Hot Local Market

                                              A Smothering Market

      In Nairobi, Kenya everyone told us it was a must to visit the local market. After a couple of days we decided to check it out, as it was only a short walk from our hotel. A six-foot high wooden fence surrounded the perimeter of the huge market which covered an entire large city block.

    Inside, hundreds of small booths stood side by side on both sides of narrow aisles extending from  one end of the complex the other. The lack of air circulation made it very hot inside and the odors were absolutely awful—really assaulting! It had been years since I had confronted such strong BO (body odor for the young unfamiliar with his old fashioned term popular before the advent of deodorants)

     Prices were high, but haggling over price was part of the game; a game I’ve never enjoyed, although I know a lot of people embrace the custom in many places/cultures.

     For a short while I just looked around at the merchandise in the booths, much of it the same from booth to booth.  My son was nervous and kept moving as he carried a lot of expensive camera equipment in his backpack. In spite of that, some slasher managed to cut his pack but didn’t get any of his gear.

     It didn’t take me long to become hot, sweaty and claustrophobic.  It seemed all the locals were smoking which added to the air quality and with everyone with a lighted cigarette in his hand all I could think about was the firetrap we were in.

     We both had seen enough of the must see market and had no desire to return. Cutting the visit short, we walked back to the hotel where we discovered a nice long clean cut in the backpack. Whatever instrument was used it was sharp!  With some repair to my sons backpack I was happy we could move on to our safari with all his equipment intact.

KENYAN MEMORIES

                                                      Nairobi

      Kenya is about the size of Texas with a population of 25 million, with two million living in Nairobi. English is the official language but everyone also speaks Swahili as that is how the tribes communicate with each other. Nairobi is a large metropolitan city. Forty-five ethnic tribes live in Kenya. The smallest numbers 250 people. The largest tribe is Kukuyu

      In 1899 the Uganda--Mobassa Railroad was being built by coolies from India. The English spent a lot of money to have the railroad built so in the early 1900s they encouraged white people to migrate to Kenya. In 1909 Nairobi was the capitol of British South Africa which consisted of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Now Nairobi is the largest city between Johannesburg and Cairo The automobile arrived here in 1913.

        The city is large. The tourist part of the city is safe to walk as there are askari (police) everywhere keeping the pesky hawkers at bay. The hotels have askari on each floor patrolling the corridors. We were accompanied as we walked to a nearby restaurant one evening. Yet, I never felt threatened nor afraid.

      The place I felt most uncomfortable was the native market that everyone told us we absolutely needed to visit. It was crowded, hot, smelly and stuffy. Hundreds of small vendor niches were separated by narrow pathways. Smoking was a popular pastime, which I saw as a real fire hazard in the crowded areas. The entire complex which covered a large city block was fenced and with only one or two entrances/exits I could foresee a terrible scene in the case of fire and a stampede. Neither of us bought anything nor saw anything that really intrigued us. Although my son kept constantly moving someone did manage to slice his backpack, but fortunately did not get a hold of any of his camera equipment.

      The merchandise seemed to be all the same, so our visit was very short. We came, we saw, we left.

SOME GREAT KENYAN MEMORIES

The Carnivore Restaurant is a popular and famous tourist restaurant. In the center of the restaurant a large cooking is pit is in where all kinds of meats are cooked. Waiters came to the table and told us what meat he carried and served us anything we wanted to try. The food was good.

Although not much for exotic dining, it was a fun experience.

While in Kenya we traveled nearly 1600 miles in Nissan vans equipped with special pop top roofs. These vans also had special guards to protect their undersides on the sometimes rough terrain.

After riding over the arid areas it was a surprise to find our hotels in an oasis in the middle of the desert. We always had a quaint cottage with comfortable accommodations.

Part of the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro are in Kenya but all of the mountain is in Tanzania

The first day we saw the wildebeest migration was simply awesome, especially since we thought we would miss the annual event. It was spellbinding every time we saw the thousands of animals followed by thousands of zebras.

Waking to barking zebras in the marsh at Amboseli.

Falling to sleep to the sound of rippling water and a crackling fire in out fireplace!

On safari game runs are done early in the morning (6:30 AM) before breakfast and late afternoon/early evening---the times of day animals are most active as they rest in the heat of the day

The day a beautiful spotted leopard crossed right in front of our van.

Watching the sleeping cheetahs awaken and take off with the lion in pursuit—it ended in a draw as the lion is a sprinter.

The mating leopards in the hillsides—what a lucky find!

The tented facilities in the Masai Mara in the northern Serengeti and all its animals. The big five of Africa are the buffalo, elephant, rhino, leopard, and lion. We were lucky to see them all!

You might want to check blogs: The Ark 10-26-11 Jacaranda tree 7-7-10

 

Karen Blitzen House 3-13-13 Feeding Buttercup, the giraffe

 

Ambroseli Wildebeest 11-30-1 Masai Mara 3-5-12 The Masai 5-6-12

INTERESTING TRIVIA

BITS AND PIECES

Our hotel room in Stockholm, Sweden overlooked the Kings Hops Park where hops were grown in the 18^th century for the royal brewery. We walked to the town center ending up at King Garden Square. Five hundred years ago it was the king’s kitchen garden where he raised vegetables. Now surrounded by the Sweden House, NK dept store and the harbor front, it is a great place for people watching.

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The staircases are ubiquitous to Quebec City, Canada  and a reminder of the city’s past,. At one time as many as 25 such staircases connected the two parts of the hilly city. Upper Town was the home of dignitaries, religious and political leaders, where Lower Town contains the oldest neighborhood in North America. Once crowded with traders, workers and the disenfranchised, now it is a delightful restored smart shopping and historical area.

Breakneck staircase is the first staircase built in 1893. The 170 steps are built on the site of the original 17^th century stairway that linked the town. Today shops and cafés can be found at various levels. We walked sections of the staircase at various times as we wandered around the city as a means to get where we were going but did not climb it all at once just for the sake of doing so.

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In Italy a bar is an open-air sandwich shop. Food is consumed while standing at a small high table. Sitting for a meal is pretty much for tourists and in 1992 cost $2-$5 for the privilege of sitting.  We did find a chain restaurant, which had very good food at a reasonable price, and where we could sit for free. I learned Italians were not big on condiments on their sandwiches. On my next trip I’ll think about carrying some packets of my favorite condiments with me!

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The Carnivore Restaurant, located in the Nairobi outskirts is a popular and famous tourist restaurant. A large cooking pit is in the center of the restaurant where all kinds of wild game are cooked. Waiters come to the table to serve you and tell you what the meat is and you can try any or all of it. The food was good, although I’m not much for exotic dining. It was certainly a different dining experience. The view of the tropical landscaping was lovely from the dining room. Our interesting lunch was something one should do once and we both were game (no pun intended) to at least try everything.