Nairobi National Park and Shopping

Sorry that my blog post are a bit farther between now. Nothing new really happens during the week. I am just at work mostly. Today was quite exciting though! Ada (a friend of mine form icipe) and I went to the Nairobi National Park and then after we went shopping! My mom has made it a point to remind me often to take photos for everybody to see, so I tried today!

So, starting at the beginning, we arrived at the park and after Ada and I paid (I am 200 shilling more for being foreign. It is like… $2 so no big deal) we sat and had lunch quick before going inside. While eating, a school group came. They all wore matching blue jogging suit looking outfits. They were all rather young, and there was quite a number of them! And they all listened to the teacher very well.

So Ada and I went into the park after. The park has a lot of wooden bridges that are really far above the ground. Creaky bridges that you can see through the cracks. For those of you that don’t know, I am terrified of heights! But, I was okay J I just walked in the middle as much as I could. In the park we saw a pygmy hippo, a rhino (that we were very close to), zebras, giraffes, lots of monkeys (that could just roam free) and a few other animals neither Ada or I knew what they were. The rhino was really neat because I had never been so close to one. The monkeys were also cool because, who can say they walked right by monkeys?! The giraffes and zebras were neat also, but they were so far away.

 Nairobi National Park

 Entrance to the Safari Walk

 A very lazy pygmy hippo... It was still there when we were leaving the park.

 A zebra! I call it a blonde zebra :)

 Some of the Kenya scenery in the park. It was a beautiful day out.

 Me with said scenery :)

 trying to get a picture with the rhino

 But this one is better! We were able to get really close to it.

 This is a monkey cage. the monkeys are hard to see though 

 I like to think they are a little monkey family.

 Monkeying around

 A giraffe! By far one of my favorite animals

 An alligator

 I am not sure what this is... Does anybody else?

 This is my friend Ada :)

 Ada and I!

 Me with some elephant statues

 And some rhino statues

This is a man that wanted a picture with a mzungu (white person), with my fancy digital camera that could zoom! 

Ada and I had planned to go to a giraffe manor after, but traffic was atrocious. We decided to go to town as it would be closer, and it still took us almost an hour to drive what should only take 15 minutes. I have never experienced traffic like that. It would come to an absolute standstill numerous times.

 This is the Nairobi bus station. All the vans you see, are the buses. Yes, while they do have buses that are similar to back home, these are very very common.

Downtown Nairobi

After getting to town, Ada and I decided to do some shopping! J This is one of my favorite things to do! We went to the maasai market again. Even though the first experience was a bit of a shock last time, I was prepared. Ada was impressed with my bartering skills I had acquired. I learned that, when in a market and you are obviously foreign, there is now room to look meek or shy. You need to look like you know what you are doing and what you want. (Even if you have no clue!) I was able to buy a few skirts for way less than what is even sold regularly and I also got a few dresses. I do have a story though, quite similar to last time, but with a twist! I saw a dress that I really liked, so I asked the man how much it cost. He said over 6,000 shilling. That’s over $60! Ada saw the number, and immediately pulled me away. She was appalled at the number, as I was too. The man followed us though. He said to me, ma’am, it is freedom of speech, and what are you willing to offer? (He brought up the freedom of speech often. I finally told him that I do understand the freedom of speech, I have it back home) I then told him I would only be willing to pay 600 shillings. I told him I would not be ripped off just because I am foreign. Well, I believe I embarrassed him in front of the other vendors… He left me alone after that. I felt so… assertive! I didn’t want to be rude, and I used what I call “the mom voice”. I have heard it before often, so I knew what I sounded like! I think I handled it well.

After the market, we went to another store to get some more little souvenirs and then we went grocery shopping! Then we went home after that. It had been a long day.

Also, for those of you who would like to know gas prices here, it is about $3.60 per gallon here. I am not really up on gas prices back home though… So I can’t compare for you.