Safiri Salama-The Kenya Story-Introduction-Part 1

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May, 2010

Safiri Salama – Safe Journey

General note – I pen (finger?) this tale for friends who have repeatedly expressed their desire for details of my sojourn and have asked me to document the holiday I have just returned from, the beautiful land of Kenya in east Africa. I also do this for myself, to keep my memories intact and ‘undulled’, prompted by the uncomfortable sensation that their current receptacle will some day lose its ability to perform its function satisfactorily and fail to keep them safe and sharp, thus compelling me to resort to alternate means to maintain their precious sanctity.

I am not a fancy writer or clever with words (though I dearly wish I was) so the fare will be simple but hopefully flavorful. I may have however, used an occasional important sounding word or two but only to make myself feel just that … important 😀

I hope this piece will be of interest and meaning to all those who also happen to read it by chance, as it wends its way through the vast medium of the ‘Wild’ Wide Web. I have strived to be sufficiently informative and leave no question unanswered but you can always come back to me for further clarifications (one at a time please, no pushing) and I will be glad to oblige to the best of my ability. The impressions of the country are my personal ones and those who have a different view are welcome to theirs. To some extent the information I have given, is for the benefit of the ‘average’ Indian traveller (like me) who goes on a short vacation with spouse and kids and hence the teeny weeny details, including minor costs etc. My narration may seem rather long and the level of detail, minute but rest assured that there is no piece of information here that does not belong to a question that I would have been asked at some point of time or another by someone or the other and it has been my pleasurable though laborious attempt to cover every one of them.

So if I seem to ramble on, its possibly because of your queries, hence do not come looking for me with knives and machetes or god forbid, duct tape 🙂

Besides, this was the kind of detail that I was looking for when I made my plans (being in the ‘I will go, only if I know’ category of nit pickers) and was unable to find a ‘one stop shop’ that answered all my questions. So with this I hope to provide everything anyone would like to know, even someone like me and believe me it doesn’t get worse than that!!!

Helpful Hint – for those who are interested only in the actual holiday, jump straight to the part that says Kenya Day 1.

Statutory Warning – doing so however, could result in your being deprived of all the entertainment that precedes, so I would sincerely suggest that you ‘look before you leap’ 🙂 All the information and facts here are correct to the best of my knowledge. I welcome corrections, if not. Certain minor portions are specific to Bangalore(ans), ‘outsiders’ please feel free to ignore them.

Introduction –

It takes me much time to get over a holiday. A deep sadness and an unreasonable sense of loss accompany me and linger awhile, their melancholic presence jostling for space with the new memories that have taken up residence in my mind and heart and causing a stillness that retards my progress towards carrying on from where I left off before the break.

This statement purports to explain the delay between my return home and the narration of the ‘days of fantasy’, the only way to describe the past few ‘days of my life’ (the statement also strives to assure that it was not Facebook withdrawal symptoms that caused me to tarry thus, despite the days having been unnaturally Facebook free 🙂

But now as I finally attempt to shake off the inertia and describe my experiences, I shall begin with revealing that I am a person who takes an excessive amount of time to make up my mind on where to go for a holiday and I go through several days of wavering and weaving through plans, frantically gleaning information from various sources like the internet, friends and acquaintances, until finally a greater force takes over and a decision suddenly manifests itself, presenting me with a destination that has my name on it !!! Which is why it would be proper to thank and acknowledge those responsible for playing a role in the proceedings, at the beginning, at the end and all the spaces in between!!!

With many thanks to – My travel agent, whose brains I chewed for holiday suggestions, for being so patient with me, for bearing with me most good naturedly through my days of indecision and for suitably planning and booking the entire package for me without knowing me from Adam (or Eve). And also, who eventually in desperation suggested the African Safari in Kenya, hopefully not in an attempt to throw me to the lions.

Thanks also to the several friends who were instrumental in helping me reconnect to a country that had passed my way only in geography class years ago and had never crossed my mind since. And to those aided me with useful input through the period of my pre vacation vacillation.

A special mention must be made of Ramu and Usha from Nairobi, friends of friends of friends when we started out but becoming more than friends by the day’s end. Without their help and gracious hospitality, I would not have enjoyed myself as much, nor shopped to the extent that I did 🙂 Its was an honor and great pleasure meeting them and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their ‘amazing grace’.

Newton our safari driver/guide, who with his wisdom, skill and knowledge made the history/geography lesson of our journey most enjoyable. And who made sure we filled our days optimally, doing the best we could in the available time and leaving us with no regrets of portions undone. And also whose sense of humor and pleasant demeanor made him the perfect guide for my family.

And last but not the least, a big thank you to everyone whose good wishes and prayers ensured us a SAFIRI SALAMA all the way and a Safe Journey is exactly what we had !!!

Continued at Safiri Salama-The Kenya Story-Introduction-Part 2

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