Tag Archives: Africa

Nairobi Nights

5 Dec

Nairobi gets a bad rap as a dangerous city that you don’t want to spend a lot of time in but if you know the right people and places you can have a pretty wild time. I was lucky to make friends with a great local that loved to party so we naturally got along like a house on fire. Nairobi has something for everyone from cheap local shot bars to glow stick trance parties. Westlands is a great area to go out in as you can hit up a lot of bars all in one strip. All that being said Nairobi is still dubbed Nairobery so always have your wits about you as you can still get yourself into unsafe situations. Always take a taxi after dark no matter how short the distance as I learned from experience even the police can be out for the money in your wallet. Guys, also remember no matter how into you the girl seems to be make sure to ask if she’s a hired lady as it can make for an awkward night.

Foggy

$1 shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Diamond Bar

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The Iron Snake

3 Dec

The train from Mombasa to Nairobi costs more than a bus, takes more time and is frequently delayed. One might ask why anyone would take it but it’s all about the experience. Make sure to not have a tight connection on the other side as the train can take an extra 8 hours on some trips. Once on board head to the dinner car and enjoy some ice cold Tusker beers. The stops will be frequent and long and you will never know when the train will start up again but it’s all apart of the fun. Also remember to bring toilet paper as 18 hours on a train without any can get interesting very fast.

Foggy

Photo Credit: Jonathan Fontaine

Mombasa Train Station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenya Train

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Train compartment

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The Backpacking Trap

3 Dec

Sometimes on the road you run into a place that it is very hard to leave but Mombasa Backpackers is a whole different animal. People arrive here expecting to stay a few days and end up staying months. I was supposed to stay here two days and ended up staying two weeks. Within the massive walls you have a very family feel as the backpackers itself is in an old family mansion. Don’t let the family atmosphere fool you though as bathing suits are forbidden after dark in the pool (for some reason only the guys follow this one). Beers are cheap and a few sunrises on the beach are always in the cards. Brush up on your beer pong skills as games are a nightly occurrence. I managed to finally peel myself away but I have the feeling I left numerous brain cells and a large chunk of my liver there.

Foggy

Mombasa Backpackers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beer pong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't lose beer pong

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Kenya through a lens

29 Nov

I was lucky to run into a photographer while traveling in Kenya and I grabbed some photos off him from our time together.

Foggy

Photo Credit : Jonathan Fontaine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 day in Lamu

28 Nov

I took the overnight bus to Lamu and got onto the island just to watch the sunrise. After a little bit of lazing around and waiting for everything to open I started my whirlwind of a tour. Lamu has got a bad rap in the past few years due to a few incidents with Somali pirates but with an American army base very close travelers can feel very safe these days. Lamu is situated off the coast of Kenya and is pretty unique as it has no cars on the island only donkeys for transport. The island is also very Muslim so you have to be respectful over what you wear. If you are looking for a drink on the island you will have to make your way to the police station canteen as drinking anywhere else is quite frowned upon. If you can get a few friends together a dhow cruise is a must.  The most important thing to remember in Lamu though is watch out for the donkey poo.

Foggy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lamu dhow cruise

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Different Cultures

25 Nov

One good thing that came out of 27 hours in seat F3 is that in seat F4 was a very nice man named Iddi. He gave me his information and wanted me to call him once I got to Arusha in Tanzania. I gave Iddi a call and he immediately came and picked me up and drove me to his house. I met his wife Mariam and their three children and then his daughter made us all cups of coffee. They wanted me to stay for dinner so I was ordered to sit and relax with Iddi as the women went about cooking. A little over an hour later a huge portion of beef stew and flat bread were put down before us. Mariam came over with a pitcher of water and a bowl so I could wash my hands to eat with and then did the same for Iddi. I waited for the women to join us but was instructed that they were not eating with us. The food was amazing and it is always fun to eat with your hands. After dinner the women came and cleared the plates, washed our hands and then gave us coffee. Every time I offered to help I was shot down and Iddi told me it is seen as an insult to offer help almost saying that I could do it better than them. It was a really cool experience to have a proper dinner in an African household, I am just glad my mother wasn’t there to tell my lazy ass to get to work on the pots and pans.

Foggy

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Tanzania

23 Nov

Some footage shot over my few weeks in the beautiful Tanzania.

Foggy

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Buy me a soda

22 Nov

In East Africa you will come upon the phrase “buy me a soda” a few times (if me quite a lot). Africans love their soda but at this point they don’t actually want you to buy them one. This is a code word for a little bribe to either get things going quicker or to get yourself out of some trouble you may have gotten into. With all bargaining try to start low but when it comes to border patrol or people in government roles soda prices are generally fixed. Good luck with your soda purchases and even though everyone knows what is going on always be discreet.

Foggy

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Generator Please

19 Nov

I spent the night in Dar es Salaam and was slammed by the heat. When finding a hotel room for the night I made sure my shoebox of a room at least had a fan in it. What I did not know was that the city suffers from multiple power outages making my fan useless throughout the night. I slowly melted into my bed as it felt more like sleeping in a swimming pool of my own perspiration. So when traveling to Dar es Salaam make sure your hotel has a generator unless you want to drop down to the next weight class overnight.

Foggy

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The Dutch Doctors

17 Nov

I had reached Zanzibar the place in Africa to drink copious amounts of beer and swim in the very warm Indian Ocean. The only problem was that I developed an ear infection essentially blocking me from these activities. I was a little bummed about it but figured it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. I luckily bumped into 4 Dutch doctors all my own age down in Africa on their final internship. They went over my symptoms and informed me that beer and swimming in the ocean were both fine to do. I was of course ecstatic and waltzed up to the bar to grab an ice cold Kilimanjaro. A huge thanks to my Dutch friends for keeping my party going!

Foggy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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