The Land of Rhinos

This first post is going to be catch up from the trip to Kenya.

August 28, 2010

Just arrived in Kenya via Istanbul.  I am sitting waiting for my flight to Kisumu.  My flight arrived in Nairobi at 1:20 am and my flight to Kisumu doesn’t leave until 7:30.  I am waiting at a little café in the international terminal because the domestic terminal doesn’t open until 5:30 am.

The flight from Chicago to Istanbul was pretty good.  Turkish Airlines is quite lovely.  I had an entire row to myself on the airplane (4 seats) until a Turkish gentleman ditched his wife and took the liberty of sitting in my row and occupying 2 of the seats.  Regardless, I was able to sleep about 7 or 8 hours on that flight.  I would say it was more like 5-7 good hours - but sleep nonetheless.

The Second flight was not quite as luxurious as the first.  It was a smaller airplane and did not have the personal media or space that the first flight provided.  It kind of eases you into the third world.

Acquiring a visa was pretty easy.  It cost $25 which is half the price of my last visa for Kenya.  Not sure what that’s all about – but I wasn’t going to argue.  John later informed me that they dropped the cost to lure more tourists.  I am not sure that the $25 really is a make or break it for a trip to Kenya, but I like their moxy.

Little notes:

Turkish Delights are not delightful in fact they should be called Turkish Muck rolled in pistachios or coconut or whatever.  While laying over in Istanbul, I was eager to purchase some of these delectable candies based on a memory of how incredibly delicious they tasted to me in Turkmenistan.  A fellow Peace Corps Volunteer had brought some back after her vacation in Turkey.  

I guess that context really affects our taste buds.  I tried one at the Bazaar Duty Free to help me decide which one to get and pleck not so yummy.  So, thank you Duty Free for putting out those samples so I didn’t waste 13 euros on something so delight-less.

Another lovely tid bit:

There is this super super bizarre middle aged man (I am guessing Russian) who is sitting in the café as well waiting for his domestic flight.  He is listening to an mp3 device and singing (as if there is no one else here) a seriously out of tune version of From a Distance (yes, Bette Midler).  It's pretty classic, but great to know that God is watching us from a distance!

I wish that I could tell you that the video below is of that guy, but it's not.  I must have been too exhausted to think about capturing his performance on film.  I could have had a Youtube sensation on my hands.

Below is a small clip of the domestic terminal at Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi.  

Next up: A tour of the house that I am staying at and a recap of my first few days in Kenya.