Don't know if it was the best thing to do - kids arrived on 23rd Dec morning, and we left for Nairobi on 24th Dec night. So they did a 12 hour time leap east, and then 6 hours west ... their body clocks must have been thoroughly confused!
Doha airport, Qatar ... Qatar Airways seems to be doing their best to wean away traffic from Emirates. They seem to be succeeding too. Airport under renovation ... we had to take a bus to the waiting terminal. A bus!!! Who uses buses nowadays, with all the air corridors?!
All right, the airport is under renovation, they explain. And the transit terminal is certainly adequate, and shows promise.
A hot chocolate from the coffee shop revives the kids and me. S prefers to prowl the shops and the airport lounges. Free and fast wifi makes the wait pleasant ... out come two laptops and two iPads. So much for an internet free holiday!
Nairobi airport. A reminder that Africa is indeed a poor continent (so what if we paid first world rates for the safari hotels!) The airport reminds me of Delhi airport in its pre-refurbished days ... scratch that ... it reminds me more of Bhutan, Paro airport twenty years ago. See a mixture of races waiting at the Immigration line ... and for the first time, we notice the number of Indians. Had forgotten that Kenya has a big Indian population. It's a sight that we will continue to see all through our stay.
Immigration ... A and D hadn't got their tourist visas, S and I had. Turns out we needn't have bothered, they were through the Visa on Arrival line faster than us. Our Immigration officer took ages to clear the three men ahead of us, though he waved us through quickly enough. Fingerprints and photograph on arrival ... hmm, maybe not as backward as I thought.
N and her fiance G waiting for us with the safari car. A forty minute drive through the outskirts of town to her apartment, and as we drive, it hits us ... we are in Africa!
Wide open spaces, flat grasslands as far as the eye can see ... such a difference from the tall cement jungles and ever present up and down roads of Hong Kong. And the sky ... such a clear blue! It strikes us again how polluted Hong Kong is ... something we tend to forget, living there all the time.
N's apartment is beautiful, cool, golden brown walls, wide balconies and open windows. Grills on all the windows remind us that Nairobi is not such a safe city to live. But the complex is pretty, the apartment equally so, the rooms spacious ... N is well settled. Lovely to see the little girl I first saw as a roly poly chatterbox five year old, grown into this poised, beautiful, smart and confident young lady, who's doing so well in life.
First day we settle down and get to know her fiance. Tall, good looking, bright blue eyes ... is he good enough for our precious girl? We decide he is ... A and D take to him instantly. He's quiet and serious to start with, but opens up with the mad S family slowly.
N had planned a festive Christmas dinner at a well known restaurant nearby, with the interesting name "Carnivore". It promises exactly what it delivers. We're all pretty adventurous, and try almost everything on the menu ... S and I balk at ox balls, but A and D are in the mood to try everything. Yep, ox balls are exactly what they say they are. One bite is enough ... after all, they can now truthfully claim they've tasted them. Ostrich and crocodile meat is as far as I'm prepared to go!
Tomorrow we plan a trip to feed giraffes. Tonight jet lag finally catches up.
Doha airport, Qatar ... Qatar Airways seems to be doing their best to wean away traffic from Emirates. They seem to be succeeding too. Airport under renovation ... we had to take a bus to the waiting terminal. A bus!!! Who uses buses nowadays, with all the air corridors?!
All right, the airport is under renovation, they explain. And the transit terminal is certainly adequate, and shows promise.
A hot chocolate from the coffee shop revives the kids and me. S prefers to prowl the shops and the airport lounges. Free and fast wifi makes the wait pleasant ... out come two laptops and two iPads. So much for an internet free holiday!
Nairobi airport. A reminder that Africa is indeed a poor continent (so what if we paid first world rates for the safari hotels!) The airport reminds me of Delhi airport in its pre-refurbished days ... scratch that ... it reminds me more of Bhutan, Paro airport twenty years ago. See a mixture of races waiting at the Immigration line ... and for the first time, we notice the number of Indians. Had forgotten that Kenya has a big Indian population. It's a sight that we will continue to see all through our stay.
Immigration ... A and D hadn't got their tourist visas, S and I had. Turns out we needn't have bothered, they were through the Visa on Arrival line faster than us. Our Immigration officer took ages to clear the three men ahead of us, though he waved us through quickly enough. Fingerprints and photograph on arrival ... hmm, maybe not as backward as I thought.
N and her fiance G waiting for us with the safari car. A forty minute drive through the outskirts of town to her apartment, and as we drive, it hits us ... we are in Africa!
Wide open spaces, flat grasslands as far as the eye can see ... such a difference from the tall cement jungles and ever present up and down roads of Hong Kong. And the sky ... such a clear blue! It strikes us again how polluted Hong Kong is ... something we tend to forget, living there all the time.
N's apartment is beautiful, cool, golden brown walls, wide balconies and open windows. Grills on all the windows remind us that Nairobi is not such a safe city to live. But the complex is pretty, the apartment equally so, the rooms spacious ... N is well settled. Lovely to see the little girl I first saw as a roly poly chatterbox five year old, grown into this poised, beautiful, smart and confident young lady, who's doing so well in life.
First day we settle down and get to know her fiance. Tall, good looking, bright blue eyes ... is he good enough for our precious girl? We decide he is ... A and D take to him instantly. He's quiet and serious to start with, but opens up with the mad S family slowly.
N had planned a festive Christmas dinner at a well known restaurant nearby, with the interesting name "Carnivore". It promises exactly what it delivers. We're all pretty adventurous, and try almost everything on the menu ... S and I balk at ox balls, but A and D are in the mood to try everything. Yep, ox balls are exactly what they say they are. One bite is enough ... after all, they can now truthfully claim they've tasted them. Ostrich and crocodile meat is as far as I'm prepared to go!
Tomorrow we plan a trip to feed giraffes. Tonight jet lag finally catches up.
