I'm on Kenya Airways now instead of hokey tanzania's Precision Air. Look, at the pics. It's like Delta. It's hysterical! But it's a real airline. They are so serious.
Won't be going to that lounge in Dar.
The gaggle of chubby Indians are pissed they missed out on pie.
I told my TBI case manager Gaye, I would not drink on this tightly-scheduled series of four flights over 24 hours. But I know I have someone holding my have on the other side now and eight hours til I leave for Zurich. I'll have a coffee.
He knows to be vigilant. He's a local, after all.
It's all clogged up in Nairobi, stinking of petrol and exhaust. Amazing anything gets done here, but better than the airport.
Cool faux wood ceiling cost a penny.
Yum, fried pineapple treat.
It is gen-u-ine Texas with the salad bar, like a Sizzler!!
Nataka Semeki.
Hapana.
Sitaki Yama.
He hands me two bags of nuts.
Half the plane is Indian! Is it intended as a slight to them?
At pretty Kenyan lady gave me two bottles of vino, at least, biri mvinyo.
It's really time to study Greek and stop trying to think in Swahili! I Just asked the sexy f/a the flight time, and the flight is only an hour! I was expecting four! It's my TBI.. And flight left a half hour early. So we will be in Nairobi long enough to see another bombing. I was the last person on the plane, sauntering along, the second to the last, a French fry trying to get his roll aboard in flight, pardon, pardon. I could not be bothered to rush. I really an an Aussie!
One reason I got on so late was since I didn't chose my seat on this last minute flight, I figured I'd swap to something nice, so I got a window with view and a seat for my cheetah stuffie and beverage tray for mimi mvinyo.
Here we go now. Not sure I'm ready to leave Africa. :(
There it is, Africa!
But there's more. The Kenya airways staff waived me to the intl Xfr terminal and I've spent 45 min looking for immigration. Scary security! Now I'm waiting for a bus to leave. I thought that was unusual!
This day of touring African cities is really touring African airports. That sucks. Now i'm with my driver Mohammed taking me to Pampas restaurant on a stopover. They say big things about it. Nothing else to see nearby, considering the insane traffic in Nairobi.
Traffic stops in one way and hoards of people cross the freeway the other wsy. It feels a bit like Frogger.
Destination: a gaudy gold lame hotel on the outskirts of town that the local travel agent Yosheeda from Pollmans booked for me. Yes, she is the same lady who arranged boxes of only four types of bread as my breakfast and lunch on safari.
She's really outdone herself this time, even compared to the safari food. We've driven an hour out of Nairobi, which restricts what else i can see, to visit her tourist favorite Brazilian steakhouse, Pampas. Yea! Pampas specializes in cute cards on the table guests can flip which signal if you want them to dump more meat on your plate. The waiters and the cute hostess all look like they are off the ranch in Texas.
My big issue at Pampas is that I haven't eaten meat in thirty years, which is why we ran into issues on safari, I guess, though the others' food was crap, too. A steakhouse? Oh, we have vegetables, they said at the door. They have a salad bar. And some bland farmed tilapia. Really?! I made a stopover in Nairobi for this?
We have a Brazilian steakhouse in my home town on the road from the beach. People love it. There is NO way I would ever step foot in there.
My mate, Voiche. She's so radiant, I hardly notice the bland fish or blah salad bar.
But not to whinge too much, this place has:
1) Hot staff
2) Men and women are in Cute texan outfits with bandanas around their necks.
3) They have great wifi.
4) They have killer hot sauce but nothing on which to eat it.
5) The sweetest girl in Kenya (in her hot Texas outfit) is serving me dinner. I ventured to tell her if she really wanted to look Texan, she should wear a cheerleader outfit. Now down, down, Jamie and Stacey. She's gonna be not doing it. Just a thought.
6) Their decorator was spot on, even a faux wood ceiling inside a concrete skyscraper
7) the fried pineapple is surprisingly good, but before 14 hours travel?
I am really not hungry now. After a week of reheated food at the beach with only all-you-can-eat salad bar, salad bar, salad bar, I really never want to see another, and I sure the f&$k didn't want to make another pitstop in Nairobi to experience another. Now that I have eaten this garbage, I feel sick, and I want to go home. That is a rare sentiment on my long trips..
As I've heard zero back from Yosheeda or Pollman's, I would have to advise avoiding them for East African hoidays. My lady Helen in Cape Town can advise you on better operators. They did get me from point to point, the most important part of a trip to East Africa, not to be underestimated, but that is about all.
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