Friday, September 16, 2011
Landing in Nairobi
On the flight to Kenya, I actually felt scared for the first time since I began this trip. I don't actually know what it is that brought the fear on, maybe it's just that seeing Ethiopia has been a dream of mine for years but the rest of my trip, it's mainly based on curiosity and a tiny bit of craziness *as well planned as it might be, it's still crazy to be visiting 5 countries just nje*. Kenya is the first Malaria region I'm visiting, I've taken all my shots and am on the Malaria tablets as well, (better safe than dead if you ask me) so maybe that's why I was a bit scared, a lot of people thought this was a crazy idea, but this was the first time I actually thought they might be right.
When I landed in Nairobi, I don't know what I had been expecting, but what I did see shocked me! This, I guess is the reason I love to travel, to get over my stereotypes and discover new places. It was 2h30am when I got here, in the early hours of the morning. The cab driver was super-efficient, had a printed out page with my name on it and everything. The shock came when we drove out of the airport. The bright lights, bill-boards and modernity (hope that's a real word) of it all. Passing a Steers, Shell garage and a huge bill-board advertising Smirnoff Ice, I realized that this is not deep dark Africa, but a big city with a lot going on. The beautiful tall buildings, adverts for the latest BMW's, I realized that I actually didn't know anything about how progressive Kenya is (well, except for the bits i read about on How We Made It in Africa).
I was pleasantly surprised by this, but a tiny part of me was hoping for a place that's a little less 'Jo'burg' and more exotic (like Ethiopia). But it's good to be surprised, now I know,
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