Last chance to check in for a while

Spending some time online this morning while Moses tries to replace the van's broken gearbox. With our safaris starting tomorrow morning, this is likely the last chance I'll get to post updates here.

Anything else I'm able to write (including something about M-PESA), I'll post when I connect again.

Kenya's new neighbor

In three days, Kenya will get a new neighbor on it's northeastern border as the Republic of South Sudan officially becomes the world's newest country. I'm excited to be here for this historic event, though it appears to be a bit of a nonevent for most people here.

I can't find any stories about South Sudan in the printed press here. Now that I'm online, however, I did see a couple stories in the online version of the Daily Nation. This may only be a bias of the newspapers I've been able to find, but most of the news stories are much more local in nature.

For most people here, I think the major news is what has come before July 9th and, more importantly, what will come after independence. All of the Kenyans that I've talked to have repeated the sentiment that stability in the region is crucial for Kenya, economically and politically. Beyond that, I get the sense that this official change is a bit academic to them.

I suppose that's fair, if anticlimactic for me.

Chicken Poussin Pili Pili and Pilau

Moses, our driver in Mombasa, took us to a more authentic lunch spit yesterday. We sampled some local cuisine like Chicken Poussin (deep fried with a spicy coating) and masala fries. The specialty was pilau, which Moses considered a familiar Kenyan dish, though in India, we have an almost identical dish by that name. No surprise, given the history of trade and migration across the Indian Ocean.

Moses also taught us the Kenyan equivalent of the "five second rule" when Dixie dropped her chicken on the table: "germs are not aware," he told us, and signaled that it was OK to pick it up and eat it.

Resorting it up in Mombasa

Our Itinerary

June 29: Istanbul, Turkey
June 30 - July 1: Nairobi
July 2 - July 6: Mombasa (on the coast)
July 7: Nakuru National Park, Hell's Gate and Mt. Longonot
July 8 - July 9: Amboseli National Park
July 10 - July 12: Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania
July 13 - July 15: Masai Mara for the wildebeest migration
July 16 - July 17: Nairobi
July 18: Return home

Landed in Nairobi.

An unexpected stop in Istanbul

Somewhere between arriving at the airport in New York and landing in Turkey, we decided to make use of our 8-hour layover in Istanbul. We paid our USD 20 for the visas and hopped on the Metro to the old city. One of the main tram lines between Zeytinburnu and Kabatas conveniently leads you to many of the main attractions. Our highlights included Sultanahmet (a 17th century mosque known as the Blue Mosque), the Hagia Sophia, and a short hunt for the tastiest and most moist baklava.