Kenya

This article or post is about shedding a little light on the dark continent. Mainly aimed at those of you whose main source of information is the Geographic channel and news of which has portrayed Africa as uncivilised, jungle-ish, barbaric, disease infested etc. I feel animals and indeginous rural African communities are a little cliche but Neil, my Aussie pal, doesn't think so. He feels people coming to Africa want to see all the 'cliches' but how about those who will never come to Africa and there source of knowledge is TV and the internet showing the big bellied kwashiorkor children of famine, the war in Darfur, the Masaai warrior, the rebels of congo and the many mud huts? As much as all these are tourist attractions, we cannot sit back and let the world define us and put us on a pedestal and all we can do is whine about how we need more relief aid and how the G8 is doing nothing for us it is the responsibilty of each African to upgrade Africa. Do not mis-understand, I am proud of Africa...every bit of it, we have a lot to offer, things you can never find anywhere else on the planet; beautiful people and culture, warmth, permanent summer, amazing wildlife and the most beautiful sceneries.

Living in Africa today means facing the fact that there are still basic questions about human rights that are unanswered and maybe unanswerable.
Yet poverty, epidemic, and human rights issues are only one aspect of Africa. It is a continent vibrant with life and music and people who love, people who welcome the world to its doorstep. It is a continent filled with dignity, men and women who walk as though they have royal blood. Africans have resilient spirits.

Therefore, this post is just an addition of the usual wild life and scenery........a little bit more contemporary you could say......a product of an idle day, idle day well spent huh?

Nairobi also known as the city in the sun. The name Nairobi comes from the Maasai word, "Enkare Nyrobi" meaning the "place of cool water". This is a modern capital separated from the great wilderness that surrounds it. Just outside the city is Nairobi National Park, 113 sq kms of plains, cliffs and forest. The park is home to large herds of Zebra, Wildebeest, Buffalo, Giraffe and more. Rhino, Cheetah, and a large number of Lions are all found here.

The entire city has a boundless energy and is a place of great contrasts where race, tribe and origin all become facets of a unique Nairobi character. Nairobi is as compelling a place as any and displays enormous vitality and buzz. On any downtown pavement you can see a complete cross-section of Kenyans, plus every variety of tourist and refugees from many African countries.There are countless activities to take part in Nairobi boast the largest ice rink in the continent the only other ones Egypt, South Africa and Cote d'ivoire - it is not as massive as it sounds really :) there are beautiful parks and huge palacial malls such as the Sarit centre, Village market and the just opened Nakumatt Westgate with cinemas, bowling alleys, numerous restaurants etc

Rink at the Panari Sky centre

Jeevanjee Gardens
Uhuru park

Uhuru Park


Jamia Mosque

Statue of Dedan Kimathi on Kimathi street

Statue of Jomo Kenyatta

Courtesy of colonialism, some habits die hard. For instance the national beverage is tea. Universally drunk at breakfast and as a pick-me-up at any time, it's a weird variant on the classic British brew: milk, water, lots of sugar and tea leaves, brought to the boil in a kettle and served scalding hot. Some of the buildings are in colonial style and there are still those old London cabs as you will see in the pics below.

Windsor golf club

I was slightly perturbed when a colleague visiting from South Africa asked me how updated the movies were and for some reason thought Kenya is so backward we probably receive movie a month or so after release. Some of the cinemas have state of the art dolby systems and display and you even get a choice of either a wide screen or a prestigious home theatre while the rest uphold common cinema standards but are good and well updated displaying movies at least 48 hours after their released. Mall

Sarit Centre
Cinema

The Village Market

Food court at the Village Market

The Junction

There are various sporting activities other than soccer which is the most popular. Rugby is quite big in Kenya, water sports, kayaking, polo, golf, bungee jumping to mention but a few.




There are also annual events such as motor shows :Concour d'elegance, Total motor show, The Rhino charge and the East African motor show.


Concour d'elegance

Concour d'elegance

KCB safari rally

Moving on swiftly to the coastal city of Mombasa. This is the main holiday destination for most Kenyans. The city has a heavy Arabic influence and is dominantly muslim, this is is evident in the architectural designs of the buildings, dress style, culture and even music. Old Town, Mombasa
Fort Jesus Swahili woman

Temple Mombasa.



Nairobi is like a hard drug, addictive and hard to get over. There are loads of fun things to do and places. Vibrance is simply an understatement and you can be sure of having something or somewhere to go to.If there's any city made for partying in Africa, Nairobi is that place. Nairobians party and party hard like every weekend is 1999. There is always something going down somewhere whether it is a campus night or just another DJ or radio station gig.

Tusker safari sevens

The audience
Spectators

Chill-mode


The gals Dance competition


Carnivore

Thought I would add a personal touch to it just as a conclusion.

University of NairobiSome of my clasmates at uniLiz a little jolly

Pool tournament Me

Doing there thing

Ziki was too hungry to keep up


The future suddenly got too brightWaiting their turn


Nelly and I at a party

I wonder what they had had, looks like they are in some sort of trance to me ;D

My boss had no idea what I was up to :)

My workmate Salome and I



These are a few blogs on Kenya I found pretty interesting so if you get the chance you can have a look

http://mypartofnairobi.blogspot.com/

http://texasinafrica.blogspot.com/

Well thats it. Let me know what you think, ideas are welcome.

Christa