a role in the world...human beings cannot tamper with the laws of life.Circumcision is not in accordance with those natural laws, so those who follow that tradition are not the original humans but the "modern" humans. Because their culture has already been "corrupted" by the "modern humans", then we need to minimise the mistakes we made and try to abolish that tradition that can only hurt them...

But again, who are we to decide how others should live their lives?.

For real Emily? Would women dream this up on their own?

I am more intune with some of the previous posts:

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!" It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Quite clever, Emily ! :-)

Raid, Reprisals Leave 71 Dead in Kenya

2005-07-14T12:11:00.000+01:00

As the world mourns the 52 bomb victims in London, the news
of 71 Kenyan dead hardly makes it to the inside of the newspapers.
What you don't know about, you dont care about?

----------------------------------

Raid, Reprisals Leave 71 Dead in Kenya

By RODRIQUE NGOWI
Associated Press Writer
NAIROBI, Kenya
A raid by hundreds of Ethiopian bandits on a remote village in northern Kenya, and reprisals by tribesmen and Kenyan security forces, left at least 71 people dead, including more than two dozen children, police said Wednesday

Armed with guns and spears, the bandits attacked villagers in Turbi, a remote area of Kenya about 350 miles northeast of the capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday killing 45 civilians and stealing thousands of farm animals, police spokesman Jaspher Ombati said Wednesday.

The Roman Catholic Information Service said at least 52 villagers were killed.

The assailants hacked to death and slashed the throats of at least two dozen children at a boarding school in the village, while most of the adults were shot, said medical workers at Wilson Airport, where 10 critically injured victims were being flown to Nairobi for treatment.

The attackers lingered the entire day in the village, shooting and hacking anyone on sight because security forces were slow to respond, according to the Catholic Information Service. Wounded survivors wept or held their heads in anguish as they were carried out of an air ambulance.

"They shot me on this arm and the right thigh," Bati Duba, 33, said while lifting her right arm to show a bullet hole, with visible tendons.

Kenyan security forces pursued the bandits, who numbered between 300 and 500, and killed 16 of them, the deputy Eastern Province police chief, Gerald Oluoch, said in a police report seen by The Associated Press. The security forces also recovered 5,000 sheep and 200 cattle.

In an apparent reprisal, men believed to be from the Gabra tribe killed 10 members of the rival Borana tribe Wednesday as they were being driven to a seminar in Marsabit, 250 miles northeast of Nairobi, Ombati said.

Rev. Aldrin J. Anito, an Italian priest, was driving them when he found the road blocked by stones, Ombati said.

The men at the roadblock asked Anito what tribe the passengers belonged to. On hearing they were Boranas, the attackers killed the 10 passengers - two men, four women and four children - with crude weapons, Ombati said in a statement. The priest was unhurt.

Ombati said security forces interpreted the killings as a revenge attack but he did not explain the link to the raid by Ethiopian bandits.

Said Wabera, a Gabra from the northern Marsabit district where the attacks occurred, said the Ethiopian bandits were Boranas as well, which could have the reason for the attacks. Boranas and Gabras live both in Ethiopia and Kenya.

"Small raids occur between us, but the killings yesterday were the biggest," Aden Mohamed, 55, said at Wilson airport while waiting to see relatives who were among the critically injured.

President Mwai Kibaki condemned the attacks and appealed for calm in brief remarks sent by the Presidential Press Service.

Ombati said no arrests have been made and the attackers were believed to have crossed over to Ethiopia.

July 2005 - the plan is still on!

2005-07-07T09:55:00.000+01:00

We are now 6 months away from the big event:

And it is still somewhat unreal.

But noone has said no. So the plan is still on! :-)
Kenya in December.

Rejseplan fra Jysk

2005-07-07T09:39:00.000+01:00

Grundet problemer med sitet mineting.125mb.com overføres billederne
hermed også til bloggen:

Karibuni !

2005-06-28T10:48:00.000+01:00

Only 6 months before our trip
we realize that our Swahili could be better ....
We need some sort of introduction to the Swahili language.
There are several good sites on the internet though:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/m/smc984/

I especially enjoy:
http://www.yale.edu/swahili/

looked it up:
"I want to learn Swahili" ~ "mie arithi katika durusi Kiswahili".
Wonder if any Kenyans would be able to understand that ?
....

So with a constant mobile internet connection, a pda of sorts, we will be all right ...

http://www.masai-mara.com/mmsw.htm seems a little better:

"I'd like a cold beer" ~ "Tafadhali natakabia [pombe] baridi"

"No problem" ~ "Hakuna matata"

and if in doubt or just plain embarressed, one could go with:
"Where are the toilets?" ~ "Wapi choo"

Absolutely necessary as we go into the Swahile tongue twisters:
http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/sw.htm

Mbuzi hali nazi kwa vile hawezi kupanda ngazi ndipo azifikie nazi.

Katibu Kata wa Kata ya Mkata amekataa katakata kukata miti katika kata ya Mkata.

Kale kakuku kadogo ka kaka kako wapi kaka?

Twanga tope ni twange tope tope hilo la twangwa je?

I think we should memorize these sentences and impress our hosts
with them!

[finding a good context, for: "Where are your chickens, brother?"
might be difficult though"]

ps.
Sorry about the html on this blog, somehow it doesn't look as good as when we started,
but complain to blogspot, I haven't touched anything ?

Safari weddings on the equator ...

2005-06-25T13:06:00.000+01:00

Safari weddings on the equator ... it seems to be an industry :-)

http://tms.ecol.net/wedding/dw_kenya.htm

Udenrigsministeriet om situationen i Kenya

2005-06-24T11:20:00.000+01:00

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_923.html

Travelwarning - statedepartment, Kenya:
This Travel Warning is being issued to remind American citizens of ongoing safety and security concerns in Kenya. This supersedes the Travel Warning of May 21, 2004.
Due to ongoing security concerns, the Department urges Americans to consider carefully the risks of travel to Kenya at this time. The Department recommends that private American citizens in Kenya evaluate their personal security situation in light of the current terrorist threat.
The U.S. Government continues to receive indications of terrorist threats in the region aimed at American and Western interests. Terrorism poses a continuing threat in Kenya and throughout East Africa. Terrorist actions may include suicide operations, bombings, kidnappings, or attacks on civil aviation. U.S. citizens should be aware of the risk of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets in public places including tourist sites and locations where westerners are known to congregate, as well as commercial operations associated with U.S. or other Western interests.
American citizens resident in or traveling to Kenya should remain vigilant, particularly in public places frequented by foreigners such as hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and places of worship, and should also avoid demonstrations and large crowds. In particular, there is a continuing threat against westerners in the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal region.

Nyt fra Udenrigsministeriet vedr. sikkerhedssituationen i Kenya:

http://www.um.dk/da/menu/Borgerservice/FoerRejsen/Rejsevejledninger/RejsevejledningKenya

REJSEVEJLEDNING KENYA
Gyldig 24-06-2005
Seneste opdatering 01-06-2005
Vedvarende og troværdige oplysninger peger på en fortsat meget høj risiko for terrorangreb mod civile mål i Kenya. Turistrejser og andre ikke nødvendige rejser til Kenya bør derfor nøje overvejes. Danske statsborgere, der opholder sig i Kenya, bør udvise den største agtpågivenhed på offentlige steder, hvor mange vesterlændinge ofte opholder sig, især hoteller, restauranter, diskoteker, barer, strande og religiøse helligdomme. Manglende økonomisk vækst og deraf følgende fattigdom har medført en forringelse af sikkerheden i dele af Kenya, deriblandt ved enkelte turistattraktioner. Med de undtagelser, der angives nedenfor, anses safari-reservater generelt for forholdsvis sikre. Under hensyn til den generelle sikkerhedssituation i North Eastern Province, i Tana River distriktet i Coast Province og i Moyale, Isiolo og Marsabit distrikterne i Eastern Province anbefales den størst mulige forsigtighed ved rejse til disse områder. Det anbefales rejsende til Lamu at rejse med fly. Rejsende, der vælger at rejse til Lamu ad landevejen, skal rejse i konvoj på strækningen Malindi/Garsen/Lamu. Rejsende, der ønsker at besøge Samburu og Shaba reservaterne (nord for byen Isiolo), bør anvende anerkendte rejsearrangører og rejse i dagtimerne. Dårligt vedligeholdte veje besværliggør trafikken mange steder i landet. Tyverier og røverier kan finde sted overalt og på ethvert tidspunkt, især i Nairobi og Mombasa. Kriminaliteten synes, især i Nairobi, at være præget af stigende brutalitet. Rejsende bør derfor udvise stor agtpågivenhed. Tasker, ure, smykker, kontanter og rejsepas er hyppigt genstand for tyverier. Værdigenstande og rejsedokumenter bør derfor opbevares i sikkerhedsboks, men man bør altid have kopi af pas og andre vigtige dokumenter på sig. Vær på vagt overfor "falske politibetjente", "gadebørn" (Nairobi), "beach boys" (Mombasa, kysten), og pas i det hele taget på lommetyve. Væbnede overfald på biler (bilkapringer) kan ske overalt, men er hyppigere i Nairobi og Mombasa end andre steder. Forsøg ikke at undslippe eventuelle røvere eller at gøre modstand mod dem. Man bør undlade at rejse efter mørkets frembrud, også i egen bil. Generelt bør færdsel på øde steder, især på øde strande, undgås. Rejsende bør undgå politiske møder og demonstrationer, der erfaringsmæssigt kan udvikle sig voldeligt. Tag ikke imod mad og drikkevarer fra fremmede.

Preliminary thoughts on what to see !

2005-03-23T10:32:00.000Z

Looked a little on www.kenya-safari.blogspot.com and www.kenya.com . Posted afterwards on rec.travel.africa, where I got the following reply from Liz:

IMPORTANT enough to top-post:
Number one big hint:
*Don't* try to cram too much in, or you'll spend all your time travellingbetween destinations rather than seeing the animals.

In message <42404a8b$0$201$edfadb0f@dread11.news.tele.dk>
"Simon wrote:
[> I am going to Kenya in December and will have app. 7 days to spend doing
> tourist stuff. Obviously it will not be a problem to spend this time, but I
>will been very happy for suggestions on what will the best way to spend this
>time on a somewhat limited budget. ]

LIZ:
Depends *how* limited the budget!Can't be all that limited if you're thinking of gorilla trekking - IIRC, thepermit *alone* is $250 per day in Uganda.
[> Both Safari, (gorilla) tracking and mountain trekking etc. seems very
> interesting - but given the limitations in time I suppose something has to
> give. And perhaps something else would actually be just as interesting? ]

Depends what you're interested in!

[> I imagine some sort of Safari is a must? And that both a Masai Mara trip or
> a Serengeti trip into Tanzania will be available from Nairobi. Looking at
> some of the agencies offerings - a 3 to 4 day trip seems reasonable? Any
> comments? ]

Serengeti would be preferable to the Mara in December, as that is where thebig numbers of animals will be.If I had - only :-((( - a week in Kenya in December (the short rains shouldbe over, but nothing is guaranteed)
I'd probably spend 3/4 nights inSamburu/Buffalo Springs, a night at either Treetops/The Ark or MountainLodge and 2/3 nights in Amboseli.
Alternatively, if you wanted to include Serengeti, you could do 2 nights inAmboseli, 3 nights in Serengeti and 2 nights at the Ngorongoro caldera.Or some combination of the Northern Circuit in Tz, leaving out Amboseli butincluding Tarangire or Lake Manyara.

My ***number one big hint*** repeated:
*Don't* try to cram too much in, or you'll spend all your time travellingbetween destinations rather than seeing the animals.

[> More ambitious - I have been looking at Gorilla tracking expeditions in> Uganda:
> http://www.uwa.or.ug/
> http://www.uwa.or.ug/gorilla.html
> http://www.uwa.or.ug/bwindi.html
> > Is that realistic in the given timeframe -
>or/ and is that something you> would normally only do on a much longer trip? ]

If that's your *priority*, i.e. it might be your only trip to Africa (don'teven think about betting on it!) and you really want to see gorillas, thanit's realistic. The last time I was in Kenya ('02) you could apparentlyarrange a gorilla trek from the tour desk in Nairobi hotels (craftily,they gave a price "not including permits", but without an indication of whatthe permits would cost, which was quite naughty, I thought!There are only so many gorilla permits per day. I don't know how likely theyare to be full up in December: they usually advise you to book well inadvance. Friends who went one July said that people on another tour thoughtthey had permits for two consecutive days. It turned out they only had one,and the permits for the second day were sold out so they just had to 'hangaround the camp' for the morning, pretty miffed.

[> > Reading websites on Kenya I cant really get an easy handle on treks around
> Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro. Often one reads something about 5 or 6 day
> treks for each mountain. But does shorter trips make sense - and what would
> be a good introduction? ]

I'm not a hill walker, but I believe that time is ready to minimise yourchances of getting altitude sickness, which apparently has nothing to dowith your age or general physical condition.

[> Starting in Nairobi I find the net crowded with horror stories from Nairobi.
> People afraid of stopping at (the few) stoplights in the city because of
> carjackings? What is the truth here? Is this a city to avoid as much as
> possible. ]

Yes.Get a taxi arranged from your accommodation if you need to go anywhere inthe town.They'll wait for you for ages, usually for no extra charge.If you really must wander around Nairobi on your own, look very scruffy andpoor - dusty shoes are a big help!.

[Torben: Turen ind fra Lufthavnen til bymidten er notorisk farlig i Nairobi - skal arrangeres af hotel?]

Info about all the places mentioned above except Uganda on my non-commercialwebsite: main index http://www.v-liz.com/

Slainte
Liz

----------

I also got a reply from Jan concerning th Gorilla tracking:

The price of the permits has gone up last year :
For Uganda it is now $360.
In Rwanda a permit is now $375.For both visits you may have to add the cost of a visa (Uganda : $30, Rwanda : $60).You will also spend at least day travelling to Uganda/Rwanda and back. So it will take at least 3 days. The road to Bwindi in Uganda is not very good, so I think going to Rwanda is may be easier (may be flying from Nairobi to Kigali). The main roads in Rwanda are in very good condition.
I visited Uganda+Rwanda last year in an organised tour.
The travel company has more detailed informat on their website (http://www.gorillatours.com).

Jan.

----

Hans-Georg Michna <hans-georgNoEmailPlease@michna.com> offered the following advice:

essentially I only repeat what Liz already wrote.
If I had onlyone week, starting and ending in Nairobi,
I would aim for twomajor destinations to cut down on travel time.

If you'd try more, I'd retort that what you might gain in width,you'd only lose in depth.

I would skip the gorillas, because they are too far away and toodifficult to get to. I think it is not a good idea to aim forthe gorillas on a first time trip to east Africa.

I'm not sure if I'd go to Tanzania either, because of the longerdistances, except perhaps if you fly in, but that's again moreexpensive.

My first thought is always Samburu and Maasai Mara, followed byAmboseli, all in Kenya. A night in The Ark may or may not be agood idea, depending on whether you enjoy the night and can feelgood while not sleeping much that night. If, however, you preferto go to bed early and sleep long, then skip those mountainlodges. They wouldn't be worth the money and the time.For travel preparations and background information have a lookat http://www.michna.com/kenya.htm .

Hans-Georg

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lots of stuff to consider.

-Simon

20/02/05 - Rejsen er bestilt!

2005-02-21T09:55:00.000Z

D. 20/02 2005 - kun 10 mdr. før afrejse - var Erik og jeg så inde og bestille rejsen hos Jydsk Rejsebureau!
Det er en åben plan - så der vil løbende komme ændringer til den. De foreløbige detaljer findes på: http://mineting.125mb.com/kenya/kenya.htm . Desværre er det ikke lykkedes mig at kunne vise pdf sider på det site - så den imponerende jysk grafik findes så heller ikke der ... Men pdf filen kan så fremsendes via email.
Afrejse d. 10/12, hjemrejse d. 18/12 - prisen inkl. 2 overnatninger 5.500 kr.
Foreløbigt 3 tilmeldte: Erik, Lars og undertegnede.

-Simon

The Bloggers

2005-01-20T09:58:00.000Z

Team members on this blog is Lars, Simon and Erik.
All sign in as KenyaFriend - and end their post with
their own initials ! :-)

i.e.
-Simon

Setting up the blog

2005-01-19T17:32:00.000Z

Aarhus January 19th 2005.

The wedding is now 11 months away - and its long overdue that we set up
this blog on the preparations :-)

Basicly we want a place to share our thoughts - and communicate with
each other on this project: Going to Kenya (from Denmark) in December 2005.

It should be possible to Itemize the subjects under relevant headers.
Pictures is slightly more difficult - but for now I think they can be posted
under http://mineting.125mb.com - and we can the write the links here.

Sofar Simon, Erik and Lars are teammembers in this blog.