Today is 20th September 2009. Glad that it is a holiday in Kenya, Id ul Fitr, courtesy of our Muslim brothers and sisters across the world. First congratulations to you all who have successfully been able to deny the flesh and discipline it during the past 30 days!
This weekend has been a blessing as i have been able to completely rest.This is significant for me as over the past 8 weeks i have been shuttling across different cities and for that i owe it to myself to update my blogs and journeys through these cities in Africa. It is also significant as tomorrow i embark on another burst of travel that will take me to Maputo, Johannesburg and Kampala. At the end of this round of travel i will have earned myself a good vacation and rest from travel for all the month of October!
It was quite an experience to team up with Janet and Flora to go visit Pastor Andrew (my brother) in Kiserian. Part of the experience came from driving my sisters little Vits! (a pink one at that) through the long journey to Kiserian. it went on really well and we were able to test the mettle of the car through the Ngong hills and the final steep descent in to Pastors residence.
Visiting Pastor was also significant as two days ago he had some "unwelcome visitors" who struck at midnight and in frustration of not being able to take away anything they extensively damaged Pastors car. Our mission was to encourage Pastor's family to stick to their resolve to stay put in the land they have set foot on to possess and dwell in.
I heard an interesting story from one of the neighbours who has learnt how to stay put in the face of the frequent attacks from the hooligans..apparently to discourage the new arrivals, the Masai developed a habit of stealing diary cows from this particular neighbour. this stealing was not for any economic gain as the dairy cow is not adaptable as the Masai cow is so the Masai would slaughter it not very far from where they stole the cow. this practise went on one homestead a week. the Masai raiders did the mistake of visiting the same homestead after 3weeks. by this time the owner of this homestead was fed up and had wired up his compound with TNT (the same stuff used in quarries to blast ballast...and when the raiders ventured in they were blasted off to kingdom come. Of course there was no chance not to repeat the same mistake again and ever since they have lived peacefully. i gather this happened 3 years ago.
Travelling with Flo meant leaving my nephews Malcolm and Jerry with Keith and Kyle. this worked very well as when we got back the kids had had their fair share of play and were so exhausted and ready for bed time.
The bible says in Psm 133:1-6 that how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity...it is like the oil that was poured upon Aaron's head, that flowed down his beards...it is like the dew upon mount Hermon.....for there the Lord commands a blessing, even life forevermore.
I claim that blessing today
So tomorrow the packing starts again as i head to Maputo for a series of meetings with customers and operators. That however will be the subject of another blog.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
20th April 2009
Nairobi, Kenya
Today was an interesting day, i went to the office with my mind preoccupied, and it remained so all day. Today was also the real first day after my computer crashed and was restored. i am feeling like i am new at my place of work, with data worth 18months lost or partially lost. Grateful for an investment i made in an external drive 120Gigs...men that's some space. over and above saving my music was also able to do a random back up of my stuff. though not so current but it at least has quite a number of useful files
Just a though to all you out there...for a second think of what would happen if you lost your laptop or computer. This felt like being in a fire! for real, when you survive but lose irreplaceable stuff...like mementos that you collected in your travels around the world.
Spent the day fighting on email which i hate but i have sat back for too long and at this point it is being mistaken for complicity so no more this week of letting people get by with murder.
I am just coming up to completing the most interesting history novel that i have read so far: The Assegai by Wilbur Smith. Very interesting that this book is based on precolonial Kenya and places i know like the back of my mind, some courtesy of my long lost friend Sapati who still happens to be a neighbour of mine.
Its the end of another of my days and i am tired and my eyes heavy. Glad to be alive and living in this moment
Nairobi, Kenya
Today was an interesting day, i went to the office with my mind preoccupied, and it remained so all day. Today was also the real first day after my computer crashed and was restored. i am feeling like i am new at my place of work, with data worth 18months lost or partially lost. Grateful for an investment i made in an external drive 120Gigs...men that's some space. over and above saving my music was also able to do a random back up of my stuff. though not so current but it at least has quite a number of useful files
Just a though to all you out there...for a second think of what would happen if you lost your laptop or computer. This felt like being in a fire! for real, when you survive but lose irreplaceable stuff...like mementos that you collected in your travels around the world.
Spent the day fighting on email which i hate but i have sat back for too long and at this point it is being mistaken for complicity so no more this week of letting people get by with murder.
I am just coming up to completing the most interesting history novel that i have read so far: The Assegai by Wilbur Smith. Very interesting that this book is based on precolonial Kenya and places i know like the back of my mind, some courtesy of my long lost friend Sapati who still happens to be a neighbour of mine.
Its the end of another of my days and i am tired and my eyes heavy. Glad to be alive and living in this moment
Friday, April 17, 2009
My journey to Bamako, Mali
I have just completed my two days sojourn in Mali. Many years while in my history class, while studying the trans-Saharan trade, I never thought i would set foot ever in this country. I still vividly remember the statement: Ghana, Mali, Songhai and Kanem were the main trans-Saharan trade routes...
Its great to have our very own airline, Kenya Airways, flying me directly to Bamako. The journey back will also be direct and will take 7hours overnight flying through Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Uganda and finally home.
Landing in Senou International Airport with 40degrees heat isn't exactly pleasant esp after starting my journey very early in the morning and dressed appropriately. This experience makes me understand the Muslim tradition of burying their dead 12 hours after they die. There is NO way in hell that a body can survive for more than 12 hours in this kind of heat.
All the same the initial experience is interesting as you meet immigration police who purport not to speak any English. I am not in the habit of getting a visa on landing as lots of things can happen as happened to me in Mali. Paid $40 for my visa which due to the language breakdown i was not sure if i paid too much or just enough but your guess is as good as mine. Luckily my hotel pick up was ready and started my journey without much ado.
Its also not fully when you have a 30minute bus ride into the city centre and the van does not have air conditioning in now 42degrees heat dead in the heart of the Sahara. Of course you arrive drenched at the Hotel. I missed a booking at the Radisson Hotel in Mali which i come to learn is the best and i end up staying right next door at the Hotel Kome Residence.
The front porch of the hotel is decent and the staff are helpful. The room is spacious but not up to scratch. For Mali this is a great hotel with free wireless for unlimited browsing and a spacious room but this does not come with breakfast.
Do remember that Mali is French speaking and almost 100% Muslim so don't be inconsiderate like me and order for grease in the morning in the name of sausages and bacon! Do brush up your French in anticipation of this. The natives also speak the local language, Bambara
I am in Bamako for an Orange AMEA device meeting which proves to be interesting. When the sun cools down in the evening I ask a cab guy to give me a quick tour of Bamako City. This tour takes us down the two bridges that straddle the Niger River. Downtown Bamako is quite like any other African city: Kampala, Lusaka, Luanda et al.
Quite a number of the taxis are old Mercedes Benz perhaps imported from the US and France. There is quite a bit of motorcycles on the streets. One sight that jazzes me as we drive along is the sight of this lady who is about 22 with stretch jeans on and zooms past us in her motorcycle with her handbag slung over one side of the handles of the motorcycle. I gesture animatedly to the taxi driver and try to mumble all the French i know and urge the driver to speed up for us to take another peek at her...at best i manage to say " mademoiselle magnifique" at which we both laugh and nod our heads vigorously in agreement.
The taxi rolls by the very busy downtown market with the Mali version of Kenyan "matatus" with no windows, we also drive by the Keita Stadia and by the entertainment spots which he points out. He tells me that Byblos is the hottest places to be on a Wednesday and Friday and swears like every African national would that Malian women are the most beautiful. We also pass by one called Bla Bla! and by now I am smiling to myself thinking of what an enterprising friend of mine would call it in Nairobi...Brah Brah! We drive by the University and the talent there is evident on the streets as it is after classes.
The one hour ride comes abruptly to an end and it is 7pm and the temperature is not letting still at 40degrees
My next two days are spent without much ado shuttling between my hotel and the Radisoon where the meetings are held. In our main presentation to the Orange team, the hosts request that my colleague presents in French...I am sunk as i am the only person out of fifteen in the room who does not understand French. I have promised myself to learn French, but that is after Portuguese which i am hard at at the moment
The night before our departure the local Orange team treated us to dinner at a restaurant by the river with a breathtaking view and magnificent food. To reach here we have to take a bus ride through very rough terrain to get to the river bank. At dinner the scripture comes true...Psm 23:... You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.... I am sitting right next to the Samsung Koreans on one side and opposite me is the Alcatel Frenchmen. Behind me is the ZTE Chinese and diagonally for me are the Huawei Chinese!
ON my day of departure i have opted to do another trip round Bamako enroute to the Aeroporto. My driver this time is worse as he doesn't understand a single word of English. Before leaving the hotel i get an interpreter to explain to him what i want to see. So off we go to the Mali Museum! I am taking photographs on my mobile device on the go when all of a sudden he bursts out in a tirade of french and shaking his hands and motioning vigorously with his free hand. For a second my Nairobi instinct kick in and i hide my camera out of the invisible pick pocket's reach..indeed i hide it in between my feet and look up straight. at the same time my mind is trying to make a mental recollection of the french..i remember hearing polizei and papara... and in a split second my mind registers that he is telling me i cant take pictures of the police.
At the museum all goes well. Everything is annotated in French so i "float" through it all. What was amazing though was to see the ancient civilization and the magnificent copy of the Mosque in Djenne and the Mosque in Timbouktou! Yes, Timbouktou is in Mali
17th April 2009, Bamako Mali
Landing in Senou International Airport with 40degrees heat isn't exactly pleasant esp after starting my journey very early in the morning and dressed appropriately. This experience makes me understand the Muslim tradition of burying their dead 12 hours after they die. There is NO way in hell that a body can survive for more than 12 hours in this kind of heat.
All the same the initial experience is interesting as you meet immigration police who purport not to speak any English. I am not in the habit of getting a visa on landing as lots of things can happen as happened to me in Mali. Paid $40 for my visa which due to the language breakdown i was not sure if i paid too much or just enough but your guess is as good as mine. Luckily my hotel pick up was ready and started my journey without much ado.
Its also not fully when you have a 30minute bus ride into the city centre and the van does not have air conditioning in now 42degrees heat dead in the heart of the Sahara. Of course you arrive drenched at the Hotel. I missed a booking at the Radisson Hotel in Mali which i come to learn is the best and i end up staying right next door at the Hotel Kome Residence.
The front porch of the hotel is decent and the staff are helpful. The room is spacious but not up to scratch. For Mali this is a great hotel with free wireless for unlimited browsing and a spacious room but this does not come with breakfast.
Do remember that Mali is French speaking and almost 100% Muslim so don't be inconsiderate like me and order for grease in the morning in the name of sausages and bacon! Do brush up your French in anticipation of this. The natives also speak the local language, Bambara
I am in Bamako for an Orange AMEA device meeting which proves to be interesting. When the sun cools down in the evening I ask a cab guy to give me a quick tour of Bamako City. This tour takes us down the two bridges that straddle the Niger River. Downtown Bamako is quite like any other African city: Kampala, Lusaka, Luanda et al.
Quite a number of the taxis are old Mercedes Benz perhaps imported from the US and France. There is quite a bit of motorcycles on the streets. One sight that jazzes me as we drive along is the sight of this lady who is about 22 with stretch jeans on and zooms past us in her motorcycle with her handbag slung over one side of the handles of the motorcycle. I gesture animatedly to the taxi driver and try to mumble all the French i know and urge the driver to speed up for us to take another peek at her...at best i manage to say " mademoiselle magnifique" at which we both laugh and nod our heads vigorously in agreement.
The taxi rolls by the very busy downtown market with the Mali version of Kenyan "matatus" with no windows, we also drive by the Keita Stadia and by the entertainment spots which he points out. He tells me that Byblos is the hottest places to be on a Wednesday and Friday and swears like every African national would that Malian women are the most beautiful. We also pass by one called Bla Bla! and by now I am smiling to myself thinking of what an enterprising friend of mine would call it in Nairobi...Brah Brah! We drive by the University and the talent there is evident on the streets as it is after classes.
The one hour ride comes abruptly to an end and it is 7pm and the temperature is not letting still at 40degrees
My next two days are spent without much ado shuttling between my hotel and the Radisoon where the meetings are held. In our main presentation to the Orange team, the hosts request that my colleague presents in French...I am sunk as i am the only person out of fifteen in the room who does not understand French. I have promised myself to learn French, but that is after Portuguese which i am hard at at the moment
The night before our departure the local Orange team treated us to dinner at a restaurant by the river with a breathtaking view and magnificent food. To reach here we have to take a bus ride through very rough terrain to get to the river bank. At dinner the scripture comes true...Psm 23:... You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.... I am sitting right next to the Samsung Koreans on one side and opposite me is the Alcatel Frenchmen. Behind me is the ZTE Chinese and diagonally for me are the Huawei Chinese!
ON my day of departure i have opted to do another trip round Bamako enroute to the Aeroporto. My driver this time is worse as he doesn't understand a single word of English. Before leaving the hotel i get an interpreter to explain to him what i want to see. So off we go to the Mali Museum! I am taking photographs on my mobile device on the go when all of a sudden he bursts out in a tirade of french and shaking his hands and motioning vigorously with his free hand. For a second my Nairobi instinct kick in and i hide my camera out of the invisible pick pocket's reach..indeed i hide it in between my feet and look up straight. at the same time my mind is trying to make a mental recollection of the french..i remember hearing polizei and papara... and in a split second my mind registers that he is telling me i cant take pictures of the police.
At the museum all goes well. Everything is annotated in French so i "float" through it all. What was amazing though was to see the ancient civilization and the magnificent copy of the Mosque in Djenne and the Mosque in Timbouktou! Yes, Timbouktou is in Mali
17th April 2009, Bamako Mali
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