Arusha

Zee:

ARUSHA - my home town.  How do I even begin to explain the experience of coming back after 31 years!  It was kind of bitter-sweet, shall I say. The two days that we spent in there were like a roller-coaster of emotions.  First, Arusha is not the little cute town that it was - it has grown in all directions.  It is still cute and pretty, but not little any more.  It has grown into a big city with supermarkets and 5 Star Hotels.  There are even a few Traffic Lights and more round-abouts.

The clock tower, which was the centre of universe (which actually is also the midpoint between Cairo and Cape Town) now mimics New York's time square with large flat panels showing fancy ads.  However, standing by the clock tower and looking around you, much of it still looks the same - the post office, New Arusha Hotel (not The Arusha Hotel), Naranjan Singh ... and, by the way, the Manji's Gas Station is still the Manji's Gas Station.

One big disappointment - Arusha Secondary School - which was the fairly new and the best high school then - is in shambles.  Broken windows, worn out desks ... oh, so sad!  Spent wonderful time with Aruna, my old friend.

Arusha Jamat Khana is still as beautiful as it was then ... except ... there were barely 20 people in attendance.  How sad from those days when on special occasions people would be sitting all the way out in the foyer and down the stairwell.  Sigh!

The best moment for me in Arusha was to see Yog Vohra (whom I used to work for) and Amita, his wonderful wife.  Despite his health struggles over the years, he was in great spirits and still the old Yog.

Safari Stories

REENA:
Hey All,
Our Internet's been down so we haven't updated in a few days. What I'll do is recap the highlights of my experiences these past few days...I must say, I'm having the time of my life. Seeing wild animals up close is exhilerating and so fascinating. We have spent hours over the past few days just watching them in their natural habitat and there's nothing like it.
Before I get into the Parks, we visited a Masai Village and got a tour of it. It was a good experience but also kind of out of my element. They live so basically, (we went inside a hut made of wood and mud - never complain about an uncomfy mattress, because they sleep on wood!) I guess it was alright and very interesting to see, but at the same time the pre-school was sad to see. They had a small black board with holes in it and were learning off of that. But even with the little they have, they still seem to value even the smallest bit of educating their kids, so I guess that's something.
Ok, now onto the parks.
First off we have Serengeti National Park- WOW. Can I just start off by saying we have been so lucky and have seen every animal we wanted to - UP CLOSE. How up close??? Well, a lioness walked up to our car, grazing the side of it! We saw 2 leopards in trees, tons of giraffe, innumerable elephants and zebras up close, MONKEYS GALORE! (my favourite part, of course!) I think one of the most amazing animals to watch is the elephant. THey watch their kids just like humans do, and are very family oriented (kind of reminds me of the Manjis and Chohans!) and are so majestic in their movement. Mid day we witnessed three lioness on the prowl for some IMPALA meat! They were staked out at a watering hole but, Unfortunately for us, the kill could take days while they wait for an impala to risk the journey to drink water. The next day on our way out of the park, they were still there waiting.
At Serengeti, again we stayed at the Serena Lodge, again very beautifuly designed. This one was right in the game park and had individual huts so after dark as animals pass through or come looking for water from the swimming pool, we had to be escorted by a guard to and from the main building. Another beautiful design to match the surroundings which is mostly masai land. As we were having dinner we saw a couple of hyenas by the pool, and walking back to our room (#40), there was a zebra and a warthog by #57. The previous night there was a lion by the pool and people just stand there quietly and take pictures.
Day 2 at Serengeti we saw a few lionesses with baby cubs! So cute, they were all lying under a shady tree and the babies were playing around and drinking their mums' milk. Seriously, seeing things like this up close, NOT fenced up, is breath-taking.
Also, I think I've found my perfect vacation-style: SAFARI! All the fun of sightseeing, ANIMALS and excitement, but NO WALKING! For those of you who know, I'm a LITTLE bit lazy. Being driven around is so much better than the ZOOMOBILE (buggle - do you remember how tired I was that day?)
Next, we visited Olduvai Gorge where they found the oldest evidence of man-like footprints and bones. Very cool to think that this is in Africa and they are still uncovering various types of extinct animals to this day. That day, we also visited OLDEANI where Dadi Maa and Dada Bapa lived and mum used to go on school holidays. Mum will go into this more as she was so excited about finding the old dukan and home, AND finding 2 old ladies who remembered dadi maa!
Before heading into Lake Manyara, we stayed at a campsite (...) haha. Also again, for those who know me well enough, that's really taking me out of my element! Although, I must admit, it was a Luxury campsite with beds and a full bathroom and shower, BUT...STILL, a campsite, with bugs inside. The thing that made it a lot better was all the Vervet Monkeys around our room! Google them, they are the cutest monkeys I may have ever seen! They are so sneaky and fun to watch, got them on video wrestling and swinging around on trees! No more camping for me though, but don't say I didn't try it again.

Highlights from Lake Manyara: A Mother and baby elephant crossed the road in front of our car, so close! Lots of blue monkeys, Vervet monkeys and baboons (TONS OF BABIES) Lake Manyara is the only place in the world where you can see lions on trees so we were on the lookout for that but unfortunately, we didn't see any...We did, however, see three giraffes sitting (very rare).
Keep trying to find a baby vervet monkey to bring home (BABY BUGGLE!) but that doesn't seem to be working out.
The room we're staying in tonight in Tarangire has elephant poo RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR Balcony (which means, at some point today - it looked fresh hahaa, an elephant walked by and might have used our wall as a scratching post!) We're on the lookout for another one!
Can't wait to show everyone pictures and the video of this trip - it's really been amazing! After finishing Tarangire tomorrow, we'll be heading to Arusha (our last stop before going back to Nairobi) Less than a week to go and we'll be home! Miss you all..

ZEE:
OLDEANI - the highlight of my trip - it was like a pilgrimage. For those of you who don't know our family history, Oldeani is a little village located amidst coffee and wheat farms not too far from the Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara game parks. My grand parents used to live there and ran a 'department store'. It was no Walmart - probably a quarter of an aisle of Walmart, but for that area it was big. As children, in the sixties, we spent all our vacations there. It was wild and exciting. I remember many many trips to the game parks with my uncles (Husein, Kakababu, ...) - what I most remember is the trips to Ngorongoro to chase rhinos (unfortunately they are almost extinct). So, approaching Oldeani, the one and only winding tarmac road that went down the steep hill and up into Oldeani is now mostly dirt - a few patches of tarmac still left over actually confirmed to me that we were on the right track. At the turn-off from Karatu, we had asked a local guy on a little motorcycle directions to Oldeani. He gave us the instructions and since he was going in the same direction, he made sure we were following him. For a while we didn't realize that until a few times, when we stopped to read some signs or look at schools or buildings that are new to that area, we noticed that he had stopped as well. That is how warm and hospitable the local Tanzanians are, When he had asked as where in Oldeani we wanted to go, I had said "the post office" as I knew from there I could trace back exactly where the store/home was. The post office is still the same but the one and only street doesn't look anything like it did then. There are newer little homes now on both sides of the street but we recognized our store and home behind. Most of the 4-5 stores that were in our neighbourhood (Lalaji, Patel, ... don't remember the others) are now boarded up and not maintained (sad). We met an older lady, Fatima, who remembered everyone - she's the one who reminded me of Lalaji and their son Suresh (I think that's what she said) and the 'petrol station' which is no longer there. She said she used to deliver milk to us and remembers Maa, Husein and Sadru. We walked aroud the house and to the back and peeked in although it is mostly boarded. All the doors and windows are still the original doors - the horizsontally split door leading into khane, The back door leading into the dining area, the tree Azim, Mehboob, Salim and I used to climb (lots of pictures and video to show you). The trees that were in our yard, just outside khane are no longer there (I vaguely remember they were either the tall rose bushes or pomogranade (sp)). Standing there, I relived my childhood - Maa making rotli in the kitchen or knitting in the middle room with an eye out into the store; bapa, Husein and Sadru in the store, us kids running around through the store or the house or playing by the river in the valley behind our property, or making pretend cars with empty thread spools and a long stick and driving those up the road to the post office and back, playing cricket in the back, our dog, Jim, biting his own tale and driving himself crazy, or just being spoilt by maa, bapa (grandparents) and kakas (uncles) ... oh! those wild days. Oh, there's so much more I want to say .....

TARANGIRE GAME PARK:

This is an elephant haven. I have never seen so many elephants,and of course, we saw the other animals too - giraffes, zebras, herds of buffallos crossing over as though they were migrating, wilderbeasts,baboons, etc. The Sopa lodge we stayed at was right in park where4 elephants and other animals do come by looking for water but are pretty harmless if not disturbed. The only downside about this park is the tsetse flies (none around the lodge, though). The first day was fine but the next day they were a true pests. We constantly had to be on the watch. So we cut our trip a little short are are now heading to Arusha - another pilgrimage for me - my home town, Until tomorrow .....

Hi all,

Haven't been on in a few days as it's been one early morning after another and by the time we get home at night, I have just enough energy to get ready for bed and then pass out!

So, we went to Zanzibar for 2 nights, taking a ferry there and back. Oh my goodness, as you may know, I am terrible at boats and spent the whole ride sick with my eyes closed, kind of ruining my morning. Anyway, Zanzibar was BEAUTIFUL! Such a magical city, with so much rich history, beautiful buildings and architecture, and very nice people. It is so safe, the safest African city we've been to by far, with tourists walking around till 3 am by themselves. The first day we spent walking around the city, visited the first JamatKhana ever in east Africa (1800s), and saw the beautiful Forodhani Park. This new park has made the local business ppl so excited and proud to be working there. Mum will explain more on this.

The next day we went on a small speed boat (ugh) to the Prison Island there, where they originally took slaves to be exported out. It later became a quarantine spot for East Africa. Kind of sad, but what they've done now is put up a hotel there and have started breeding tortoises there. Unlike here at a zoo, I picked up, fed, and was walking around hundreds of tortoises. (buggle, I want one now, they're so cute!) Some were hundreds of years old even! Next we checked out the House of Wonders Museum where some Sultan lived back in the day - oh lord it was huge. So grand and elaborate!

Highlight of Zanzibar was definitely Forodhani Park though. Seeing the Zanzibari business people take such pride in their little marketplace felt really good. Each stall had their cooks wearing chef's hats and aprons or chef's coats which you don't see anywhere else in East Africa. At night, each stall lights up Lanterns and the whole park glows! It's actually quite mesmerising, we sat there for at least an hour each evening just taking it all in.

So, back in Dar we went to Aunty Azmina's sister's place for dinner last night and it was Diwali. Oh my goodness, All evening and night till after 1 am, there were fatakra (fireworks) like no other. So loud even car alarms kept going off! Happy Diwali and new year to everyone by the way! Anyway Dar is really great - still full of Indians (yay!) and growing so much continuously.

Tomorrow morning (early again...) we leave for Moshi where we'll be for a night before taking off on our SAFARI! Here I come, monkeys! Just over a week and I'll be home (Anch and Buggle, start the countdown haha). I miss you all!

- Reena

Mombasa - Tanga - Dar es Salaam

Hello again from Z
Have had many full days and late nights so couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to update the blog the last couple of nights [yes, yes, for those of you who know me well, I know it's hard to believe that I couldn't stay awake :) ]  It's the sun, and, temperaturs in the mid 80s ..... mmmm

Spent most of the last day in Mombasa at the  resort in Bamburi between the beach and the pool.  Mehboob and his son Husein also spent the day with us.  Went into town in the evening for dinner to a well known Indian restaurant that has been in operation for ever.  The only difference is that the menu has now expanded from a single line 'Dinner' which meant only one choice - khima curry (ground lamb curry) to 4 pages of appetizers, entres, vegetarian, non-veg, desserts, drinks, etc.  That's what I call progress!!!!  On our way to the restaurant we stopped by the light house where, even today, street vendors line up along the ocean front and crowds of people fill the area, walking around and eating sekelo mogo and sekeli makai (cassava and corn on the cob roasted over open fire).  Thoroughtly enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.  An african street performer sang a couple of indian songs for us (can you believe that??).  Got that on video.

Another interesting sight was just across from the indian restaurant, a crowd of people had gathered, those in the front seated and those at the back standing, all focused on ... guess what....?  A tiny television screen.  What entrepreneurship.  The owner of the TV had set up a little roadside cinema. 

Reena gave you an account of our bus ride from Mombasa to Tanga and our time in Tanga.  It was amazing to see how Vinod remembered every detail of the streets, who lived where and who had their business where and what building existed in the past which now has been replaced by something else, .....  Met his friends and relatives. 

The ride with Zahur from Tanga to Dar was certainly very entertaining.  Zahur's brother, Salim Bhanji, who we know very well in Toronto (Fateh, apparently he is good friends with you), is a stand-up comedian and a great singer.  I guess the talent runs in the family.  We had picked up kababs and bhajias from the Blue Room in Tanga for our journey.  We stopped half way (before Chalinze) by a road-side village kiosk, under the shade of trees, to have our snacks and sodas.  We talked to little african kids there and the store keeper - mama rita (mother of Rita) that is what their identity is once they become a parent - was so hospitable, she even offered to open the church hall and get us some benches for us to sit on.  Of course, we refused as we needed to stand for a while and stretch before getting into the car again for another 3-4 hours. Before leaving, we gave the kids money and some goodies (cookies and chips) that we had with us. You should have seen how happy the kids and the mother were.  AND, before we knew it, we were surrounded by kids - don't know where they came from.  Maybe they fell from the trees.  How did they get the news???  Probably CELL PHONES.

The first impression approaching Dar - "Where did all these cars come from?" and, of course, the tuk tuks (auto rikshas).   Arrived at Shaffin's place at 4:30 pm to an electricity rationing day.  With the drought they've had, once a week there is no electricity from 6 am to 11:30 pm.  We had chai and bhajias with Azmina and Suhail (their son) and the4 5 of us sat and chatted for hourse - well into true darkness.  We lit candlees and continued until Shaffin came home.  Got caught up with him then showered and got ready - all under candle light, and went out for dinner and drive through the city.  Also spent today re-living the old times, showing Reena all the places that she often hears us talk about.  Anch, tell your dad, we passed by the store where he had his laundry. 

Dar es Salaam has grown and modernized.  There is nothing we can say that we have and they don't.  You can now buy everything - local and imported - as long as you have money.  Based on the value of currency here now, I can say I spent about 50,000 today.  I can also say I am a billionaire (at least for the next week or so).  Unlike Nairobi, which is all gated and guarded and deserted at night, Dar is open, and warm and busy and fun all the time.  People are out at night, walking around, eating and enjoying themselves - just like the old days.  Many of the old restaurants we used to go to - Mermaid Fish and Chips, the sekela chicken place across etc, are no longer there but there are many other similar new places and roadside choma nyama (bbq) vendors.  The one and only Snow Cream ice-cream place has now moved from its original place near Avalon cinema to a different place (can't remember the street), and there are half a dozen other ice-cream places - we went to one last night.  For those of you who know Dar dearly, we went to Oyster Bay and ate mogo (cassava), viazi tamu (yams), makai (roasted corn on the cob), kitale bateta (young coconut filled with boiled, partly mashed potatoes and chilli/coconut chutney), and, of course, coconuts, mmmmh yummy. That was our lunch.  Later in the evening we went to the famous K Tea Shop and had kababs, samosas, mandazi and, of course, their famous chai.  It's all still the same. 

With beautiful hotels, shopping centres, condos and villas along the ocean and in the city, you now see a blend of very old and interesting arabian architecture along with modern, western architecture all interspersed, giving it a different charm.  The local market was very interesting - bought some of their art work and crafts. 

Leaving for Zanzibar early in the morning for a couple of days.  Will not be taking the laptop so you'll get more updates when we get back to Dar.  Will load more pictures when we get back as it is almost 1:00 am and I must get some sleep.  Have to be up at 6 am.

Dar Es Salam!

Hi everyone! We haven't updated in a few days as we've been quite busy! We had our last day in Mombasa and headed on the MASH COOL bus to Tanga. It was supposed to be Air Conditioned and it was.. while the bus was at the bus station. Then as soon as we started driving, in came the hot air! Let's just say it was a bumpy ride, but it was quite the experience and i really enjoyed it. Seeing all the small villages along the way was really something, and the thing I most remember about the ride were the school children, All dressed in uniforms, that we found in each and every village in the middle of nowhere! There dedication to school is amazing, if you think about it, and we sometimes saw the same uniforms walking for miles to reach their homes.

Tanga was very cool to see for me. I really liked the town itself. Although it was small and had gotten MUCH smaller since Dad's whole family lived there, it was much more calm than Nairobi. Everyone knows everyone, and what you see is less segregation between the Asians and Africans, which I really liked. (It's really hard to get used to the the fact that everyone isn't equal in Kenya and Tanzania, as opposed to Canada.) The funniest thing happened: We were checking into our hotel in Tanga and we ran into another old friend of my dad's from Tanga, who was also passing through! He ended up giving us a ride to Dar Es Salam today, which was much better than the bus would've been. Dad had a great time in Tanga, much better than the last time he visited. A friend's son took us all over, showing us his old primary school where he was a prefect (can you imagine!) and all places he and the family lived and ate. We had dinner at the swimming club where all the guys used to cause trouble, and it ended up being a very fun reunion for him which was great to see.

Today we started our journey to Dar Es Salam, the roads were paved THANK GOD, although they had speed bumps every 2 mins the whole way, which was very frustrating. Along the way, the African police stop you randomly so you pay them off to keep going but you shouldn't be doing that. The guy we hitched a ride with is quite the comedian and he has a whole routine he plays around with the cops here. So, the cop stopped us and asked to check the trunk for a mandatory first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc. So he took our friend to the back and said, well we have lots of bags but it's all there. The cop then said, well, you're supposed to give us something (aka money). To get around the hassle, he just told him, we're part of the World Health Organization, showing him his HEALTH CARD as proof of where he works and as his ID (HAHA) and that we were on our way to Dar to pick up blood samples to take back to London for the WHO. Anyway, at that point he just said OH GO GO AHEAD! So very funny. Apparently it's part of the whole African thing to get away with things when it comes to the law.

And now here we are in Dar and of course today we get here and the power was out all the way till 11 pm! Talk about a wake up call. Anch, Thash, and Daya Aunty, what we went through during the black out really is insane that they go through that more than once a week! I showered with a candle lighting up the bathroom! We're staying at Shaffin Uncle and Aunty Azmina's place where, the last time i came here with mum and Maa, was for their wedding 21 years ago! So tomorrow we'll get a proper tour of the city. Will let you know how that goes!

Miss you all! Ooh! I also fed bananas to monkeys in Tanga! Buggle!

Mum will be updating her part tomorrow...

Day 2 in Mombasa

Hello everyone! Day 2 in Mombasa and my lord is it hot! I have not taken my hair out of a braid, which, for those of you who know me well enough, its rare that my hair is even up! Today we went into town and did some sightseeing, passing by Fort Jesus (don't ask me what it is, I wasn't paying attention), and our Khane here (very pretty and very old, like from 1892 or something!). The town is so beautiful and old, but oh my goodness, the cars and TUK TUKs (auto rikshas brought over from India) make the road crazy and I almost got run over once or twice!


After visiting some family that remembered me as a 2 year old, we went to Old Town and did some shopping (typical!). I found and bought some wooden carved monkeys that will be coming home with us to Cold Toronto! The people here are SO friendly as well. Random people will help you pull out of a spot or drive through an alley. Oh my goodness, people put regular sized cars through little gullies meant for walking, WITH cars parked on the side. There is NO way I'd be able to drive here. OH! I almost forgot, we literally bought bhajias and batteta from the road side where these two ladies were sitting on the ground, frying them in a big thing - and they were SO GOOD! i wish I'd taken a pic of that but I thought it might be rude to do so.

All in all, it's been a pretty relaxing day. We just lounged around by the beach and did some DISCO with the resort people in the evening. I must say, it's so surreal to be here in Africa and I'm looking forward to the rest of our trip. Probably should have done the resort after all the Safari-ing though, because I have a feeling I may need it after the rest of our hustly-bustly trip.

Zeenat here:
Drove around Mombasa through the crowded narrow alleys where you can get just about everything and anything - from food to shoes to jewellery to mattresses to kitchen utensils. What a sight - old, run-down buildings with retial stores on the ground floow and 'flats' above, street vendors, crowds of shoppers and bypassers, people pulling carts to transport goods, crowds crossing the roads and, of course, cars driving through with an inch to spare on either side. My foot was on the brake most of the time (even though I was NOT driving).  In  many ways this reminds me of parts of India, just replace the Africans with Indians and this could be India.

Visiting khane, again, was both tranquil and sad.  A beautiful stucture, old majestic architecture but very few Ismailis around.  Walked through old Mombasa and did some shopping (of course), Something to be said about the local Africans - their warmth and hospitality.  We purchased some stuff from a small African vendor who didn't have change to give us back.  We suggested if he could hold the goods, we'd be back after finding some change.  He asked us to take the goods and  come back and pay him later.  So we did.  These are Africans for you. 

Ah, those coconuts and roasted corn on the street by the beach, mmmmm yummy!!!

More tomorrow.

Mombasa!

Hi all,
Reena here.  We're now in Mombasa, staying at the Bamburi Beach Hotel, a beautiful resort with a beach view of the ocean- can you say HEAVEN!  Mexico has nothing on this - trust me!  Mombasa is HOT HOT HOT and beautiful.  Very tropical, the people are so friendly (so far!) and it feels MUCH safer than Nairobi as it's not gated up with guards everywhere.  We arrived this morning via Kenya Air (great plane ride by the way).  Only a 45 minute flight but somehow they still managed to serve us breakfast and tea and coffee before landing - seriously, Air Canada needs to take notes! 

Yesterday in Nairobi, we visited Mum's old high school which was very cool, seeing where her old classrooms and labs were.  Then we went to this fruit and veggie marketplace where i FINALLY SAW monkeys, stealing corn and fruit and eating them up in the trees.  I ALMOST got one in our car (as you'll see in the pic).  I wanted to take him with me of course haha.

Also had the best mandazi this morning at a random restaurant on the way to the hotel in Mombasa, I wish I could take some home for you all.  We also visited the most peaceful mandir-type place where there was this cave you had to go into - where we saw SO MANY MONKEYS and i fed them fruit.

We'll now be at the Resort till Sunday, visiting family and shopping at the markets, and mostly just relaxing before our next trip.

Have a great Thankgsiving Weekend and enjoy TURKEY DINNER without me!  Also, someone get on Nishil's case about our Halloween costume - it's his responsibility this time since I'm not there!

Zeenat here:
What a nostalgic experience yesterday was. Visited my High School in Nairobi where I did my 'A' Levels and where I was the head girl.  It transported me back (teary eyed) to those days (many many years ago) when I used to pace  those  halls in that uniform.  It was wonderful to have Reena with me as, for most of her life I've escorted her to her various schools - this time she did that for me.  While the school has now expanded and has more programs - a new olympic size swimming pool, a computer lab named 'Bill Gates', music lessons (we could hear the piano), an outdoor cafeteria - not a lot has changed in the looks and atmosphere. 

Other experiencces - we visited a mall whch had a food court (not a concecpt in my past), however, each food stall had servers that paced the food court with menus and took orders from people sitting  at the tables and brought their orders to them. Now, that is what I call service. Talking about service - we went into a fruit market to buy some of the fruit that I grew up eating (mostly straight off of trees) and again, there were helpers who paced the isles alongside us with plastic bags to help us bag them and then carry the bags to the cashier.  Well, I still can't get used to having a full time maid do just about 'everything' in the house (maybe I could get used to that ..... NOT)

Jambo! from Nairobi

Hello to all,
We're in Nairobi at Shenaz Aunty and Abu Mama's place and its really been quite a trip so far for me especially.  (Reena)  The flight was SO LONG- I've never experienced one as long, but they fed us every 5 mins so that part made me happy.  One time I even woke up to ice cream in front of me mmm... By the way, THASH, We saw Waqar at the airport going through security - I probably shouldn't have yelled out to him across the security room, and then of course I went on to ask him where he was going (PAKISTAN).  Talk about drawing attention to us haha... OMG and apparently they've passed a new law that you can't sneeze or blow your nose in public (cuz of H1N1 thing) and I'm the Queen of blowing my nose and having such a hard time (especially cuz I'm sick).

I can't believe I'm actually FINALLY in Africa!  There's a draught here so the fruit trees aren't growing and the monkeys aren't visiting Shenaz Aunty's balcony!  I'm praying for my buggles to visit!  Nairobi's traffic is insane - I've never seen gridlock like this before and such craziness- I would NOT be able to drive here.  Today we went to Brookside (yes, buggle, where you used to live and I took pics for you), we saw the Aga Khan Hospital, and Town Khane, etc.  AND where mum used to live when she was at school here, which was very cool.  I only wish I could speak swahili because it sounds like a beautiful language and I'd love to be able to understand the Africans!.. Ok, on to MUM now...

Zeenat:
Feels GREAT to be back in Nairobi after SO many years!  Although, Nairobi has grown and changed so much - I don't recognize many of the streets.  And Reena's right - Traffic like I've never seen before!  Not even in Mexico City, or even India!  Felt nostalgic visiting where I used to live (Abdul Mama's place) when i was studying here.  Also drove down the street we used to walk to school on!  Dharkhana Jamatkhana brought back lots of memories although it was sad to see so few people.  It used to be packed with people even sitting on the stairs on big occasions.

Had awesome Chinese Food tonight, eating OUTSIDE (yes, in October!) under the trees. (See pic)  Looking forward to visiting my school tomorrow. 

That's it for today, we'll talk to you all soon!  Miss you all,

- Zeenat, Vinod and Reena

Our Rough Itinerary

Date	City
Oct 5	Arrival in Nairobi
Oct 6-7	Nairobi
Oct 8	Leave for Mombasa
Oct 9-12	Mombasa (Zeenat's Birthplace)
Oct 12	Tanga (Vinod's Birthplace)
Oct 13	Leave for Dar
Oct 14	Dar-es-Salaam
Oct 15-16	Zanzibar
Oct 17-18	Dar-es-Salaam
Oct 19	Moshi
Oct 20	Tarangire - Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Oct 21	Lake Manyara - Migunga Forest Camp
Oct 22	Serengeti - Serena Lodge
Oct 23	Ngorongoro - Serena Lodge
Oct 24-25	Arusha (HOME)
Oct 26-27	Nairobi
Oct 27	Leave for Toronto
Oct 28	Toronto (Reena's Birthplace and HOME)