Travel diaries - Adham's Blog

Sakura Diary #3: Robotic Dog, Shibuye and Blue Zones

It is Tuesday, 16.05.2023

In contrast to the day before, I woke up after 4 hours of sleep, yet equally energetic. Breakfast, writing, then off to a tour organised by Donny from couchsurfing. Today we will be in Ginza luxury shopping district but visiting other kinds of stores. We were a small group including Donny, a Canadian gentleman who used to develop websites and invested a lot of his income in stocks 15 years ago. Then he discovered that the income from the dividends was enough for him to live comfortably. So he retired at the end of his thirties. Now he spends the year divided between Tokyo, Mexico City, Poland, Hungary and finally Montreal. He speaks 7 languages comfortably and reads around 10 books a month. Accompanying us on the tour were a young German lady, a French lad, and a Thai guy. On the top of Ginza Six building they made a nice garden overlooking the poch shopping district and embraced by Tokyo skyscrapers.

Traveling truly sets the stage for everyone to share their life stories. Throughout my own travels, I’ve heard countless fascinating tales that have inspired me to shape my own path thus far. Today was certainly no exception!

We wandered around town, visited Sony-store where they exhibited latest technologies that sometimes never made it to the market.

We also explored an 8-story stationary shop filled with all sorts of paper, writing materials, and office supplies, as well as a 4-story toy store. Tokyo is like a vertical wonderland! Many businesses and shops are located on the 2nd, 3rd, or even higher floors, without any presence on the ground floor. I guess it’s easier since most people discover these establishments through Google anyway. As the tour came to an end, I bid the group a “hasta luego” and headed off to meet Tomogo, a local couchsurfer who had promised to show me more of Tokyo.

Tomogo works in the marketing of a healthcare app. Initially, she planned to take me to visit some temples, but we arrived after closing time. So instead, we ventured into the vibrant Harajuku area and ended up in Shibuye, home to the world’s busiest crossing, complete with its iconic diagonal zebras.

We went on top of a tower for a nice Sushi dinner and a view of Tokyo from above. I am in general not a Sushi person but this one was good. Well, not good enough to convince me to take you out for Sushi, but yalla, no problem.

Tomogo is wise. We discussed a lot about life, relationships and modern society. I learned a lot about Japanese relationships between men and women. After dinner we went to the game arcade, which is a usual activity here. We played old style video games by inserting coins and for example racing in Super Mario, racing in motor bikes and playing shooting games. I lost in almost all the games against Tomogo which is strange hehe. After the video games we went karaoke where Tomogo sang Japanese love songs and I tried my luck with Frank Sinatra and 50 Cent :D. Karaoke, for me like bowling, is an activity designed to fill you with shame and disappointment. I wonder what is the percentage of people that feel great after terribly singing in front of others. I added karaoke to my “Sushi-List”, of things I would need to be convinced to do.

Wednesday 14.05.2023

I had to change hotels today since my first booking comes to an end. I moved to another Hotel in the buzzing area of Roppongi. The new hotel has a swemming pool and its own “Onsen”, which is a traditional public hot bath. After leaving my luggage, I wanted to go see the sumo competition sinece luckily there is a grand sumo championship going on. But unluckily all the tickets are sold out. My plan was to go in front of the arena and hold a sign ”I need tickets” and hope that someone might have an extra one to spare. As fate would have it, while riding the tram towards the arena, I managed to secure a ticket from a black market website and decided to disembark at the next station. I found myself in a street that has many shops for music instruments and suddenly I found a university hospital in front of me. Sine I had no other plans, I went in and asked if I can have a tour in the hospital as a doctor. The answer was ”not without an appointment”. So I asked if I could make an appointment and the answer was ”no”. I took that as a clear rejection with ”get out of here” as a virtual subtitle.

I wandered more the streets of that neighbourhood and ended up having a massage and a hair cut :D, which is one of the experience I collect from different countries. For dinner, I went to a restaurant that didn’t look very remarkable but the food there was delicious. The minimum of the quality here is high. It seemed to me that there is no wrong choice, except of my incapability to use chopsticks. Donny said that around 1/3 of the world uses chopsticks and I wonder why. For me it is a terrible tool that can easily be replaced with better inventions.

In the evening, I decided to visit the “English Only Cafe,” a café where locals primarily gather to practice their English skills. I believed it would be an excellent opportunity to meet and engage with the local community. To my pleasant surprise, both Donny and Miriam, the German lady I met earlier, were also present. I moved from table to table, striking up conversations and sharing jokes about life with the predominantly young Japanese crowd. It was yet another enriching experience of cultural exchange. After the event, Donny, Miriam, and I headed to an Izakaya, a traditional Japanese pub known for its drinks and finger-food snacks. Our conversations continued late into the night. Donny amazed us by reading Patrick Süskind’s “Perfume” in just one day, inspired by Miriam’s mention of the book the previous day. Truly impressive, don’t you think?

One of the most interesting conversations was about the ”blue zones”, where are regions in the world with the highest number of people aged more than 100! There has been a research and a book about them trying to understand what these regions have in common and what makes humans live that long and, above all, they lived with few diseases and not just survived that long.

The evening was not over, one more meeting with Najat, a tunisian model living in Tokyo. We have a mutual connection and we were in touch before my trip. We met in Roppongi and went for drinks in a not-so-busy club. More conversations and more about living in Japan, this time rather from a slightly middle eastern perspective. These two days were very rich with encounters with locals and travellers. I thought tomorrow I should spend more time alone, in nature or with art.

Sakura Diary #2: First Impressions and the 4-Floors Sex Shop

“What is your dream?” I asked Akiko, while having dinner on the day of my arrival. Tired, lacking sleep, but culturally excited. Akiko answered, “To lay on the sofa, waiting for my husband and kids to come back.”

We exchanged a nice conversation while savoring a lot of meat that we cooked on the table in Korean-barbecue style. Akiko told me that she prefers going out with foreign men since Japanese men are too shy for her taste. She told me a lot about places to visit, things to eat, and other cultural aspects of Japan. She was my first encounter on the evening of my arrival.

Soon enough, I bid her farewell and went home to get a couple of hours of sleep and be fresh for Monday. The few hours turned out to be a super jetlag, and I woke up around 1 pm :D, a record of 12 hours of sleep I hadn’t had for at least a few years.

I took to the street for breakfast and started collecting my first impressions in Tokyo. Most of the people are still wearing masks on the street and in public spaces. A lot of men during the day are wearing suits, and there are so many bookstores. I don’t think I saw so many bookstores anywhere else in the world. The Japanese love of reading is no surprise. But still using non-digital books in a nation that digitalizes their toilet seats makes you think. More than bookstores, there are restaurants. I heard it has the highest restaurant per capita in the world! The restaurants mostly have a lot of seats for single customers. It makes you wonder whether anyone cooks at home.

After finishing my late breakfast around 4 pm, I rushed to meet Elias, an American traveler who got in touch with me online a couple of weeks ago. We had the customary mini-biographical exchange, and soon enough, we were discussing the different features of the bidet in our hotels :D. Elias had been planning the trip for months, and I enjoyed his first impressions about the country. “I don’t understand how a whole culture wants to be a cartoon,” he said, and I found that hilarious. We went strolling in the streets of Tokyo, and he took me to a 4-floors sex shop he saw earlier.

There, I saw things I never imagined in my life, which made me feel like I am a baby in matters of sex. I could write a book about what I saw there. The first floor had usual costumes and outfits. The second floor was dedicated to women’s clothing, including lingerie. The third and fourth floors were prohibited for women!! The third floor had lots of “tools” and “devices,” and the fourth floor had all kinds of sex dolls. I found the names of the sections entertaining. These two floors were called the “Men Support Section” 😂. Elias explained to me that there are a lot of single men in Japan, and having a virtual girlfriend is not unheard of. We left the sex shop and went for more walking around the city where I kept turning my head right and left in amazement at what I saw. Especially the cutely-dressed young ladies advertising for the “Maid Cafés,” where men are taken care of—I don’t know exactly how.

Elias and I parted ways in a lively area. He went on his food tour, and I went solo for dinner at a restaurant with a long line of Japanese people. It must be good, right? I had a certain kind of Japanese pancake with seafood and cabbage, and the appetizer was octopus tentacles. Everything tasted wonderful. I thought to myself, some countries have famous cuisine, but they definitely don’t have the best cuisine in the world. You can love Italian food, but if you haven’t visited Portugal, Greece, or Japan (forgive me, Chiara), you’re missing out.

At the table next to me, there was a non-couple ex-couple 😁. Somehow we started talking even though they didn’t speak a word of English. We used our arms, legs, and Google Translate to have a semi-conversation that lasted for at least half an hour. They were no longer together, but they seemed to have a nice connection. The guy kept insisting on telling me that they were not together anymore, and what I understood was that I could try to kiss his ex-girlfriend. She was not very kissable for me, so I pretended not to understand his suggestion.

After dinner, I decided to skip a meeting with other travelers that I had planned. I opted to walk back to the hotel and just look around. On the way, I smelled a wonderful steak. I couldn’t resist. I went for a second dinner because life is too short 😅

On Tuesday, I should wake up early, walk more, meet more people, and eat more! And hopefully, I won’t run into any more ex-couples looking for a new third wheel.

Sakura Diary #1, Journey in a Journey

Seeking evolution and serendipity (my favourite word). I set on a new adventure to Japan for two weeks. Hoping to be enchanted, surprised and amazed. Hoping to eat, dance, laugh and think, and above all, hoping to evolve.

To save some cash, I booked a flight to Milan before hopping on a plane to Tokyo, but let’s be real, any excuse to be in Italy is a good one. I stayed at a hotel near the airport and rested up on Friday night, then headed to the airport on Saturday morning feeling like this whole adventure was happening way too fast. As I walked through Milan Airport, I couldn’t help but notice all the fair ladies around me. I thought to myself, “Have I already made it to paradise?” Alas, it was time to board my flight with AirChina.

I fly with AirChina. Let me talk to you about my stereotypes, well no. A non-remarkable 11 hours flight with one exception: the staff announced a few things including that the airplane is a public space and we will be monitored by audio and video. I look around me and notice two security men with Walkie-Talkies stuck to their chests. This was new! What exactly happened in the past so that AirChina hired security staff on their planes? Luckily my next seat was empty and the seat after was occupied by a friendly Chinese businessman on his way home to Shanghai after visiting an exhibition in Milano. He seemed surprised that I was surprised that there is a security guard in the airplane alley!
I spent the few hours watching Chinese movies, which to my surprise were funny, exciting and emotional that I almost cried (yeah, didn’t really cry since 2015). I suggest you to watch the movie called “Moon Man” which is worth the two hours of your precious time.
So, I will write about my trip and share with you what i learn and what i feel. I had a lot of suggestions from Kate, Virgil’s nice Japanese lady, and I am excited about the upcoming adventures. I have also had a couple of contacts before the trip that I will try to connect with.
This trip I am accompanied by a small book: “The Meditations”, by Marcus Aurelius! And since these days I am interested in artificial intelligence and poetry, I will try to involve AI in this trip. Let’s see what will happen. I will use ChatGPT for some experiments and also some iPhone apps that use AI for rendering photos!
Have you been to Japan before? Send me your top to-do suggestion, your favourite place and your favourite dish.
The second leg of the flight will be from Shanghai to Tokyo and I shall arrive on Sunday afternoon.

The transit in Shanghai was not logical! I discovered that I had to pass the customs and then collect my checked in luggage then pass the customs again! For that reason, they give travelers from certain countries a 24 hours visa. The customs control was one of the slowest I have ever witnessed, i grew a full beard waiting in the line, , thankfully I had a few hours buffer. During my time in the airport I needed assistance with the Wi-Fi login, a good coffee and the departure hall. I approached the information desk where two young ladies dressed in red and with their FPP2 mask promptly stood up to greet me with shaking their right hand, exactly like the cat you see in Chinese restaurants 😀

They were very helpful and answered my questions with a monotonous response then greeted me with the hand shake again. I left wondering whether artificial intelligence has already taken over!

I went to grab some food and ended up eating some mystery meat – let’s just say I didn’t ask too many questions. Another couple of hours on the second flight to arrive in Tokyo airport. Here I smiled widely and felt the excitement!
Clean, efficient, friendly and polite. In the waiting line for the customs they had mobile machines to collect your biometric data while you are waiting in line. I passed smoothly and collected my checked in luggage from the belt, where all luggage’s were ordered in an impeccably paralleled manner on their side, probably to reduce the space required on the belt, thus reducing the number of rotations I assume. I remembered one of my favourite quotes “there is always a better way to do anything, and we should always aspire to find it”.
I already knew that Japan had a lot to offer. So I went to the toilette 😀
In the men’s cabins, and apologies for the graphics, there was a child seat, so you can do your business while your child is completely seated besides you. Need not to worry about the smell, since the integrated famous pidet will “deodorise” the cabin, and eventually send a stream of water to clean your rear and consequently your heart. You can control the water pressure and volume as well.
I left the airport with the train towards my hotel. I booked three nights in the “book hotel” which is a hotel full of books. Other than that I had not planed anything and I await the gifts of the universe!

Qatar World Cup 2022, #2: Culture and Friends

We like Qatar so far. It seems like that: they gave money to some people and said: “take that money and make us a nice place”.

It is Wednesday the 7th of December. Our first stop was the national museum of Doha, which was an architectural piece of art. See this photo I found on the internet:

and here are some photos taken by Morad:

The content of the museum was not really impressive. Some artifacts from here and there, and some information about the history of Qatar. I didn’t have a lot of interest and didn’t feel I learned much more. It was just nice moving between the halls and observing different modern technologies employed to present the basic contents. I imagined, if Egypt would have such a budget and determination to present things nicely…

***

After the visit we werde picked up by Assem. An old friend from Egypt that moved here more than a decade ago. He is a pharmacist, and we sat beside each other in Grade one when we were 7 years old. Last time we met was 5 years ago in Germany. He drove us to “Katara”, a cultural village that was also made to impress. A lot of beautiful architecture, art installations, luxury shops side by side with old traditional workshops where craftsmen worked with their hands and hammers to carve wood or create artifacts from local materials. Fishermen drying salted fish and women selling their home-cooked food in stalls. The place was buzzing with locals and fewer tourists. Such nice energy and vibes close to the seaside. We sat there and discussed different cultural topics about Qatar and living there. Assem works in the biggest hospital here and gave us insights about the health care system.
Here are some photos by Morad from Katara:

***

After Katara, Assem took us to Lusail, a new city built in the last 10 years to be part of this World Cup preparation. So, they built a gorgeous stadium, a shopping boulevard, and plenty of residential units. I don’t know what Qatar plans to do with all of this new infrastructure. I feel it can simply accommodate plenty of new residents and businesses.
At the end of the boulevard on the seaside stood 4 impressive, gigantic metal-looking towers. They cornered a plaza with stairs and hanging above it was a big shark model in the sky. On this boulevard, there was a festival with many people, many big speakers with loud music, and a program of shows and events. Street performers were around the clock and at the end, there was an impressive drone-light show in the sky above the sea combined with beautifully matching music employing fire and smoke. Unfortunately, the locals and residents didn’t seem to appreciate the festival with music and shows as I anticipated. I was dancing almost alone on the street. There was a good DJ on the stage. I felt, “what a waste”. Again, it was an example of how you can build great “things” with money, but you can simply put culture inside the society that fast.

After being impressed the whole day with all these experiences, we retreated to Papa Jones for a very non-italian pizza. We were joined later by an old friend of mine called Hassan. Hassan was originally from Sudan, but we met in elementary school in Saudi Arabia looooong time ago. The last time we saw each other was 26 years ago, and we found each other again thanks to Facebook! We had a lot of catching up and summarizing how we spent the years growing up and still staying the same. It was such a nice late evening meeting. I need to mention that Hassan joined us at 00:30 after midnight. Some shops were open and Papa Jones was full. After many more conversations about life in Qatar and about the situation of workers that built the stadiums, we went home and agreed to meet again and do more things on the following days.

At the end of the day, Morad and I agreed, this is a very liveable place.

Qatar World Cup 2022, #1: First Impressions

A few weeks before the World Cup in Qatar starts, I started hearing voices calling to boycott the world cup because of “many reasons”. When I started to talk to people, I found many of them forming strong opinions against Qatar and FIFA. We navigated these opinions in different conversations. I mainly wanted to understand how such a moral decision is formed since I had Zero moral conflicts knowing that I am traveling to Qatar to watch the World Cup. This essay, however, is not about morality but rather an account of my experiences on this trip, which has already introduced me to interesting encounters even in the first few hours. Regarding morality, I would probably write a dedicated opinion at the end of the trip.

The trip started with a lovely farewell from a lovely lady at Zürich airport. The first flight was to Istanbul, where I met my brother, Morad, who flew from Hamburg. We took the next flight together to Doha. The flight was packed with football fans, many of them were supporters of Morocco. My seat was between two Moroccan passengers, and we spent 4 hours talking. They are flying to Doha without having tickets for the match, but are full of emotions since Morocco made it to the round of 16. During the flight, fans started chanting, standing in the aisle, and cheering for morocco. The whole plane started clapping and singing. Even Spain supporters (the team that will face Morocco) joined the singing, and the atmosphere was already festive.

We landed in Doha. The customs and luggage-claim were extremely smooth and efficient. People who worked in the airport were of many different nationalities. I think only the customs officer was Qatari. Nevertheless, everyone welcomed us with smiling eyes. I asked Morad, why is everyone here so friendly and happy? Morad couldn’t answer, since he lives in Germany 😀

We drove to the fan village and checked-in in our container room. It had two single beds, a bathroom, a fridge, an air conditioner, and a water boiler. It is surely overpriced, but we were happy to be able to attend this event for the first time. Here is a video showing the fan village where we are staying. It is also full of food trucks that are open almost 24/7. We slept to get ready for the first day, Tuesday the 6th of December.

***

We woke up without much rest, went for a coffee, and decided to have one stop before heading to the stadium. We took the metro to “Souq Waqif” which translates to “standing market”. It is a traditional market with plenty of restaurants and traditional shops. On the way from the metro station, we passed by a modern quarter with many fancy modern buildings and businesses. The streets were full of art installations and things related to the world cup to interact with visitors. It was packed with supporters from all countries wearing different flags, hats etc. Music is everywhere and people are having random conversations with each other on the streets. A real festival. We strolled and explored the souq and kept being impressed by how modern, organized and lively this place was. We visited an art center where many artists were busy creating new pieces. Here are some photos taken by Morad.

Before going to Qatar, some German friends were complaining that the whole competition was organized in one city. I didn’t actually understand where was the problem back then. Well, here in Souq Waqif, I realized that this was a beautiful thing. We saw supporters from almost all the countries with their flags and tricots roaming around the city, a truly global festival. When the next versions of the world cup will be distributed in many cities, you will see in each city fans mainly from a couple of countries. Like this German tourist says about his experience in Doha:

https://youtube.com/shorts/kgwIz_jrY9w

We had traditional Qatari food for lunch and shared the table with a random Kuwaiti visitor who seemed not to be poor at all, as well as two guys from Columbia and Peru. Nice conversations and tips and tricks for where to visit when we are not world-cupping. The Kuwaiti rich guy offered to pay for our lunch, but we paid and thanked him. It was time to head to the stadium to watch the game. Morocco vs. Spain.

We took the metro to the stadium. From the moment you leave the stadium, the road is prepared and studded with helpers that tell you where to go. They are from different nationalities, men and women, and in general, all are smiling and joking. A great atmosphere. The ticket was installed on an App that detected our location and activated the ticket. We entered smoothly and enjoyed the perimeter of the beautiful stadium. Many stages with live music, food stalls, and places to take photos. Always with an abundance of helpers. Probably redundancy.

In the end, we were in the stadium to attend our first live world cup game. Big emotions and a nice coincidence that an Arab team was playing. The game itself was entertaining, except for the very loud Moroccan fans that started whistling every single time the Spaniards possessed the ball. This was tiring by the end of the game. I will spare you the football details. But Morocco won. A primer in football history that an Arab team makes it to the quarter-finals. Great emotions that were later dimmed by Switzerland losing to Portugal 6-1. We watched that second game in a hall of a hotel since we needed some quiet peace. At the end of the day, we went back to the fan village and lodged in our container, hoping to be shipped to dreamland preparing for tomorrow.

Love-hate affair with Egyptair

I flew today with my mom from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Cairo on Egyptair. The trip turned out to be eventful. Pretty much like everything that happens in Egypt, I was reminded.
When I mounted the airplane, I found the crew very polite and friendly. During the flight, I found them going the extra mile to help the passengers to an extent that surprised me. I also wondered how they are not pissed off by the actions of some passengers that defy logic and basic social conventions.

During the flight, I saw a passenger addressing a crew member with urgency. I understood that there is a medical emergency since I remember seeing this passenger with her mother and her mother didn’t look very well. However, I stayed in my seat and waited. The Chief of the cabin crew moved steadily and hastily prepared an oxygen cylinder to go to the back where the “patient” was sitting. A flight attendant went back and forth to the patient and to the front of the airplane, and they asked for doctors on board. Besides me, there was a general practitioner. We went to the lady and examined her “shortness of breath” assisted by the cabin crew. We asked for the medical equipment that they have and were provided with a stethoscope, an electric blood pressure measuring device and a non-functioning device to (not)measure blood sugar. No pulse oximeter, which is the first thing I needed in this case. We examined the lady with what we had, and we were relatively assured since she was alert and aware. Later we discovered that she is a retired doctor herself. We landed shortly and provided a short written report to the crew and thanked them for their professionalism. In my heart, I praised Egyptair. Well, the meal was also not bad 😀

However!

With so many old and sick passengers onboard (there were at least 10 passengers in wheelchair boarding the plane), we found only 3 wheelchairs waiting to pick up the passengers. Then it took a loooong time for them to organize more wheelchairs, they gave up and just drove us from the airplane to the terminal. Still, no wheelchairs there. We waited a bit, then the customs-officer asked to stamp our passports and was kind enough to personally ask a worker there to get us a wheelchair. Meanwhile, I picked up our luggage (including our own shipped wheelchair). Still, no one showed up. So, I had to push the wheelchair with one hand and the luggage with the other hand. I was fuming and started stopping anyone who looked like working in the airport in any rank. No one seemed to be able to help. Until I found the responsible guy at the exit door. Kind of too late.

I contemplated. So much time was lost because of a simple protocol that I witnessed in numerous other airlines/airports. 7 wheelchairs in = 7 wheelchairs out. Simple information that is spelled by the cabin crew once they open the door or even before they land. It is all noted in the system anyway. But in Egypt, nobody seems to care.

So, I guess my conclusion is, the people are nice. But there is no system. No efficiency and no protocol. I am sending this post to Egyptair. Maybe it changes something. Oh.. and please Egyptair get a pulse oximeter.

Kenya 2022 | Day 13b: My First Flying Lesson

5 Yankee – November November Echo
This sweet code will remain in my memory for a long time.

I have been dreaming of flying for a long time. Probably like a big percentage of humans. Today, I took the first step. When I landed in Nairobi from Diani a couple of days ago, I found few flight schools around the airport. So I knocked on their doors and asked if they could organize a test flight for me. I wanted to know how I would feel on a plane before I invest the time and the thousands of dollars needed. 99Flying was the name of the school, and Presley was my contact person. He, himself, was a student pilot who works in the school to finance his learning costs. I liked Presley’s attitude. He kept saying: “Whatever it takes to get my dream. Money is just paper the government is printing. We will shake it, man”.

A student on a simulator
Looks like a more sophisticated simulator

I have already arranged the date and time. They were waiting for me. My instructor is a young, funny guy called Rodriguez! His father liked football so much and named him after some player in the 90s.
So, here we are. Rodriquez and I in the one-engine, 30 years old airplane called 5Y-NNE, 5 Yankee November November Echo. Each of us has a headset and is ready to flyyyy.

Before taking off

Rodriguez started by making a thorough check of the gear, communicating with the tower, and asking permission to take off. One of the most exciting things about today is listening to the whole thing in my headset. I felt like a badass going to save the world.
Rodriguez was sitting comfortably as if he were sitting in an old Mercedes. The take-off was smooth. The tower asked us to fly 6200 feet high. We headed in a straight line to the “visual landmark” which is a big building with a red roof. There we communicated again with the tower and turned to another visual landmark, a bridge, in each step, Rodrigue`z communicates with “someone” saying the sweet, 5 Yankee, November November Echo.

Taking off

The dashboard
Rodriguez explaining things
The view from my seat

He explained to me the dashboard, the steering of the airplane, how to use the GPS, and also the landscape that we saw. It was all surreal for me.
Our direction was the Kilimanjaro mountain. Some people like to climb mountains. I am too lazy for that. A few years ago, I flew around Mount Everest in a small touristic plane, and now I wanted to do the same with Kilimanjaro.
We were now out of the control zone. So we announced our progress on an “unmanned frequency”. We started to see the silhouette of the Kilimanjaro, but also the clouds that covered its peak. My initial agreement with Rodrigues was to fly till we see the mountain, then we head back. So, since we realized we will not see more of it because of the cloud, we turned and started heading back.

Kilimanjaro expectation
Kilimanjaro reality

Landing

There were some moments of pure happiness on this trip, and this was definitely one of them. Happiness, joy, excitement, or fulfillment, probably a mixture of all this. Sometimes I think languages are unfair and insufficient to describe the scope of human feelings and experiences.
I have decided to pursue this path in the near future.

Rodriguez with the “beast” of 180 horsepower

After my flying experience, I went to meet Theo in the afternoon for dinner. I waited for him in “Que Pasa bar”. He was more than half an hour late, but one thing I have practiced in Kenya is “No hurry in Africa”. His excuse was “Sorry, I was cooking. I slaughtered a rabbit yesterday and I wanted to try this Italian recipe while it is fresh”. I was entertained! We chatted for a couple of hours about my experience in Kenya and the contrasts with Europe. Theo’s family lives in London now, and he has been to a few parts of Europe before. What I noticed is that strangers could join tables even if they had other people, “This is how you make friends”, said Theo.

I retreated early to the hotel to relax and contemplate my trip. Tomorrow, Saturday, I fly back to Zürich full of renewed energy and new resolutions.

Kenya 2022 | Days 12 and 13a: In Kenya’s National Hospital

Theo, the psychiatrist my new friend, promised to take me to Kenyatta hospital for a tour. It is the biggest national and university hospital in Kenya. He is not on duty there, but he had a few errands to run. One of them was to see the MRI scans of a patient he saw two days ago. The patient was referred to him because of a speech disorder and walking difficulty. Theo noticed also some rigidity in his right arm, and therefore he sent him for an MRI. We met the daughter and Theo showed me the printed scans that showed clearly bilateral Subdural hematoma, a medical emergency. We took the scans to the radiologists and asked the daughter to bring the patient for further procedures.

Theo then took me to the neurology ward to see if I can join the morning round, but it was over already. They said I can join them tomorrow 8:30. I borrowed a lab coat from Theo, and we separated to meet tomorrow for dinner.

The rest of that day was relaxed. I went for the COVID-PCR test, which surprisingly came out negative, I spent a couple of hours wandering around the city and in the hotel gym.

The following day, I showed up on the ward at 8:30. I found the residents diving in the patients’ files, and I asked if I could join the rounds. I joined the “handover” where the night shift doctor was discussing the patients that were admitted to the ward at night with the ones on duty during the day. The first surprise for me was that the night shift was carried out by an intern alone! The intern looked at me with some sorrow in her eye and said, “I am just an intern”. Theo told me, later, that he had to perform multiple cesarean sections in one night as an intern in some rural hospitals. I listened to the handover. Thorough and competent. My impression, in general, was that the colleagues there were competent and well-educated.

After checking all the new patients and organizing the transfer to proper departments, we went to see the neurological patients. A wide scope of diseases, that I was surprised it could be diagnosed here given the scarce resources. Especially for my medical readers: half of the ward was occupied by HIV-positive patients that had cryptococcal meningitis or toxoplasmosis due to their immunosuppression. Some Strokes, some bleedings, a GBS, a PML with HIV. Tough cases. A few of the cases have refused further medical diagnostics and treatment because they can not afford them. We passed by a patient while having a generalized epileptic seizure. Unfortunately, the hospital does not have an EEG. They have to send the patients to another hospital for EEGs. There is one MRI in the hospital and is obviously completely booked. These conditions make it hard for doctors to do their job and also to advance their knowledge. Sometimes they would wish to know how the MRI of this or that patient looks like, but they can’t because the patient can’t afford it.

Needless to mention, the conditions of the hospital. I promised Theo that I won’t take pictures. However, what can I say? very sick patients beside each other, each bed has a plastic washtub underneath, that the patients use as a toilet. You can imagine the smell of the ward. I refer you to one link that has a photo of a ward here.

After discussing the cases, I thanked my colleagues and wished them all the best. In this place of hope and frustration, holding the post and doing this job is something I respected. I was also thankful for where I work in Switzerland. I think I will approach my daily routine differently when I go back to my daily life.

I left the hospital for my next adventure that day; to which I will dedicate the next post.

Kenya 2022 | Day 11: Helmuth’s Art Gallery

A young German gentleman called Helmuth once booked a one-way flight to Cairo. After a couple of days, he traveled up the Nile across to Sudan, following the river further to Uganda. He slept on huge floating ships that served as markets, buying goods from villages and selling them along the river banks back and forth. Helmuth decided it would be nice to come work a bit in East Africa. Since he was in a pharmaceutical branch, he got a job managing the medicine supply chain. A contract after contract, years have passed until he retired with his dutch wife in Kenya. After retirement, he decided to follow another passion of his and be involved in the art scene. He hosts art exhibitions in an art gallery in his house. I stated “You have contributed to the evolution of Nairobi” he smiled: “of Africa”.

Earlier today, I woke up in West Wood hotel which is on the verge of the forest. They even have a forest view deck where you can observe the monkeys that naturally live there. Since the Breakfast buffet is in the yard, monkeys try to snatch the fruits here and there. Which I have observed as soon as I emerged for breakfast. I decided that today I want to explore the art scene in Nairobi. I am a humble collector of paintings and chess sets from my travels.

You know my trick, I use dating apps to meet interesting ladies for nice conversations. I matched with an intriguing lady nicknamed “Firefly“. I sent her the link to my blog, and you know what? She informs me that she started reading “The Forty Rules of Love” one week ago. What are the odds? I asked her for a recommendation for local art galleries and come to know that she is an artist herself. She recommended the Red Hill Art Gallery. I called Helmuth, the curator, which told me that they are preparing a new exhibition that will start on Sunday. A pity, I won’t be in Kenya by then. I told Firefly that. A few minutes later I got a call from Helmuth that I can visit the gallery today if I want as an exception. Firefly has asked him.

After a long Uber ride, I arrived at the Red Hill Art Gallery. Helmuth welcomed me in his garden between his house and the medium annex that serves as the art gallery. He prepared coffee and cookies, and we spent a couple of hours conversing. I started by touring the upcoming exhibition by an 80 years old British-Kenyan dancer that decided to resume painting two years ago. It is her first exhibition! I give a lot of respect to those who decide to take a new path in life, not to mention in such an old age. She hired one dancer as a model and painted him in different choreography moments. I thought it takes a lot of talent and bravery to depict the human body during these movements. The artist risks painting the wrong muscle anatomy. I thought she did a good job.

The Exhibition in the Red Hill Art Gallery

We had a long conversation. Helmuth told me a brief biography, including his experience in the healthcare field in Africa. We discussed the healthcare problems in Kenya in particular. He also told me a lot about the art scene. He then showed me his private art collection, as well as a tour of his house, which was studded with beautiful artifacts and artworks. During these minutes, I felt my heart racing and my happiness spike. I decided to dedicate more time to this passion of mine.

Helmuth showing my some of his private collection

Earlier that day, I was strolling in one of the many shopping malls in Nairobi. It seems a feature of hot countries to have shopping malls as a way to avoid the heat. There I also encountered an exhibition of some local artists in some abandoned space in the mall without any sign of human life. Here are the most interesting paintings I found. I have contacted the artist for the prices and each was around 150 euros.

I also found this epic painting of the last supper but in Movember, hehe

Kenya 2022 | Day 10: back to Nairobi ❤️ 🇰🇪

I headed to my last breakfast in this hotel. There I observed the other guests: two Italian families with adults and a few mixed couples. This is a frequent scene in Diani, mostly older white people 👴🏻 coupled with younger black ones 👩🏿 . Somehow, when I see a single white man somewhere in the city, I think that he might be a fugitive. In general, Diani is a good place to disappear if you are internationally wanted by the Interpol.

I checked out and headed to the supermarket 🛒 to get come aloe vera to heal my burnt 🔥 skin. Unfortunately, there is no cream for the wounds of the heart 💔. Maybe only cream brûlée 😂😂😂.

Since the coffee in the hotel was the usual bad (horse piss 🐎 as my brother says, or aqua sporca as Andrea says), I decided to go for a decent cappuccino ☕️. However, Café Apero apologized to me because they had no electricity ⚡️ at the moment. I don’t remember having experienced this before, but I was also not surprised.

The zebra is eating fire and the lion is surprised

I took a small plane from Ukunda airport to Nairobi. This might be the second-smallest airport 🛫 I have been to, after that in one of the Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 🏝️. We landed gracefully in the smaller Airport in Nairobi. I spontaneously visited some offices to inquire about some new adventure I am planning. Then headed to “Nairoby street kitchen” which I chose just because of the name! When I entered, I was welcomed by a modern and smart-looking young lady that explained the concept. It was a big hanger with many well-designed stalls, trucks, or vibe-full cafés. I was somehow euphoric by the modern design and the creativity. I love to see this in Africa 🌍 . There were also paintings displayed there for sale by local artists 🎨 . I wished I were a bit richer at that moment. I went to some stall and ordered tasty chicken wings 🐔 , as well as cassava roots (called Mhogo). I also found a huge bar on the rooftop with a big screen 🎦.

The African cup of nations ⚽ started two days ago. I have squeezed a couple of games in my not-at-all busy schedule, but today Egypt 🇪🇬 plays against Nigeria 🇳🇬 . I thought it would be cool to watch it with some Egyptians, so I tried to call the embassy in Nairobi. However, all the phone ☎️ numbers were out of service! This also didn’t surprise me! I decided to watch it in the rooftop bar. In that game, Egypt lost and I was sad/grumpy. The team’s performance was miserable. Maybe it is better I didn’t watch in a group after all.

P.S.: using emojis in this post was inspired by Cäcilia. I will probably not do it again 😀