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Diani BeachI treated myself to a few days at the beach while the 2016 Ugandan Presidential elections were underway. While I've learned that I don't love solo travel, I couldn't have had a better time in Diani.
How I got there: Jambo Jet from Nairobi to the Diani airstrip. The round trip flight was just under $100 USD and while I had some issues booking online, Jambo Jet's customer service is shockingly quick and convenient. They are easy to reach by phone but also very responsive to email. Where I stayed: Kenyaways - I cannot recommend this hotel enough! It's right on the beach, has a great restaurant (free breakfast), and the staff were all very friendly and extremely helpful. In addition to the beach chairs, there are tons of areas to lounge around and relax which I loved. The rooms were all booked but it didn't feel crowded at all since there was so much space. They only had one of their larger ocean view rooms left when I booked, but since I was traveling alone, they gave me a pretty nice discount. I could pay via PayPal to avoid credit card fees which was really convenient as well. 
What I did: I did a full day trip with Pilli Pipa to Kisite Marine Park which is in Shimoni, on the border with Tanzania. Shimoni, meaning "place of the caves" was named by the Arabs who sent many slaves from this port to Zanzibar. There are still some caves that you can visit on your way in or out of the marine park. It took just over 1.5 hours to get there from the hotel, but the diving made the trek well worth it! The visibility was over 20m and there was tons to see. Unfortunately, we didn't see any dolphins or turtles which are usually very common in this area. After our dives, we met up with the larger snorkeling boat at Pilli Pipa's private island for a huge seafood lunch. I had high expectations because almost all the Trip Advisor reviews raved about this lunch and it did not disappoint.
The following morning, I did two morning dives in Diani with Diving the Crab. Their boat was having some issues, so we joined up with their sister company Diani Marine. From what I could tell, both companies were organized, well staffed, and had solid gear. I tried doing a bunch of research before I went to see what dive sites were popular, but it was hard to get a sense of what people enjoyed. The dive companies will usually have set dives each day, so you don't have a ton of flexility unless you have multiple days to dive. We went to Shark Alley and Igloo - both were great. The visibility can be hit or miss but we got lucky and didn't have any issues. There were more larger fish / marine animals here than Kisite (octopus, manta ray, moray eel, etc.) but both were great. If you don't have the full day to spare to go to Kisite or want to save some money, I don't think you miss much by staying in Diani. On my last day, I took a kite surfing lesson with H2O Extreme which runs lessons right out of the hotel. I would recommend at least two days of lessons if you have time because it takes awhile to learn how to control the kite. I'm eager to continue learning once I'm back home because it was really fun! Other: Tuk tuks are an easy way to get around though you usually have to call one in advance. When I got to the airport, I saw someone getting in a tuk tuk and had him call a friend and send him my way. A cab from the Diani airstrip should be around $8 and a tuk tuk within Diani is a flat rate of 300 shillings ($3). There wasn't an ATM at the airport, but I had my tuk tuk stop at a shopping pavilion where I could use one before heading to the hotel. There is a Barclays but it's a bit further and was out of the way. |
Nairobi
It was really interesting seeing Nairobi after having lived in Kampala for about three months. As many friends described, it's way more developed than Kampala - there are more paved roads, streetlights are fairly common, and people aren't insane drivers! Credit cards are widely accepted but mpesa is also incredibly convenient and makes Venmo seem antiquated. It's tied to your phone not a bank so transactions are more immediate and there's no lag time - if a friend sends you money, you can immediately go to any mpesa agent to withdraw it.
It feels more international (which means amazing food!) in that there seem to be more 2nd generation international people and families whereas Kampala still feels more transient. The expat scene, though, feels more segregated socially which made me appreciate how intertwined social groups are in Kampala. It seems like a really exciting time to be in Nairobi right now. There is a lot of money flowing into the local start-up and tech scene which is drawing a lot of entrepreneurs to the city. Safety, however, remains a big issue. While it feels safer than Kampala because it more closely resembles a city at home, it's not safe to walk around at night. Uber is pretty popular in Nairobi which is super convenient. I didn't experience any horrific traffic, but apparently it is way worse than it is here which is hard to imagine. And, there aren't any really bodas in Nairobi so it's not possible to weave through traffic. Where we ate: Osteria in Kilimani - the table bread was foccacia with fresh tomatoes which was a nice treat! Their dessert spread is amazing - tons of choices on and off the menu. They also had live music which was great and made for a lovely outdoor dinner. Tin Roof Cafe in Karen - super homey and has some really cool shops in the back. Their Ottolenghi-inspired salad bar is amazing and I highly recommend the steak sandwich and nutella / banana pancake (more like a crepe) as well. They have wifi so it's a nice quaint spot to work for the day as well. Absynnia in Westlands - I'm not well versed in Ethiopian food but the veggie platter we got was really tasty and the fresh mixed juice was delicious as well. Lots of outdoor seating as well as some rooms inside. Arbor in Lavington - an outdoor brunch spot (some big tables that would work for larger groups) that's also in a compound with a few cute shops and a greenhouse if you're looking to spruce up your garden. The lady who runs it is Malaysia so we ordered curry and nasi lemak...not your typical brunch but I couldn't resist. 
What we did: One of Kristy's friends had a horse show on Saturday which was random and cool. For someone allergic to horses, I've been to horse-related events now in a few countries now...Happy Valley Race Course in Hong Kong and Club Hípico de Santiago in Chile.
Two big highlights of my weekend were the Giraffe Center and the Elephant Orphanage. I don't actually know much about the Giraffe Center because I was too busy feeding the Giraffes...but there's a small museum where you can learn about giraffes. For example, I learned that animals like giraffes sometimes eat hyena poop because hyenas eat bones which means their dropping are full of calcium. Giraffe feeding best practices: hold the pellet with your fingers, don't put it on your palm. Drop the pellet into the giraffe's mouth when its tongue gets close! You can also make out with the giraffe if you want...get a longer pellet and put it between your lips. Then when you feel the giraffe's tongue by your chin, let go. (note: I did not make out with a giraffe but a really smart 8 year old girl told me that's how it's done). Giraffe saliva is antibacterial so no need to worry about cooties. 
The Elephant Orphanage is nearby so I'd recommend doing both in one day. It's only open from 11am til noon though when they do a public feeding, so time your trip wisely! If you're a big group, I'd try to get there by 10:30 so you can snag a spot along the circumference of the feeding area. If you're traveling solo...you can probably just cut the line :) I went on a Tuesday and it was packed so I'd imagine the weekends are crazy.
The wildlife trust really pampers these elephants! The elephants are all orphaned which means they were separated from their herd. A common reason was falling in human-made water wells. Or, if their mothers were hurt or had died, the baby elephants would be without food and protection. Each elephant sleeps in its own room with a keeper. In an attempt to mimic the elephant herds which are very close knit, the baby elephants are never left alone. They are fed a milk formula (which was described as very similar to human baby formula) throughout the night. When the elephants are ready, they are slowly reintroduced to the wild. The goal is for each elephant to be accepted by a new herd. This can take up to five years! The keepers know the elephants have been accepted if they don't come home at night to sleep because that means they'd rather stay with their new friends! They have never failed to reintroduce an elephant into the wild which seems really impressive given all the time the baby elephants are spending with humans. If you want to support the work, you can "adopt" an elephant for $50. This will let you see your elephant at off hours like right before it goes to bed. |
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One of the more puzzling things I saw in Nairobi were signs like the one here on the left. Who, I wondered, were all these chemists, why did they have such prime real estate / storefronts, and why were they open so late? After seeing one too many of these stores to ignore, I realized they were actually pharmacies!
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