Arusha & Safari

After the longest bumpiest dustiest bus ride we have ever taken, we arrived in Arusha cover in red dust and dying for a shower, only to arrive at the Faji's house and find out that there is no water (part of living in Africa....water is scarce). After a warm welcome and a change of clothes they greeted us with open arms and a delicious meal. Their house is on one of the main streets of Arusha with a breath taking view of Mt.Meru.

The next day we were pleased to wake up and find out that they finally had water, so after a nice shower we were excited to explore the town. Our first stop was the market, then we headed to the other end of town where all of the streets sellers are located. After a long afternoon we were dying to a drink so we found a local bar, which has now been our go to spot.

We have now just returned from Safari, we had an amazing 3 days and 2 nights in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. First day we travelled to the Serengeti (another long and bumpy and very dusty trip). We had a great first day, we saw a cheetah with it's kill in a tree, family of elephants with babies, lion family with babies, and about a million wildebeast and zebras. We stayed the night at an amazing hotel and were really excited for the next day. We left early in the morning and had an even better 2nd day. We were lucky enough to watch a heard of zebras cross a river only to be hunted by an awaiting lion. We saw the whole chase and kill, it was so cool, except for the fact that the lion caught a baby zebra, so that was sad....but I guess its the circle of life.

After a great day in Serengeti we heading to Ngorongoro Crater, were we spent another night at a great hotel and met lots of nice people. Our last day we heading into the Crater in search of the elusive Rhino. After a whole day searching it was time to go and we thought that we were out of luck, until the last corner we turn..there it was...the Rhino. So we ended on a great note and headed back to Arusha. It was a great Safari, definitely a highlight so far

Our bus from Mombasa to Arusha

Mt. Meru

The Crater from above

Mama and baby

The view from our balcony

The attack!

This Lion loved us and walked right up to our car, we could have touched it!

Buffalo.....No 1 Killer of humans in the park...

Mombasa

With a new camera in hand and putting the unfortunate events in Nairobi behind us we boarded a bus to the coastal town of Mombasa where we spotted a few giraffes, elephants, and zebras who got us excited about the upcoming safari. 8 hours later we arrived at the busy bus station in rush hour. Nairobi is very modern and developed but Mombasa is closer to what you would expect an African town to be. We knew we would be staying on a farm but no more than that. We arrived just as the sun was going down to my cousin's farm in a under developed suburb just outside of central Mombasa, needless to say this area has seen little or no tourists so neighborhood people were staring at us with a mix of apprehension and curiosity. We settled into our room and got friendly with the many geckos, lizards, and millipedes that we would be sleeping with for the next few nights.

The next morning we awoke to blistering heat and a fury of activity around the farm. They have 2500 chickens 50 goats, fruit and a well where the entire neighborhood comes to buy their water. We pitched in around the farm wherever we would, collecting eggs, grazing goats, picking fruit and helping deliver water. They also have an extra house on the property where they let an African family stay. There is a mother, father and 6 boys who stay in a tiny shed with no power but it was amazing to share their food and the kids played soccer with us every day after school.

Mombasa also has some of the nicest beaches on Mainland Africa and with the blistering heat the water was a welcome refuge from the sun. If we had any bad feelings about Kenya because of Nairobi they were gone after spending time in Mombasa, great food, pristine beaches, mellow attitudes, and most of all the amazing kids who even piled into the back of a pick-up to take us to our bus to Arusha, which is our next stop and the beginning of our Safari.

Juma, Joycie, and Sylvia

Jess at Mombasa Gate

Fort Jesus, Mombasa

Enjoying Madaf, coconut water with Kurshida

Beach with 90 degree ocean water and Camels

Busy Market

Fresh picked eggs for breakfast

Jess's newborn goat Bambi

Nairobi....the full experience!

We were both really excited to land in Kenya. We arrived at 3:30am and were thrilled to see that our bags had safely arrived considering our 16 hour stop over in Cairo. We were both a little nervous as we were waiting in the airport at 4 in the morning for Ian's cousin who he has never met before. After a few awkward encounters with people who we thought might be his cousin, his cousin arrived! Taking us back to his home where we met his lovely family, we were both very happy to be able to finally get a good sleep.

Later that afternoon when we finally woke up, Ady, Ian's new cousins' son, took us for a delicious traditional Kenyan feast of grilled goat, tomato salad and ugali (a traditional bread type thing they eat with meals)! With a few hours of sleep and a full stomach we were excited to explore the neighborhood! The next morning Ady took us into downtown Nairobi  where there was a Massi Market selling all types of great things, we had a good day taking the local transport, Matatu, and exploring the city. We were cautioned about the security in Nairobi so we both took the proper precautions, not wearing anything flashy or carrying a purse or large amounts of money. Over all after our day in the city I thought by doing all the things they say I felt pretty secure and safe.

Boy was I wrong, later that evening after a great dinner with the whole family, Ian, Ady and I went to the local bars for a drink. The area where the bars are located is a posh area of Nairobi where all the Diplomats and Ambassadors live, tones of people in the street and lots of police and security around. I felt pretty safe considering the amount of police around. On our way to the Second bar we were walking with a group of 7 guys, they were chatting away to us, being very friendly, when all of a sudden I got grabbed by 4 men and  Ady got grabed by 2, Ian seemed to get away without a scratch, where I got mugged of all my money and my camera.They say to always comply as they usually have knives or a gun and aren't afraid to hurt you. It happened so quickly and was more or less painless, a few scraps and bruises and shaken, there was nothing we could do! Everyone had warned me to be careful and we were, but wrong place at the wrong time, we got the real Nairobi experience getting mugged!

Unfortunately no pictures for this leg of the trip as my camera was stolen!!

Cairo

The last couple of days have been a pretty crazy, we left Istanbul on a late flight to Cairo. We had a good security scare at the airport in Istanbul, I had bought a knife at the Grand Bazaar, and put it in my backpack. So going through security they pick up on it and pulled me over. Security searched my bag and found the knife....really no big deal, I'll just have to put it in my checked luggage. But when he pulled the knife out and took the handle apart, we got a real scare. He pulled out a little brown brick of something....my heart stopped and Ian was about the run! He pulled me aside, and questioned me, asked me if I knew what it was...at that point I thought Jail here I come!....Turns out is was a magnet used to weigh down the handle, but geezz was that a walk up call...always check what you buy thoroughly!

So after my heart started beating again we boarded our flight to Cairo. We arrived at 3:30am and had no idea what our next step would be, our flight wasn't until 9:30 the next evening, so we were hoping to get to the Pyramids. We were both exhausted and really just wanted to get a few hours of sleep, we were asking around the airport if there was a cheap hotel nearby, when we were approached by a man named Mr. Hussain. He offered us a deal we couldn't resist, a cheap hotel and a tour guide and driver in the morning to show us around, we accepted. As we both get into this car with 2 men at 3:30am in Cairo....We instantly regreted taking the offer, Ian and I are both realizing we have no idea where we are going and fear for our safety...after driving for 30 mins on back roads, thinking we are going to be taking to a warehouse and robbed, we arrive at our hotel! Safe and sound.

As promised we were picked up by a driver and we had a guide show us around the sites of Cairo. The Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, and the Museum of Egyptian history. Our guide took off and left us with the Driver who turned out to be way better than the guide, taking us to a great lunch spot and then for Egyptian Whiskey (tea). He shared his stories and we had a great afternoon before he dropped us back at the airport, where we got our flight to Nairobi!

Antalya and Around

İf İstanbuıi is like New York then Antalya is like Miami, complete with the Jersey shore-esque club scene and the hoards of old people, in this case Germans. Arriving from the Airport we had absoloutely no idea of where to go or how to get there. We met an Austrian couple from our plane and decided that between the 4 of us we must be able to figure something out. We found a bus headıng to 'City Centre' and the driver said it was where we needed to go. After 45 mins of driving we were promptly escorted of the bus along with the rest of the foreign people and dropped on the sidewalk. After a 5k walk with our packs up and down hill we were able to find our hostel (which was suprisingly nice) and grabbed dinner and drinks with the Austrians. We awoke to the beautıful sıght of a cove tucked into the mountains and proceed straiıght to the water for rock jumping and spent the day relaxıng and enjoying the sun.

The next morning we decided to test our courage and patience by renting a car and driving through the mountains. Turned out - aside from being hit by a bus - that driving in Turkey isn't so bad. Our destination was anywhere with a beach and we found a great resort full of old German people. We spent the afternoon on the beach and tackled the bar and buffet which was all inclusive...We took full advantage of the pro bono ammeneties and then cheesed it back to our hotel once they caught on to us. Today is our last day ın Turkey and we head on to Kenya via Cairo for a 16 hour layover, we're hoping to see the Pyramids before we head off!

So we have now spent 3 nights in Istanbul. Its a city of 20 million, that can be very intimidating for someone coming from a COUNTRY of 30 million! The city is HUGE, its filled with beautiful mosques and old architecture. The city is on the Bophorous, and the spans as far as you can see. Our first 2 nights we stayed on the Sultanhamet side, which is home to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. We spent the days seeing the sights and eating Kebab, and the nights smoking shisha, drinking beers and a lot of tea! Last night we went on a cruise of the Bophorous we got to see the sunset which was beautiful. We then took a walk up to TaKsim square where we had dinner with some new friends and went to a bar and watch the most hilarious Turkish band sing songs from the late 80s. We are now staying on the other side of Istanbul which is way more lively and not so touristy. Today we decided to go on an adventure and explore the real city. We were happy to see the real side of things! School children love to try and speak to you in english, but seems that the only sentence they know is "what is your name" so that is fun to talk with them! We met up with a couple from the states, they are on a similar trip and they will be heading to India so we plan to meet up with them on that leg of the trip. We are having a great time in Istanbul and are excited to head to Antalya tomorrow to explore a new side of the great country!


More to come....

London - İstanbul

Waking up on Sunday morning wıth the news that a suicıde bomber had graciously kerploded himself in the heart of İstanbul was quıte a shock considering that had booked our hostel lıterally around the corner in Taskım Square. That coupled with another terrorist plan foıled in England we decided to make the most of our last day in London. We spent the morning in Knightsbridge where we had Hotwired a great hotel for one last night of luxury before the real journey began. We checked out Harrods, Mr. Chow and Hyde Park before heading up to Camden Town for some Cheap eats and a great market.  Not Being fully satısfıed wıth the Camden hipster experıence we headed down to Shoredıtch to get a taste of the real Lodon hıpster scene. It was a great area with cool bars, shops, and resturants (honorable mentıon goes to The Owl & The Pussycat). We had dınner back in Knıghtsbridge, the area was full of Paparazo as Rhıanna was staying at the Hotel nextdoor. We are off to İstanbul now, where we have no plans whatsoever. Fınal Pıcs of London will be up soon. Check back to hear about Turkey soon!