A Lady Named Rosa

August 23, 2016

Roaming the port town of Maputo and letting the place sink in – I knew I was getting dead bored and I needed some respite. That was Rosa, the beautiful receptionist at the hotel and who I had been trying to hook up with for some time. After a few days of persuasion I walked out and gifted her a box of Ferrero Roche chocolates. After days of diligently making excuses, she finally relented for a dinner date with me. We spent time in the evening hopping around the street downtown Maputo, enjoying ourselves dancing on the road and making funny faces at people. Finally we arrived at a Italian restaurant for some beer and Pizza.

To my horror she asked me if she could invite her sister over too? ” Well I thought it was our date darling , your sister is only going to be a disruption in our time together .” She gave me the sweetest smile any one had ever given me and finally I relented, hoping to enjoy the company of two nice young African women. Continue Reading "A Lady Named Rosa"

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Hans & I in Magical Maputo

August 20, 2016

After some great adventures, romance and animals at Kenya reached Maputo in the land of Mozambique.

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This is a country that has an AK47 in it’s flag and stuff can get exciting here a bit! I checked into the Villa Das Mangas situated in the town centre.

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It is a sea port of significance and was a Portuguese colony granted freedom in the early 1970s. Continue Reading "Hans & I in Magical Maputo "

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Caroline and the African Hair Cut!

August 16, 2016

I think I have done Kenya a bit now and wanted to head out further and visas had been applied for and a few came in and my next stop was Mozambique. It was my last night at Nairobi and I was determined to have some fun. But first I needed a haircut and so I ventured into an African hair cutting salon. Continue Reading "Caroline and the African Hair Cut!"

By adminin Africa, others

Damn I Am a Dad Now!

August 15, 2016

Maasai Mara had been great. No two ways about that and I enjoyed it to the fullest. I went back to Nairobi after that for a two day tour of the city. I parked myself in a hotel aptly called After 40 for two nights at $100 a night. My friend back from school at Welham Boys, Yah Krishna sent a car for me and I was off to see a really loving place called the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

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The organisation was founded in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick D.B.E, in honour of her late husband, an Englishman, a famous naturalist and the founding warden of Tsavo East National Park, David Leslie William Sheldrick MBE. It is a famous landmark in Nairobi and housed here are orphaned animals like elephants, mambas and rhinos.

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They have a show beginning at 11:00 am everyday where baby elephants that are under the age of four are showcased to a cheering crowd. I saw school children watching the show and playing with these orphaned elephants. Continue Reading "Damn I Am a Dad Now!"

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Dining with Lions and Leopards – Maasai Mara

August 10, 2016

One of the last part of my journey through Kenya was the Maasai Mara National Reserve (aka Masai Mara or simply The Mara) a massive 1500 sq km game reserve in the Narok County at Kenya. It is right next to, adjacent with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

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The Maasai are the historical inhabitants of the area. Tall and hardy they are a colourful tribe in the way they dress and their simple lives – still making fire the very old fashioned way!

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I was staying in a camp just outside the game reserve and it is a jungle camp right in the middle of the Mara land. I have a tent to myself for the four nights I planned to be here. The tents are spread Continue Reading "Dining with Lions and Leopards – Maasai Mara"

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Animals in the wilderness of Africa

August 8, 2016

A gallery of some of my better pictures of the animals I saw !

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Continue Reading "Animals in the wilderness of Africa"

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The Baboon and the Birds at Lake Nakuru

August 8, 2016

The word Nakuru in the Masai language means a dusty place and is also the fourth largest city at Kenya and the capital of Nakuru County.

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The Nakuru Lake lies to the south of the city and is a great collection of African fauna.

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It is a sanctuary for many wild animals. There are elephants roaming free, water buffaloes, baboons and zebras and wilder beasts that find this an ideal habitat. Continue Reading "The Baboon and the Birds at Lake Nakuru"

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Onwards to Mount Kenya and ruminations!

August 7, 2016

The Amboseli leg of my journey was coming to an end and it was time for us to move towards mount Kenya. In the meanwhile I also took the opportunity to apply for my Zambia visa online. I used a 3G dongle with a local SIM card to get access to internet on the move and while the connection was not exactly stellar – it did get the job done!

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I could upload and send mails , everything on the move from the comfort of my van. I am thinking now that I need to go back and tie up with a telecom service provider and get a discounted deal. Telecommunication cost can be a substantial part of ones travelling expenses especially if you also want to blog while at it. Continue Reading "Onwards to Mount Kenya and ruminations!"

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The Lioness of Amboseli and the many animals there !

August 5, 2016

For most tourists to Africa the goal of the Safari is to catch the big game – perhaps a glimpse of the Lion King. It is not a tough thing to do if you look in the right places and I spotted the king of the beasts as he lazily slept on the coarse grass of Amboseli Park.

I stopped my mini bus to take pictures of this magnificent beast, and today it did not disappoint – except that it was a lioness! The Queen (can we call it that?) was laying on the grass as it looked at me drawing close in my bus.

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It got up and yawned at me and went along for a lazy indolent, stroll. I clicked away with my camera and the distance between me and her mustn’t have been more then 20 meters and I had a good view.

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Next was a team of elephants who where busy eating the bush grass and sipping water from the lake with their cubs at their tails.

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As we wandered further we came upon another a herd of wild beasts, water buffaloes and zebras.

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This time we circled around the lake to catch a glimpse of some amazing bird which included a red billed Pelican and what might have been a Kingfisher.

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So much of color on a bird the kingfisher definitely looked majestic and perhaps no wonder it became a mascot for a beer brand!

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“ You know Anuj, I used to watch Mahabharata when I was young and I think it was a famous Indian TV serial which was also very famous in Kenya” remarked John my guide once during the safari .

John - my guide in the bush! — John – my guide in the bush!

“ I take a lot of Indians to safari , nice people and they eat a lot of chilies with their food !” He added making small talk in the heat and dust of the bush.

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I smiled and asked “ who was your favorite hero from Mahabharata then?” John scratched his head for a while and said “ Bhishma, the man who lay on a bed of arrows , man he was so powerful because no one could kill him as he had a divine boon , so all they could do was to put him on a bed of arrows .”

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I was frankly amazed he knew all this, about a culture so far away to be impossible. I was also fairly heart warmed thinking the strength of our culture that spreads so far and wide.

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John was a fine guide and made sure I had everything I needed on my journey, he took care of my lunch my drinks and my rest and recreation.

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Africans are simple people, brave strong and forthright. Sometimes I wonder how they were once colonized by the Continental Powers at one time.

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Kenya today is a vibrant economy and has evolved with the spread of technology, internet and mobile telephony. They are one of the more advanced nations in Africa.

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Tourism forms a big part of their national revenue and there are people from all over the world here. I saw and met Danes, Russians, Koreans, Japanese all come over to see this wild spectacle of Africa. And what a spectacle it was indeed.

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As we headed back from the observation point in the park at about lunch time I realized i had spent almost six hours watching these magnificent animals.

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Time just flew and I wouldn’t have noted had it not been as I was hungry. After a bite of spaghetti and meatballs I opened a bottle of lemonade called Krest, a brand owned by Coca Cola and available in Africa.

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As I sipped it I could tell the flavor of the drink had not changed and was the same even twenty five years back when I was last in Africa growing up in a land so vast and unique.Now with the afternoon heat getting to me i soon retired for a nap dreaming about my next destination which is Mount Kenya.

By adminin Africa, others

Hakuna Matata from Kenya

August 2, 2016

Madagascar was a blast and now I head forward and it was time to bid adieu to Antananarivo and fly in to the Jomo Kenyata Airport (IATA: NBO, ICAO: HKJK) at Nairobi for the next leg of my African adventure. Visa was not an issue though yes Indian passport holders need one with a fee of $50 for a single entry tourist visa. You can apply for an e visa also.

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I was booked into the Radisson Blu hotel and once checked in – spent the next two days resting and getting my bearings around the bustling new city.

Downtown Nairobi – The Uhuru National Park – From Wikipedia

I was advised by my bankers at India not to use your credit cards in this part of the world. It is a bit like the credit card fraud capital of the world though no it is not – as per statistics that I can see – that is in fact the US! I was advised and took along an ICICI Multi currency Travel card – a sort of “pre paid” card with a stipulated amount of dollars loaded onto it which can be topped up according to my need. I felt that the card was in fact a god’s gift of sorts considering how secure it made travelling and transacting.

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I roamed around the city and found my self a tour operator for a 10 day trip around Kenya, covering the Amboseli National Park, The Masai Mara game reserve, Mount Kenya and others. At $250 a day, all inclusive it was a bit steep to me but it was a private tour and the service has been excellent so far.

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Soon we blazed around Nairobi headed to sample and see the wilderness of Amboseli wild life at it’s closest.

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I have this huge SUV with a open top all to myself with a exclusive guide and driver. We were to get to a camp at the park.

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It is about eight hours drive from Nairobi. We stopped en route for food and other rations for the camp. Once at the camp I had a tent to myself and perhaps very aptly named Hippo.

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Other tents had names like Baboon or Zebra etc and I was pretty happy with my camp’s appellation. After a lunch of Chicken cooked African style with peas and rice we headed for the park.

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I realized and saw the magic of having an open top SUV. It was so convenient for me to take photo’s of the animals and they were so near to us.

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First I saw a group of ostriches, then a herd of Zebras, followed by wilder beasts, lions and before long wild donkeys and before long I managed to glimpse a hyena as well.

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The view was glorious and camera worked over time. I got some great shot’s of the sunset among the trees and the lake of course.

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On the way back I watched as we passed Mount Kenya in all it’s majesty just staring at me from afar.

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Truly this was a magnificent land of Disney’s Lion King and it felt like I was right in the middle of all the action. All the animals looked like characters in the film, a mind blowing experience.

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On the way back, we stopped at the local Masai Village and I was greeted by Thrombo which means The Chief. He showed me around the village.

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I danced with the Masai and saw how they made fire with a stick, a piece of wood some elephant dung and straw.

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It is a art in itself and a trick one must learn to survive in the wild. After strolling through the village with their huts made of straw and cow dung, it looked not too different from the villages at India in U.P or Bihar.

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Except that the Masai are a polygamous society. They also keep cattle , raise goats and keep donkeys.

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They are an ancient nomadic tribe of Africa and have kept their tradition and way of life intact for thousands of years.

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I went into one of the huts and saw their kitchen and cooking utensils , the beds are made of cow hides and their markets sell colorful artifacts and jungle jewelry.

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The word Amboseli means the Hurricane in Swahili, and this land witnesses many a hurricaneand hence the name. Amboseli is also a wild bat ones that inhabits these land.

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That is the legend of the land and it’s wildlife park and for me it was a very satisfying experience.

A Lady Named Rosa

Hans & I in Magical Maputo

Caroline and the African Hair Cut!

Damn I Am a Dad Now!

Dining with Lions and Leopards – Maasai Mara

Animals in the wilderness of Africa

The Baboon and the Birds at Lake Nakuru

Onwards to Mount Kenya and ruminations!

The Lioness of Amboseli and the many animals there !

Hakuna Matata from Kenya

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