Nakshi Nakshi

"Nakshi Nakshi" in Swahili means "Decortion (necklace, rings etc.) for girls".

We hired a jeep and travelled from Arusha to Mwanza through Tanzanian national parks Ngorongoro and Serengeti, Plus Peter was our guide and driver. He was so green that did not know the way. Anyway, he is a good and happy guy. He was playing the song "Nakshi Nakshi" when I entered the jeep to fetch something for camping in Serengeti national park, not far from the headquater of the park. The melody was so nice, I remembered it, and wanted to buy a album with this song.

When we were in Mwanza, he wrote down to me the name of the singer and some good songs from him. I like it very much, too.

Here is the link to Youtube®, that can see and hear the tanzanian song "Nakshi Nakshi".

Arusha

After a 3-day-visit to Nakuru I went back to Nairobi again. Around the 4-th, Jan.

I got a Matatu class lux, and got out in Westlands in Nairobi. I wanted to go to Kisumu from Nakuru, but there was no transportations due to the situation in the whole country. I decided to leave for Tanzania.

With the help of a taxi driver, luckily, I found a tanzanian shuttle bus that was heading for Arusha and waiting for passengers near the Jevanjee Gardens on street Monrovia. After some time, we drove to the south with a full carriage foreigners - Chinese as me, Russian, Belorussian, Germans, Kenyans, Tanzanians, American and a big group of tourists from South Korea.

Close to the borderline with Tanzania, I saw some Maasai towns and many Maasai people. Their clothes and decoration were so beautiful and variegated. And the bodily form - so neat!

Travel guide "Lonely Planet® Tanzania",
on a background of Arusha National Park.
Arusha region, Tanzania

It took us about 40 minutes to pass the borderline in both side. After about 5 hours from go-off, we got to Arusha, and found a church-run hostel called "Centre house hostel". A charming tanzanian girl named Veneranda in this hostel pleased me with Tanzanian immediately.

A small country church,
on the backgroud of Kilimanjaro.
Nairobi road, Arusha region, Tanzania

The following days I spent in Arusha National Park, and by the Nairobi road to some Maasai settlement. Arusha is a good place that it attracts many expats to live here. Here has my favorite chinese restaurant in Tanzania - Everest, chef cook of which from province Sichuan, China.

Weather here is very good, not hot, nor wet, and no mosquitoes. It is a little hotter than in Nairobi. Anyway, the climate reminds me like home, in Yunnnan province.

Nakuru

There are very few attractions worthy of the name in Nairobi itself, so I went to Nakuru after spending 2 nights there. As the location of Nakuru National Park and Menengai crater, Nakuru lies just two-hours' drive to the northwest of Nairobi. The Nakuru National Park is famous for observing the flamingo while the Menengai crater is A major volcanic crater in the East African Rift.

Lake Nakuru, Nakuru National Park, Kenya

I tried to find a transport that goes for Nakuru in Nairobi, but all bus stations were closed. Finally I found a small Matatu(means minibus in Kenyan swahili) station in east Nairobi with big difficulties. It operated during the chaos. I sat on a Matatu, the minibus with 15 seats waited about another one hour longer to collect full carriage of passengers.

Menengai crater, Nakuru, Kenya

In Nakuru I saw some refugees there. They were sitting on trucks with their furnitures - moving home to a safer place, as they considered. My taxi driver in Nakuru told me that the house of his mother-in-law in Kitale was burned down by the mob. In this small city I met two chinese worker occasionally on a street near the Matatu station, they were from Uganda after the end of their work contract there.

Matatu class Lux (10 seats instead 15 as common ones),
Kenyatta lane, Nakuru, Kenya

David, my taxi driver in Nakuru,
a father of five children and a supporter of Kibaki,
whose mother-in-law's house was burned down,
Menengai crater, Nakuru, Kenya

Nairobi

I was walking on the quiet streets of Nairobi, 1-st, Jan, 2008. During the first chaos after The Presidential Election in this country.

I lived in the Lavington area in the western part of Nairobi. First we took a matatu to Westlands, and then walked to the down town. This part of city is considered a prestige one so it was very clean here.

Str. Loita, Nairobi, Kenya

After a 40-minutes' walk from Westlands we got to Central Nairobi. Like other big cities, many skyscrapers here. Every store and company was closed, I could not buy any things, even drinking water. Finally we found one with defense.

The only opened restaurant this day in center - Trattoria on Kaunda street. I had a lunch here.

Just on the opposite side of where I lived in Lavington there was a chinese restaurant, a chinese family was running it - the wife as a cashier and manager, the husband as a chef cook and a grandma as well with some local guys as servants. The chinese family went to Kenya 6 years ago. Many expats here having supper in this good restaurant.