The Week that Was .... Whirlwind ! We begin with Masai Mara ....

We are all organized and ready to take on the Wilderness with their inhabitants of Kenya. And, it is Mom , Shilpa & I , who begin this trip by flying to Masai Mara. The flight is a  12 seater ( maybe 14 ) , which reminded me of Vayudoot Airlines which Dad called Yamdoot airlines , coz it was tiny , hardly held 10 passengers , and when it flew around the mountain , one could touch the trees!!! ;-)

 

We reach safe & sound , in what looks like someone's field , cleared for this landing . One tiny room , with a veranda like space , is what you can call the Masai airport!! ahem!

 

The 7 seater Van with pop up Roof , is already there and will be with us for the entire Safari Masti!

 

It's 2 days of making sure that the wildlife , has no clue that I have arrived & we do get to see them !!!  Although going across to check out the river crossing ( since it would mean a full day trip & I was flying back the next day to Nairobi ) , was not possible .However,  we did 3 outings and managed to see a decent number of animals and birds.

 

The wild one's, in their Savannah surroundings, is an experience not to be missed. To spot the pride of Lion , or the Majestic Cheetah is not the easiest , with the grassland acting as the perfect camouflage. The driver/guide , made sure we also spotted Elephants,Thompsons Gazelle, Wild Buffalos, Wildebeests,Giraffes , Zebras and some interesting Birds! Was a real treat, to witness the Lion Cubs, upto all kinds of badmashi , under the lazing but watchful eyes of their mommies!

 

The Sarova Mara Game Park , is a lovely lodge & it was a first time ever that we stayed in a Tent , albeit , tres luxurious style, with a lovely view , where we actually had a few gazelles and birds visit us at the tent , not scared to give us some company !! Friendly staff , super food (lots of Indian dishes), Daru ,the Curio shop was well stocked & a nature trail for inquisitive walkers!!

 

For me personally , I would have preferred staying in a Lodge nearer to the River ( unless I was spending like a good 2 full nights at Sarova)   , such that the crossing of, mainly the Wildebeest  & a few other animals from Serengeti to Masai is easily accessible . And be a witness to this migration , jahan crocodile infested Masai River se bachte bachate , apni jaan hatheli pe le kar , doosri taraf aana , is an adventure by itself for them!

 

The Wildebeest , walking in a straight line behind each other in perfect military formation , was amazing . Guess, the Army all over the world has learnt about Disciplined  Marching from them! ;-)

 

Time for me to take off after one night stay at Masai . If only I had stayed another night , the 3 of us would have gone and checked out the river crossing..... sighhhhhhhhh !!!!

 

Points to be noted :

If interested in River crossing aka Migration, one must plan between mid Jul to mid Aug, best bet , be here mid July ( Serengeti to Masai) . Else between mid Oct to mid Nov , best bet , mid Oct ( Masai to Serengeti, homeward bound ) .

 

Minimum stay ( at any of the Game Parks ) should be 2 nights, if you want an easy pace, and to completely enjoy the property that you are staying at , else one night is also fine!

 

Highlight :

 

Aircraft to Nairobi takes forever to arrive & we wait in the sweltering heat . Couple of airlines have come & gone but not mine. Already an hours wait & we ask the driver to ask the Pilot of the charted flight, that is waiting very patiently, since the last 15mins for some passenger of theirs , to check if they might have any information about my flight.The driver speaks with the pilot & comes running back to check if my full name is Rita Patnaik. When I say it is , he picks up my bags and runs towards the aircraft saying , the Pilot has been waiting for you.

Strange as it might seem , it is a regular practice to cancel a flight, without informing the passengers & then requesting another airline to collect them !!! How the co-ordination between the new airline & passenger takes place , is beyond me ! Unlike everyone goes through the same experience as I did!!  And how does it matter to me , I got a better 12 seater for Nairobi & a real good looking American twenty something year old to give me company!!! :-)

Te Week Zips by ....!!!!

Sabrina's arrival begins with Pannag , inviting his friends for a Cook Out at Mystic Gardens. This is a place where you can order food ( is a regular restaurant) or they provide you with the ingredients to make the dish that you want to make yourself & rest you can order. Very picnic type of feel , where the girls ( wives) take it easy and the men show cause their culinary expertise! J

 

And the following days whizzed with outings to the Malls, Sabrina doing shopping for her friends & family. Dinners (The Village is the place for some real good eating places & the Food Court is super !! ) & Drives around the city . Visits and meals with Rinnie & Pannag's friends , who would drop by to meet us.

A visit to Diamond Plaza , was an eye opener. I was sure we had entered a place which was a hybrid of Sarojini Nagar & Lajpat Nagar !!!Only difference , the people , more Gujju's than Punjabi's!!!! J

 

And before we realize its time for Shilpa's arrival & for us to get ourselves ready to witness the beauty , wilderness & wildlife of Kenya !

 

Highlight :

 

You need official permission to take photographs at random. If you are caught taking a picture in the restricted areas, you can be fined big time or even arrested !!  Main being the complete area in and around the consulate areas & the heart of the city which houses most of the Government buildings! According to Pannag , I had taken a risk taking some of the pictures of  even the roads while we were driving around!!!! So, people …… you all have been Warned !

 

 

Genral Coffee time in the City!!

The weekend begins with , all thanks to Rinnie , who seals my wanting to braid my hair the very Kenyan ( inspite of  Mother dear so not happy with the thought ) , by making sure Rose gets a hairdresser home , who shall braid the hair for , yours truly, the very Kenyan style … in Kenya look like a Kenyan, i say !! Well , well ,well …… the hair n head look different  & on a serious note , I won't look so bad if I did decide to go Bald ! Bald is Beautiphul!! J

And then it's off for another cuppa coffee . So what if the National Museum was shut , and we cudn't see the reptiles , the coffee at Savanna Café , made up for this in more ways than one . Which also meant , I had to try out more coffee's at different Café's !

And off we go to Java House . It's a lovely place next to The Village . Once again , I try the local coffee , brewed by them , which is way stronger than the one I had at Savanna Café , but really good. Ruchi would have loved it !! J

Next day is a visit to Giraffe Centre , to feed the Giraffe's .When we reach there , from the two who were being fed by the visitors , one decided to go back to the wilderness , leaving the other one to fend for himself against the onslaught of all the junta waiting in line to feed him , including us !!!! Bechara, issiliye he had those soulful eyes , if he left he would disappoint so many & if he didnt he would definitely be hit by a bad stomach , kare toh kya karen !!!

Tried to pull a few tricks to get into Giraffe Manor , which might have worked , had their not been some major group visiting and another staying there . Never mind , shall make it a point to stay here for a night atleast ! Will be interesting to have a Giraffe stick his neck & head inside our room while we are having our morning chai , sneaking a biscuit of the table & watch the other animals roam around freely in this place , which literally is a part of the Giraffe Centre , and is surrounded by forest. 

On Saturday , we decide to have coffee while watching the Sun Set at Ole Sereni , with backdrop of the Nairobi National Park. Interestingly , this use to be the US Consulate before it was bombed in 1998. A very fresh ambience and we made the most of being here, while waiting for Sabrina's flight to arrive from London .

We check , flight on time & off we go to the airport , which is less than 15 mins away , to welcome Sabrina to Kenya!

Highlights : Juice is pronounced as jueeece , and me a minute of two to figure out what the chap taking our order was asking . 

And I was offically being called a mix between a Muindi & a Muzungu , after braiding my hair and looking completely different , by the few who met me !:-)