Nairobbery

Nairobi, Kenya has the nickname -- earned or not -- of Nairobbery. Our experience would be more accurately, yet not as eloquently described as Naihighwayrobbery.

We didn't spend enough time to get to know Kenya's charms, only transited through on our way into and out of Tanzania. When we landed in Nairobi, we found a very friendly visitor information desk that called a hotel for us, reserved our shuttle and called us a cab. We were cautiously surprised at how well organized Nairobi was. Our caution was confirmed when we found out that we paid almost double for our bus tickets than we should have. When we got the the hotel that night, Najam went across the street to check on the shuttle for the next day. The attendant at the front desk stopped him before he left and insisted that he take an attendant with him for his safety. We weren't even in the dangerous parts of the city.

When we came back through Nairobi, it was a 14 hour overnight layover before the second flight in a five flight journey home. The Nairobi airport is incredibly uncomfortable with no carpet anywhere and unmovable armrests on every chair. Najam was also feeling incredibly ill and had to run to the bathroom several times per hour. A janitor who was a permanent fixture in the men's restroom noticed Najam's comings and goings and tried to extort money from him for using the facility. In the middle of the night, the manager of the VIP lounge approached us and said that we could use the lounge if we paid him. We were also approached by "airport security" who wanted to know all the details of our travel plans and probably would also tried to extort money from us had there been less people around. All of this bloodsucking fit right in with the pesky mosquitoes who also wouldn't leave us alone throughout the night. O, did I mention the government who took $100 from us just to transit through?

One thing that I am very grateful for is that we got out of there just one day before elections. It was interesting to hear the discourse around elections, with safety over person and property being a major theme. Fears became fulfilled when widely accepted claims of election fraud erupted in rioting and violence leaving hundreds dead. Kenya was largely held as one of the more stable countries in the region. Economic and political recovery from this incident will not be easy.

Zanzibar

Aside from the incessant touts, dodging sewage on the streets and the attempted pick pocket, we enjoyed Arusha a great deal. But, we had more than a week left in our journey and more adventure in us so we headed for Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania with gorgeous beaches and a rich history and culture. To get there, we took an early morning bus to Dar Es Salam and a ferry to Zanzibar the next morning.

We landed in Stone Town, a unique, beautiful and pleasantly claustrophobic place. The buildings are old and arranged in a narrow maze of streets and alleys. The island is predominantly Islamic which shows in the architecture. Many of the wooden doorways are large and wonderfully handcrafted, adorned with brass studs whose original purpose was apparently to deter elephants from ramming them down.

After a couple of days in stone town, we headed to the famed northeast beaches. Being almost on the equator, the water is incredibly warm and aqua. We strolled, swam and relaxed. Najam made meditative sand balls. We went out on a boat, snorkeled at a small offshore island and ate fresh caught and BBQ'd fish. Much of our trip was very hectic, constantly in transit, constantly on guard, constantly deciding where we would sleep, how we would eat and what we would do. It was nice to just settle and enjoy paradise for a couple of days and a perfect way to end our trip.