Beach in Mombasa

Camel on beach!?

I wanted to find out if camels bite people. It didn't.

Why am I so obsessed with the coastal town of Mombasa? A bit of history here...

By 1421, Admiral Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty had sailed the Indian Ocean and reached Mombasa. Legend has it that his man brought back the first giraff to the Emperor as a gift. Trade routes between China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Arabia and East Africa were established. This was an era of greater global cultural exchange between world empires with the exception of Europeans. Vasco da Gama arrives on the scene some seventy years later, but by then China had already changed its focus to domestic affairs. Today, more Africans would know about the Portugese man over the Chinese Admiral. Unfortunately, this part of world history is often untold compared to the latter.  Urrgh!

Our friend Bob we met on the beach. Cool guy.

Captain of the fishing boat

Holy Foood!!

       One cannot fully understand another culture if you don't eat what they eat. I try to stay away from touristic, westernized places. Simply put, I would order anything on the local menu regardless of my knowledge of what it is. Taste some street food. Eat what you find in the seas. Only attempt things never heard of. Hell yeah.  

Ugali and bean stew. Nairobi, Kenya.

In Nairobi too. I loved Tusker. "Tafadhali nataka bia baridi. Asante."

Try finding this!... in your city.

This too...

Ugali Samaki (fish)

They all range between 2000-5000 shillings. Less than 3.00USD

Sea Urchin anyone?

While swimming in the sea, I saw the sea urchins. Immediately, I thought of "uni" sashimi. That day, I convinced a fishing boat captain, a snorkeling guide and a chief to prepare a Japanese dish for me. It ended up triggering the whole neighborhood, as they all wanted a glimpse of the crazy Japanese man's face. "Who the hell is this Mzungu eating ocean crap?

The sister of the beach boys we met, made us ugali at their village. Mombasa, Kenya.

Backpacker's Nirvana is where we stayed in Mombasa. It held its One Year Anniversary party and I was there!  

FOOD!!!

            FOOD!!!       jk :D

Meeting a Rasta

          I enjoy the thrill of taking risks in life. I like to travel to places where people say it's dangerous.  After years of studying in college, I have learned to doubt what the mainstream media tell us about the third world...or simply anything. This time, my quest for defying the media portrayals of less known foreign places, culture and its people, I decided to explore places I haven't been in life - East Africa. With the limited time and budget I had, my destinations only included some towns/cities in Tanzania and Kenya. In any case, I wanted to see the reality for myself and understand what it is like to be an East African living in Moshi, Arusha, Nairobi and Mombasa. 

          I try to meet as many locals as possible and beg them to teach me about their culture and of course, Swahili. I spent a large portion of my travel, just talking to people and attempting to gain different perspectives of the world. Meeting random people on the streets is fun at times. The first guy I met was a true, 48 yr-old rasta. He was the most friendliest, peaceful person I met. I'm going to shut up now and let my pictures say the thousand words. Peace!    

We met Tony in Nairobi. He took us on a wonderful adventure through the city. Picture taken in a giant forest inside the city! I saw so much that day, felt like Marco Polo from the East. 

My travel mate Ste and Tony

Locals from the Giliama tribe. We met them in Mombasa. Visited their village and had a blast. One rule I tell myself - always eat what the locals eat and drink what they drink.  Details will be on other posts coming soon!

Tell me when you don't see me smiling in life.

 

On the way to Nairobi...I see goats!

I guess it's safe to say wherever you travel in Tanzania, you will see people herding either goats or cows.A little boy as young as 12 knows how to control large groups of animals better than you.  People also use donkeys for transportation of goods No horses here.  Watch these videos LOL.

Beautiful!!

Random picture of a tough boy walking on the side of the highway.

Rugby! Rugby! Rugby!

RUGBY - So happy to play on a different continent. The rugby club - Arusha Rhinos was kind enough to let me. 60 minutes of heaven. We played against a club team from Dar es Salaam. The team consisted of people from everywhere, both the expat community and locals. South Africans, Aussies, British, Tanzanians....and yes, me!

 

Arriving to Arusha

Arriving to Arusha, Tanzania

After 2 hours of bus ride westwards, we arrived to the town of Arusha. I'm here to play a game of rugby for the Arusha Rhinos for fun. But before posting the pictures from the rugby game, I wanted to share what I saw on my way to the pitch. Cheers.

People eating jackfruit on the streets. Reminds me of Malaysia. I wonder if they taste the same here.

Over here, motorbikes function as taxi cabs. They are cheap and fast! Helmet? Who cares.

You see the white guy on the back? I told you it's a common taxi service.

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Is he alive? No idea.