Day 54 & 55 Dubai Splendour and Luxury

I'm outta Kenya! I did it, survived the kids (and the lions), and I'm back to the touring part of my travels. Hopefully that means that I'll be able to update this blog, and keep everyone in the loop a lot more often than I have been recently... though I suppose 4 posts in 6 weeks isn't the hardest record to beat!

The "main drag" and skyline.

I arrived in Dubai late on the 26th, only to discover that I'd made ANOTHER travel mistake... I'd forgotten (silly trusting Canadian that I am) about the fact that some countries charge for the pleasure of touring their lands. Turns out that the U.A.E. isn't crazy about us Canucks, due to a failed deal with Emirates Airlines in which we screwed them out of a contract to fly into Toronto... so we have to pay a lot. If I had flown with any other airline, it would have been $1000 US, but luckily I did have an Emirates flight, so it was only $250. GAH! That's $100 more than I would've paid had I just done my bloody research - so I'm dubbing it (along with the money I spent correcting my Ryanair flight dates back in August) my "stupid tax". You live and you learn eh? If not with a slightly lighter wallet.

At the Souk in the Dubai Mall.

I met Shefali and David, my Dad's good friends, at the airport. Shefali is pregnant with twins, so they weren't hard to find, and we piled into the car and drove to their ace apartment. It's gorgeous here, and I get my own room with a double bed and an ensuite (GASP!). I'm in heaven... literally, they're on the 30th floor, and the view is the Burj Khalifa, tallest tower in the world - I know, they stole the title from us... maybe more hard feelings about the airline thing?

The next morning I was up and at 'em fairly early, and threw all my clothes into the washer to rid them of safari dirt... it's so nice to be able to forgo the handwashing! We went to the world's largest mall, which is very close by. There's a giant aquarium there, and some shops that you cannot find anywhere else, such as the only Bloomingdales outside of the U.S. They have an Ice Rink as well, and in a different mall, an artificial ski hill! I wandered around for a good three hours, and spent quite a bit of time in the biggest bookstore the Middle East has to offer. I stocked up on journals, seeing as I have gone through quite a few lately with my rambling about the world.

The Burj Khalifa.

This city is amazing, it's man-made largely, and very new. Many parts haven't been around for more than a decade, and the country itself has only recently celebrated it's 40th birthday. The ruler and politicians are all very young, and it's an up and coming city. The heat here is insane, and I'm told that it's getting cooler than it was in August, but it still feels like hitting a brick wall to come out of a/c and into 44 degree humidity! I went to the beach the other day and walked along in my tee-shirt and a breezy skirt, and found myself sweating profusely (attractive I know). The water feels like a hot bath! It's not as conservative as you would think, and due to the influx of tourism, it's quite common to see women in shorts and strapless tops, even as it remains a Muslim country and many do still wear traditional garb. Of course, these are all very fashionable, and bejeweled in many cases, as the yummy mummys of Dubai are prevalent.

Me with the Aquarium in the background.

I've been so well taken care of here. David and Shefali, as well as opening their home to me, have made sure I am well fed, a blessing after the repetitive meals of Kenya. Admittedly these were good, but man it's nice to have fresh veggies and fruit again! We went out for breakfast the first day, and on day two had gluten-free pizza for dinner! YUM! They are also egg, dairy, and gluten-free, which means we all like the same food luckily. Shefali and I went for mani/pedis, and with my bright red nails I feel part of the high-rolling world again. I think I could live here... if I was rich and wanted to pay no taxes, but premiums for everything except gas that is! So yeah.. I'd live here.

feet on the beach, maybe my last dip in the Indian Ocean!?

The skyline's gorgeous, and even though I miss the people I left in Kenya, and am looking forwards to the rest of my trip, I am going to miss the hospitality and atmosphere of the city. If I had more time I would do a tour into the desert, and also try to get a feel for the nightlife, which is vibrant. The city is very safe, and the hotels boast a wide assortment of classy and fun bars and lounges, which I'll have to try on my next venture. Hopefully they'll have lowered the price of the visa by then (C'mon diplomacy, get it together!).

At Jumeirah Beach, also known as the Palm for it's shape.

I'm off tomorrow afternoon, but I'm going to hit the pool in the morning for a dip and then take a leisurely amount of time to repack my bag before becoming a backpacker again. Ma'a salama for now folks!

Beautiful blue water and white beach of Dubai.

Day 50 to 53 Safiri Salama na Marafiki Angu

"Good Safari with My Friends"

The Masai Mara in the evening.

Hippos at the Mara River.

And what a good safari it was! We took off from the Junction mall after some initial confusion about which van we would all fit in (turns out none) and once reconciled to the fact of our separation from Katrina and Shayla, Lisa and I set about making friends. The drive was looooong, and though we stopped in Narok for lunch, we were pretty tired when we arrived at our encampment. To call the accommodations tents would be to grossly lie... These were canvas palaces with plumbing! We had hot showers, a luxury I have had to do without for these 6 weeks. I was thrilled. We dropped our gear and hen immediately headed out for an afternoon game drive in the Masai Mara.

Herd of Giraffes just hanging out.

Chilling out in the van watching the world go by.

In the two hours we were out we saw amazing things: a lioness, giraffes, elephants, buffalo and so many types of antelopes! Dinner was a little late but we sat around and drank tea to pass the time upon return.

a lioness and her baby cub.

Lionesses sunbathing.

The next morning was Katrina's bday, and we clapped her on the back at our 7:00 breakfast. We set out for a full day game drive and saw more incredible things! Giraffes mating and fighting, a lion cub, male lions, hippos, a mother baboon and her young baby, ostriches and crocodiles. A full day left us pretty tired and with a 5am wake up the next morning, I hit bed early.

Male lion!

My birthday dawned and we set out to see the sunrise. I got an amazing early birthday call from the boyfriend and discovered I have an iPhone of all things waiting for me when I get back! Holy eff ya!

family of elephants in the Mara.

Elephant... before he got a tad upset.

We saw the best thing on this day: two hunting cheetahs! We missed the actual kill, but returned to the hunters as they were feasting on an unlucky antelope. So cool! We were also treated to a family of elephants, one of which started to get antsy at our proximity, and almost charged the van! We left the game park in high spirits and drove along the BUMPIEST road to reach the other van and lunch. We who were doing the 4 day piled into one van, and drove further, to Nakuru. The scenery was amazing!!

Cheetah coming through the grass towards our van!

Our hotel was a proper establishment, and Katrina and I settled into our room for our last night together. Kind of surreal to think ill be out or Africa soon.

Cheetahs marking their scent.

Buffalo, the most dangerous of the big 5.

Sunset in the Mara.

Breakfast was a somber affair for me, as I felt really off. I think there was gluten in dinner, and though I still enjoyed the safari at Lake Nakuru, I felt majorly crap all day. We did however get to see rhinos, both black and white ones! The white rhino is actually a misnomer, coming from the Dutch word 'whit' meaning wide, which refers to its mouth. The black rhino was so named after the mispronunciation was widely spread already... Ah well, they're both amazing! We also saw baboons again and many types of birds. The animals were randy (not least of which were two of my safari companions who were cuddled up beside me), and we saw Thompson gazelles, zebras and buffalo all mating! The buffaloes however were batting for the other team, as after they fight with their horns, which we saw, the winner tries to mount the loser. Talk about prison politics and using sex as a power weapon! Yeeesh!

baboons hanging out near the garbage heap in the Mara.

Lake Nakuru in the background.

The drive home was relatively uneventful, and since I still felt under the weather I used the web and headed home for my last night in Kenya! It's been quite the ride!!

Flamingos and Pelicans on Lake Nakuru.

a white rhino at lake Nakuru.

buffaloes gathered around a tree at Nakuru.

three little zebra all in a row!

reds and oranges in the sunset.

Day 49 Part Two - Long Necks and Monkey Business

feeding time at the giraffe centre!

We decided to visit the giraffe centre where the endangered Rothschild is on display. It was really cool to pet and feed a live giraffe, and I learned that they have cloven hooves rather than round horse-like ones!

Being loved by some monkeys.

There were these adorable warthogs around as well, and they snuffle around on their knees for food, as they can't reach to bend their necks down!

Shayla and I went afterwards to the monkey park, and after a short time where we thought we had arrived (only to discover it was just a path TO the park...) we found ourselves surrounded by monkeys and feeding them with some bananas and corn that we were given by the locals. So cool to a haven them sitting right on your shoulder, an we also saw a little baby clinging to his mother's tummy as she foraged as well.

warthogs at the giraffe centre.

adorable monkey!

I returned to the place where we are bunked to wait for Kat and Lisa who had decided to eat out (I'm on a budget though!) only to find there were not enough beds! We relocated to the volunteer house where we passed a few hours on the first day, and I had a great sleep. The only problem is te amount of cockroaches that scuttle around in te ceiling and on the beds ... I tucked my mosquito net tight around me and put earbuds in to cut out the scurrying... Gross! Thankfully the bus ride the night before had me wiped!

pretty girl!

took a selfie with a monkey!

Shayla with the monkies!

adorable Mama with her baby!

Day 24 to 49 Adjusting, Adapting and Going on Safari

Mombasa is certainly an interesting spot! We spend a lot of time on beaches, which is of course amazing, and sometimes it really feels like a vacation! The kids are still great, and I hope we can make a difference for them. The orphanage is not very organized and consistency is practically non-existent, which detracts from their chances at a successful happy future life. More than anything we want to give them a little respect for adults, each other, and themselves while we are here.

Going out in Mombasa was pretty similar to home scenes, with booths to hang in and music to groove to while you slug back a Tusker beer, or a Guinness. There is however a marked difference in the Guinness here, which is 6.2% and has an even stronger taste... If you can believe it!

Shayla getting her hair done by Dinah and co.

I have got to shout out to my cousin Raelen, who got me an amazing small speaker for Christmas last year. The kids love listening to new music, and even before this trip I have been using it on beaches and in common rooms. The older girls especially like my selection of Rihanna and Beyonce, though maintain that both belong to a special cult called the Illuminati, in which you trade your soul to the devil for fame or money or influence. Obama also ranks highly as a member. I have been careful to be clear that this is not a widely held belief in North America, but they're pretty sure we've all been duped as to the real truth.

Mama Beatrice continues to feed us amazing food, and I guarantee I'm leavin Kenya with a few extra pounds... Who'da thought? I'm determined to start a workout/stretching routine before bed, and to get right back to healthy eating when I reach Dubai! I'm looking forward to having my own space to cook in again!

Gamaliel and I on Shelley Beach.

I met a really interesting woman at the beach while hanging with the kids name Faith. She is studying to be an accountant, and we had a great comparing-cultures chat. Though Kenya is much more outwardly religious, it is still common and fairly accepted for couples to live together pre-marriage, especially those attending college. She also explained some of the stereotypes that men ascribe to, such as an inherent polygamous nature, which leads some to believe stepping out is normal. I was glad to hear that the women's empowerment movement has taught many to call out these attitudes, rather than dole out the expected forgiveness. Aren't we all glad this doesn't fly back home, eh? Of course this is a huge generalization, and many are far more enlightened.

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family who have donated to the website we started for the kids at gofundme.com. If you would like to be part of that as well, just hit up the Internet and search for the Likoni Aids Orphanage on the site. After less than a week we are almost double our initial goal, and there is so much we want to accomplish here. These kids really need so much and their home could use a lot of fixing up to make it more livable. Even when I leave Africa in a few weeks, my co-volunteers have their work cut out for them!

We all need our breaks though, and for us 4 travelers the weekend was a welcome time. We didn't get to sleep in though, as we had to catch an early matatu to Shimoni, a town about two hours drive down the coast and opposite the beautiful island of Wasini. Here we hired a motorboat and we dolphin-watching! We were incredibly lucky, and saw a humpback and three bottlenoses! They swam right alongside us and treated us to some fabulous jumps. What an amazing afternoon! We had decided to stay the night there, and the Mpunguti Lodge was an excellent choice. At 600/= per night (roughly $7) we got a bed, and balcony with an amazing view of the water front. The tide there is quite different at low and high points, and where we had once walked up to the property was now 2 meters of water in which we went swimming! A great guy named George who works there took us around the predominantly Muslim area, an brought us to the Coral boardwalk, an awesome initiative to support the town women. It's a beautiful big area with a kilometer log walkway set up between these huge coral structures, and the whole area fills with water at high tide. It was incredible and we took so many photos!

Being the only 4 guests for dinner, the staff at the lodge went all out. Our table was festooned with fresh flowers and we were treated to young coconuts and delicious fare. The conversation went on for 2 hours unde the stars, and turning in to bed without 5 incredibly noisy dogs (not to mention the blasted turkey and geese) was most welcome. The next morning was lovely and lazy, and though we were cramped on the matatu home, we made it back to Mama's safe, sound and hungry! What an awesome mini-vacation though!

Lately there has been some drama in Mombasa over the killing of a man high up in a fundamentalist Muslim group. We have therefore avoided he city center, but it has proven no heat inconvenience since we can get most everything on our side of the ferry. The situation seems to be calming down, but I think we are all more comfortable playing it safe anyways!

Cobra loving the beach and the freedom!

I was sad to leave when the time came, but I've got so many souvenirs to remember it by, plus a host of pictures and memories. The night bus was just as bumpy as usual, but Mama ended up traveling with us and she was my seat partner... Meaning I had less space! Ah well, im getting used to sleeping in foreign situations, so I got it covered. Hopefully safari tomorrow is will also have good sleep opportunities, it's so important! Funny how true it is that you never realize how important things are until their gone, and lemme tell you, all of mamas dogs were making that impossible!

The kids were sad to see us go, but I'm so pleased with how much we were able to accomplish while i was there. I think I'll volunteer again on another travel, perhaps with adults his time... Can't wait for my birthday and my next adventure! More frequent updates to come!