Although Turkey was not our first choice for this year's Easter Holiday break, I am glad we did end up in this mystical and beautiful country. Istanbul has always been to me, at least in my perception, a country packed with culture, intricate designs and mystical religious buildings. I must say, it is very much like that…


With only four days, I have to admit that the jam packed schedule did allow us to see quite a fair bit of Turkey and have a good dip of culture and cuisine. Upon arrival, we took possibly the cheapest mode of transportation from the Airport to Taksim: Tram. Although it is not exactly the most convenient (as you need to change line a couple of times) but it is the best introductory tour of the city. It leads you from the suburban right into the heart of the city passing by the Grand bazaar, the Hagia Sofia Mosque, the Sikerci station, etc.

Getting around in Turkey: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/Transport/IstanbulTram.html

I was mesmerized by the beauty of Istanbul. Hilly landscape spread across the water all filled with intricately designed mosques and residential building. I felt I have landed in the novel I was reading which the story was based on life in Istanbul. I love the feel of the old ancient city

Of course, I did what all other tourist that flocked Istanbul do, visit all the MUST See places such as the Hagia Sophia (church converted to mosque), Blue mosque, the Grand Bazaar, etc. I’d like to highlight those that caught my interest (apart from those famous landmark):

1) Gloria Jeans’s house coffee – Hard to believe but the house coffee at Gloria Jean’s was something out of the world! It seems to be infused with fruit…somehow I couldn’t quite put my finger on what has been added! You can find Gloria Jean’s at the airport.

2) The Fish Burger (Balik Ekmek) – You can find them easily at the Eminonu. The fancy boat where you see them docked by the waterfront is where you can get these delicious fish on bread. Cheapest meal! Cost only 4 TL.

Balik Ekmek - with lemon sauce

3) Stroll along the busy Egyptian Market - Market place has always been a fascination to me. It is at the marketplace where you get to see the life of the local. However, I must admit that this is pretty much "commercialized" for tourist. Don't miss the Grand bazaar which is equally nice except that there were more souvenirs than food.


The copper Turkish coffee pot


Cheese sold at the Egyption Market

4) The intricate designs of the building and even the souvenirs - I must admit that the motives, pattterns and brilliant colour used was intriguing and captivating.



Sikerci Station

5) Gozleme - Turkish pancake which is really thin and stuffed with toppings of your choice. I love the one with Potatoes!

As a resident of the East Africa Community, I suppose one could not miss the famous island that draws millions of beach lover to its shore each year. Afraid that it was over rated, I did not put too much hope about what I am going to experience. After all, I came from Asia, the tropical island where they boast of clear blue water and colourful coral beds.

Upon arrival at Zanzibar town, I was greeted by a familiar warmth and humidity. Without having to waste much time (since I am here only for a night), I headed straight to Nungwi, apparently the best coast in Zanzibar. It's about 70 mins drive from the Airport.

As we draw close to the coast, the weird thing is that you will not see it because you will have to go through a dense "forest" of settlement (village). One would not think that there is a nice emerald water sea beyond the villages. Finally, we arrived at our hotel and I am not too sure if this is the paradise I imagined.


Respecting the local culture...

The coast line is packed "shoulder to shoulder", one resort after another as far as your eyes could see. However, I was mesmerized by the turqoise water and white sandy beach (which is only less than 500m from the shore). The rich turqoise colour of the sea is "ever green" even at night when under the presence of light, you can see the turqoise colour. I find it quite amazing. I guess they don't call this East Africa best beach for no reason.


Since I only had a day, snorkelling was the only activities I had in mind and it was a major disappointment. It was near Kent Mar and it has absolutely nothing but dead coral bed and some colourful fishes to lighten the gloomy atmosphere. Spent rest of the day relaxing, strolling along the beach front looking at some paintings and curio for sale and deciding which restaurant for dinner.

Having visited the Mara, Amboseli and Tsavo, the only National Park I wanted to tick off my list in Kenya is Samburu. Although Samburu is not as well known (or rather not well publicized) like the Mara, if you have the chance, I strongly recommend you to pay a visit to this National Park.

First lesson I learnt from this trip was the difference between, National Park and National Conservancy. A National Park is the government’s responsibility and the national conservancy is the local Government’s.

Unlike the Mara, I was more keen to see the “northern hemisphere” animals such as the Grevy Zebras (where the patterns were so well defined that the made the usual zebras looks quite horrendous), Gerenuk (Giraffe antelope) , Oryx, Somali Ostrich (Blue neck and legs instead of pink), Vulturine Guineafowl (Blue lined feathers instead of dot, again made the usual guinea fowl we see quite ugly), reticulated Giraffe (apparently the patterns are larger but I fail to notice) and many different kinds of colour birds.


Grezy Zebra


Gerenuk


Somali Ostrich

The landscape is completely different from Mara where large plains are not seen at all. Instead, it is hilly and dense with scrubs/tree. Similarly in Shaba, the whole area looks extremely dry, despite the fact that the Ewaso Ngiro river cuts through both of these two parks. The interesting sight I caught was that there seems to be an oasis in the midst of the dryness where you can see a lustrous green patch of tree and grass right the in the middle of the vast brown scrubs.


Green pasture in the midst of the "drought"

We decided to lay our heads at Joy’s Camp which is situated at the Shaba National Conservancy. The torturing rocky ride from the smooth main road to the camp site was all worth it. The camp site has only 10 luxury tents so you can imagine the pleasure of being a guest in this place. I have absolutely no complains about the food (desert was to die for) and for the first time, the packed lunch is not in paper box but a picnic with proper cutleries and mugs for your hot coffee. That was such a treat!


Joy's Camp

Although the road trip from Nairobi to our camp in Shaba was about 7 hours but the long and tiring journey was compensated with a scenic drive (especially around Mt Kenya region) and the comfort of the luxury tent.

Tucked away from the hustle bustle of the busy city of Nairobi, there is a place where local artist (which includes the neighboring countries) store their masterpiece for exhibition and for sale.

This art studio is found along the way to the Tigoni Tea Farms and to be honest one would not even think that there is an art studio in this town called Banana Hill.

From Village Market, on Limuru Road (opposite direction from the UM) and go towards the direction of the tea farm. Watch out for the signboard.



Reason for them setting it up here is because of the cost. There are quite a few nice masterpiece in the stores behind the main exhibition hall and requires some patience to run through each paintings. There are on going exhibition most of the time and you can sign up to receive their news and upcoming events.


Tanzanian Artist's work on exhibition

Nyama Choma (Roast Meat) is a common and well-liked meal kenyan loves to have when they eat out. What I found special about this Nyama Choma place in Thika town is that they do roast pork and not the usual goat or beef.

Close to what the chinese have, this roast pork is season with nothing and only season with some salt before they slipped the steaming hot piece of meat into their mouth.


It doesn't look that appealing but trust me it is yummy!



One odd thing pointed out by my dad is that they seems to charge the same price for cooked and uncooked meat...I guess it's more worth it to get the cooked meat!

All those with the dream of creating your very own little indoor safari by carrying home a 3 ft, 4 ft and 5 ft (even 6 ft) giraffe and don't want to pay more should make their way here. Machakos is often made as a reference where this place is however, the specific town is known as Wamunyu ( which is in the Machakos district). This place, I was told, is one of the source of the wood craving handicraft you see in the Masai Market in Nairobi.

Looking for a relaxing weekend away from Nairobi and yet not willing to travel too far? Look no further. Tigoni has got just what you need, away from the busy Nairobi. Just about 30 mins from Village Market will take you to the beautiful landscape of tea plantations in Tigoni. Just by driving in this area itself is therapeutic.