It is shortly after midnight local time on Saturday night and I'm comfy relaxing at the Ngong House in the Nairobi suburb of Karen. My travel day (which was actually more like 36 hours from the time I left home until my safe arrival here) was fast paced and not very relaxing . . . and touch n go as to whether or not I would even make here today or not.
My flights into Dulles and lunch with my sister Pam were very nice and uneventful in a good way. Scheduled to depart Washington, DC at roughly 6:30pm, we had a 2+ hour delay due to thunderstorms. With a 4 hour layover, I felt confident I'd be alright, only to later find out that had it been another 30 minutes I would have missed my connection in London to Nairobi. With just one flight a day, such a miss would have delayed my arrival by a full day!
Flights on British Airways were nice. I flew in World Traveler Plus which is essentially coach plus with wider seats and a tad bit more personalized service in the cabin. Unfortunately, my arrival into Nairobi did not go well as my two checked bags apparently did not make the connection. I was told they had located them along with about 20 other bags still back at Heathrow.
Not so bad for me, as I'm scheduled to be in Nairobi for three nights although not have my personal toiletries and change of clothes for tomorrow will be unpleasant. I do have baggage delay insurance as part of my package for this trip, so I could go out and buy an outfit or two tomorrow if anything is open. I'll see how I feel in the morning about that. For some of the other folks with delayed baggage, they are scheduled to head out on safari in the morning and were told it would take 3 or 4 days to get their suitcases out to them since they won't arrive into Nairobi until 9:00p (scheduled time) tomorrow.
For now, I have a change of shirt that I had planned on making this morning upon arrival at Heathrow but with little time to freshen up or change, that turns out to be a blessing in disguise.
Once I got through the process of obtaining my VISA and clearing immigration, I was met by Lucy from the Ngong House. She was very pleasant and helpful, concerned about my luggage situation. The drive from the airport was an adventure of its own. (Note to David . . . round-abouts in Kenya are insane!)
The drivers seemed to all be in a hurray at 10:30pm, many cars did not seem road worthy and a safari vehicle or two were down right frightful. I cannot imagine seeing one of those old beat up vans pulling up on Tuesday to pick us up to head off into the bush for 12 days.
Once out of the city proper, it was clear we were heading out into the African bush. Nairobi National Park is adjacent to the city limits. I recognized it as we drove by the tall fences on the city side of the park to keep lions and other predators from wandering the streets of Nairobi.
The final couple of roads into the Ngong House were very rough, making me wish I had taken the time to make one last bathroom stop before leaving the airport. It wasn't unbearable, only worth mentioning for others who may want to consider this before heading out.
At the Ngong House I was immediately greeted by Paul who had a refreshing glass of freshly whipped pineapple juice to hand me. He offered dinner, but at such a late hour I couldn't think about eating a full meal and yet, with only a couple of mediocre airline meals during the day, I was pretty hungry.
He had the kitchen prepare a chicken sandwich with was served on some sort of multi-grain bread. A little mayo, lettuce and tomato and it was the perfect before bedtime snack. I enjoyed my dining experience with "Diamond" one of their many dogs. She looked to be an older yellow lab or retriever mix with gorgeous black eyes and nose. Very friendly, I got the feeling she's used to being fed by the guests but I avoided her puppy eyes only giving into her for pets and a good ear rub.
Well that's about it for now; time for bed. I have my clock set for 7:30a which seems a shame, but I'm pretty sure I'll be awake by then anyway. I am looking forward to get out and about here on the property to take some photos which I'll post in my next entry.
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