Since Cape Town I spent a few weeks not going anywhere as i renewed my visa and prepared to launch a report. But by the end of November, I was in Kenya, London, Geneva and Brussels. After a short rest back in Shenzhen, I am now back in Kenya as i try to finalize a project we're launching there.
It is a shame to travel so much and leave the family behind, especially at such interesting times in their lives, but when work takes you to a country you can sometimes get to understand a country better; though just as often the opposite happens! Thankfully my work normally entails me learning more about a country through meeting colleagues, customers and other partners.
Occasionally I end up spending weekends in these countries since my trip takes more than a week. It's not ideal, but I have used this chance to get out of Nairobi. On Saturday I climbed Mt Longonot, a volcano that most recently erupted 150 years or so ago. The view of the crater at the top was great, and so was the view of the neighboring lake and countryside. There was also another crater which was formed during the recent eruption and you can see where all the lava flowed because there is dense forests on top of the fertile lava. After lunch in the town I was on a boat on the lake checking out hippos playing in the water, birds living their lives on the water, and some animals (giraffes, zebras and the like) living alongside the water. A wonderful little boat trip - and interesting too to see the locals enjoying the national holiday on the public beach alongside the lake.
On Sunday, instead of taking a driver around, i took the public transport system, which mostly is a system of private minibuses. Common across the developing world, it can work quite well if you don't wait a long time for the minibus to fill up, and you don't keep stopping en-route to pick people up and drop others off. They can be a touch hairy at times due to the speed they drive at, but their a fairly efficient form of transport, cheap and very well used. The largest problem they cause is the chaos at the bus stations with all the minibuses competing with each other for customers and an immense amount of hooting going on. I also think there are just too many of these things on the road clogging up the roads in many places!
The minibuses are usually highly personalized by the owners/drivers with decoration internally and externally, customized soundtracks blaring out inside, and all sorts of lights and luxuries. I'm not sure if it is to help them stand out and attract customers, because drivers just like it, or if there are other cultural reasons (i.e. as a form of self-expression). It is a great way to meet local people of course as everyone gets packed inside, though hard to communciate with them due to the loud music!
I had to take two minibuses to get to my destination: Hell's Gate National Park, actually next to the volcano and lake of the previous day. It is the only National Park where you can freely walk around to see the animals instead of having to stay in cars, this is because there are no dangerous animals like lions or buffalo. But on the strensous 18km bike ride we did see a lof ot zebras, giraffe, deer, monkeys, baboons, and other animals. It was great to get so close to them and wonderfully peaceful and serene. It was also very scenic. I did some mountain climbing as well as a couple hours hiking through a gorge.
In face the gorge is one of the most specatacular i've seen. It is quite small; only about 20-40m high, and at its narrowest, just a metre or two, but the different layers you can seek in the rock as the water has eroded it are fascinating and really impressive. A highly recommended trip.
Back on the road, you see what may be "typical Africa"; large expanses of countryside that is seemingly un-used; some smallhold farms; dusty and chaotic towns alongside noisy roads; animals just wondering around (either with their owners, or without); people just sitting around (either at their shops, or just watching the world go by); and of course the interesting style of shops and roadside businessess, often colored in one of the main mobile phone companies' branding as they sell airtime or mobile money services.
A while ago I basically stopped bargaining when i was travelling. If i know a price, I'll set it from the outset; if a price is ridiculous I'll walk away, but I'm usually fairly relaxed about paying a bit more than I should as the kind of people that are benefitting are certainly poorer than me and can do with the money. It also means you can get better service and extra help if you need it. I wasn't very well prepared for this weekend's excursions so I had to buy a small backpack, raincoat (thankfully that was not used), and a cap (though after I had already got a bit burnt).