October 11, 2011
Out of Africa
We left the Serengeti to head for the Kenya border. As border crossings go this wasn't so bad. Only an hour and a half all up. We had digital fingerprinting on one side and crossd over to what I think we might call organised chaos. Considering it is Africa it wasn't too bad.Our trip to Nairobi was uneventful. We stopped on the roadside for lunch of couscous and pasta salad, which Ian thoroughly enjoyed, not bad considering he supposedly hates couscous. We entered the Nairobi traffic at 3pm in the afternoon. Talk about crazy! Nairobi is a big bustling city with many large companies represented here. It is hard to come to terms with the sophistication of a burgeoning city and the primitive life of the Maasai who live only a few kilometres away. Such contrasts.
We were pleased to get to our hotel in Nairobi which proved to exceed our expectations. It was spacious and clean, had a pool and even a clay tennis court.
We spent some time sorting our gear and trying to wash the African dust and bush out of our clothes. I'm not so sure we were that successful. It was sad to say goodbye to our tour group. I was reminded how friends are just strangers we haven't met. We got to know some fabulous people who all have such interesting stories to tell. Everyone seemed so well travelled so there were many tales and laughter over travel experiences. These people have certainly enriched our lives.
I am writing this sitting in our gorgeous hotel room in Dubai. After a shorter than expected flight, we were delighted to be here. Dubai is a fantastic city, it is clean, safe and modern. Apparently their goal is to be the bigget and best in the world. Tomorrow we are going up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. We are going to view Dubai from the 124th floor. We are also hoping to see the dancing fountain which apparently is a spectacular sight.
Today we went to an electronics fair. Caught the metro which is a driverless monorail. Clean, fast and efficient. After that we went dune bashing on a sand dune safari. This was in four wheel drives and i must confess I nearly disgraced myself by tossing my cookies. It was like riding a roller coaster at Disneyland. However the food and entertainment that folllwed was fun. The belly dancer chose Ian to balance a stick on his head and wobble around. He did this very effectively to everyone's amusement. His belly certainly played the part and the stick stayed in place! A Korean women asked if he did belly dancing at home.
We are very close to Dubai Mall which is amazing. It has gold and jewelry shops by the dozen filled with diamond studded watches, tiaras and jewels fit for London Tower. There must be a ton of money here. The pedestrian crossing outside our hotel is slate and marble. We have gone from Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world to Dubai, one of the richest countries, all in the space of a couple of weeks.
Bling burqas are all the rage. One young woman was dressed from head to toe in black, including a veil over her face, but as she glided along like something from Harry Potter, bright red stilletos peeped out from underneath her garment. It seemed so surprising. Many abaya's are edged with crystal, sequins or beautiful embroidery and the hijabs are edged in a matching design. If I had to wear a burqa, I would definately be a bling burqa girl!
Well time to sign off. This is my last post from foreign shores (for now anyway). We have had such an interesting time but I must say the highlight for me was to spend time with my three gorgeous sisters. I feel so blessed to have met them and had the wonderful expreiences of the last 6 weeks.
See you all soon
Ngarpie (Sue)
