Well where do i begin about this totally wonderful trip i had?.........probably from the beginning itself i guess? So let me start with the making of the plan. It all began in February 09 when suddenly i found myself planning for this trip. But due to several unexpected circumstances the plan kept getting delayed. Then finally on 25Th of April i took a flight to Mumbai. From there I took anther flight from the international airport (after standing for nearly 2 hours in the immigration line). I reached Nairobi early morning the next day i.e. on 26Th of April at around 8.30(Nairobi time) after travelling for 6 hrs after exiting Mumbai.
On reaching i found that it was an absolutely a delightful place with perfect climatic conditions. The temperature over there varies between 11-23 degree Celsius all year through. Kenya being in the southern hemisphere has winter during June and July..... while they celebrate Christmas in summer (just like Australia).
Nairobi is practically a hill station with an altitude of almost 5500 ft above sea level. The streets are really clean and is a modern city in all respect. It has huge shopping malls and theaters. This city boasts of housing the most number of diplomats from various countries. Its best known for its flowers and vegetables which are exported all over Europe. Coffee is yet another money earner for the Kenyans. Surprisingly there are a lot of Indians out there. Some of them have been living there for the last 4 generations. One peculiar thing which i noticed though was that, the public transport is very poor. The only means of commuting is a 14 seater mini car cum bus known as matatoo.
I had a really marvelous time during the 4 weeks I spent there...... In an around Nairobi city i went and saw Mount Kenya, Nairobi Safari park, Nakuru( its a lake where flamingos migrate every year and the whole lake turns Pink).
Perhaps the best experience i had was when i went to Masai Mara.......We actually stayed in a tent and saw pride of lions, hoards of deer and buffaloes, pack of jackals and Hyena. And we also managed to see a mother cheetah with her cubs and leopards( which we were told could be seen very rarely)...........I was absolutely ecstatic when i saw these animals so close and it seemed like someone had taken a page out a national geography book. We also managed to see quite a few stunning ostriches, secretary birds and a few others. Their plumes looked majestic and a riot of colours. In the evening we also saw the famous Masai People(even lions run away from them). They had come to our resort and had danced by the fire. Their dance (video) basically consists of going round in circles and jumping. Truly Tribal I guess :)
The part of the day i liked mostly would be around the time when the sun used to set and one could see the various hues in the skyline. In fact i cant remember a time when i saw the sky so clearly in kolkata!
Over there I also got the opportunity to try out various new cuisines such as Mediterranean and Sushi. The first time when i tried wasabi, I felt as if my whole mouth was in fire....the effect was that magnanimous! Also had quite a bit of Thai out there and specially liked the bamboo shoot and jasmine rice and the Thai green curry! .....Slurp!(can still feel the taste) :)
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