Travel - 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 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 😀

Kenya 2022 | Days 6 and 7: Diani’s Animals and Meeting Theo

My trip to Diani, a little beach town on the southern coast of Kenya, was a one-hour Matatu ride. This ride was studded with observations that are followed by a usual question: why? Why is this cow here? Why is this guy collecting dirty draining water in a bucket? I saw so many wonders that I don’t know how to document here. Seeing Africa or India or countries with some significant amount of Chaos is something that can’t be replaced by stories.

I headed to the backpacker’s lodge called “Stilts”, which is located in the forest. As soon as I entered, I started seeing black-and-white colobus monkeys everywhere. They looked elegant and were around the whole place. I have initially booked a tent (see photo below) as a new experience for me. I have camped in my youth several times in the desert. Camping in a forest is novel to me. Jenny at the reception welcomed me and in the process asked me if I was “sure about the tent”? They also have tree houses. They showed me both options. While I was making the tour, I heard snakes. “Bakari, are these snakes?”, “yes, but they are the green ones, they are not dangerous”. Given the circumstances, I opted for a treehouse. Back to the reception where Jenny said “you don’t look like a tent person”. This is true. Not in a forest where all these animals can play tag with me. Well, I also discovered later, that the green snake is called the “eastern green mamba” and has a rapid-acting venom.

I would have slept there (Photo from booking.com)
but I slept here (Photo from booking.com)
because I was afraid of this guy (photo: wikipedia)
Colobus Monkey in the forest (photo from internet)
I took this photo

I spent the afternoon at the beach, mainly reading and interacting with the locals. I got twice the same comment that they were happy I was talking to them like a friend since many white guys completely ignore them. To be honest, I also understand the white guys. If you are asked 10 times in 100 meters if you want to buy coconut or souvenirs, you would also not be nice all the time. However, I spent around one-hour bargaining with Frank on the price of a coconut. Frank knew I wouldn’t buy it, I knew I wouldn’t. But I got the feeling that people here appreciate good fun.

At 7 pm daily, the Stilts backpackers feed bushbabies (Galago). What are these? They are some weird nocturnal animals, that have super-cute big eyes. They come every day at 7 pm for their usual meal, which are some bananas offered by the hostel and its guests. This was one of the cutest things I saw in a few years. However, we came to know that they pee on their hands. I am happy I didn’t touch them!

The night continued with me getting in touch with Hasani and Keisha, which I met in Nairobi. They told me about some beach party in the Soul Breeze Resort. I arrived earlier than them and was approached by Luciana, I think she was a prostitute. She asked to sit with me, gave me a couple of compliments and asked where I was staying. I said, “in a treehouse”. Do you want to show it to me later? I said “no”. After she was leading the conversation like a green mamba, I interrupted her stating that I was uncomfortable with this conversation and that she had to leave my table. I was soon rescued by Hasani and Keisha.

There we had dinner and bounced on the tunes of Afrobeats and came to meet more and more friends. After the party, we moved to another hostel for an extended party, where Hasani and I were literally the last men standing at 3:30 am. I think Afrobeats is included in my DNA.

During this night, I had the pleasure to encounter Theo, a Kenyan psychiatry resident on holiday, showing Diani to his visiting Nephew. Once Theo knew about me being a neurologist, we had a looooong conversation about the human brain and what makes us human. This was Theo’s specific question, actually. This very interesting conversation extended to free will, consciousness, and divinity. As Theo says: “choose a delusion and stick to it”. Theo told me about the difficulties of the healthcare system in Kenya. There are in total around 4000 doctors in the country, which is 1 doctor per 10,000 people! Just for comparison, Switzerland has 40 doctors per 10,000 people. We exchanged contacts, and hopefully, we will meet again in Nairobi before I leave Kenya.

The next day I left the Stilts backpackers to a 5-stars resort :D, I know I combine contradictions in my traveling as I do in life in general. But for me, everything makes sense. I spent Saturday as another beach day. Probably the highlight was playing a beach football game with some local tribesmen mixed with a few tourists. We agreed to meet again tomorrow.

Kenya 2022 | Day 4: AfroBeats

One very important thing that Africa represents for me is dancing. Therefore, I was determined to add a dance lesson to my experiences. Yesterday, I googled and contacted a music and dance school called “Kamata”. They kindly agreed to arrange a private Afro-Dance lesson for me today. So, after a good breakfast in ArtCaffe (the coffee there is just great), I headed to Kamata school. There was Kevin, my dance instructor waiting for me. We walked together to a nearby gym where we kicked off our dancing lesson. Kevin decided we are going to practice a choreography based on a Nigerian song called Dancina.

Artcaffe

We started right away, and I felt all the endorphins shooting in my arteries. At times, I felt out of shape and inflexible compared to Kevin, who is a professional dancer. I should not be too hard on myself! Move after move, I managed to learn something that I could practice back home. It was great fun. I will definitely add this activity to any travel I plan in the future. I leave you with the end result. Like everyone, I feel a bit embarrassed about the video. Sometimes out of rhythm, sometimes forgot the steps. But who cares, right 😀 ?

and here is a video from Kevin’s dance crew

After the lesson, I headed to Pallet café where I met Eva, a Kenyan girl who lives and works as a consultant in a famous company in Munich. Currently, she is on holiday visiting her family. We had a nice conversation about Nairobi and Kenya, as well as the contrasts between Kenya and Europe. Eva thinks that one day, she will go back to Kenya. I also mentioned to her my experience in the Kibera slums. She, too, thinks that despite the bad living conditions, the people there are happy and satisfied.
The Pallet café hires only deaf waiters. So, to order your food or drinks, you need to point at items in the menu or use sign language. I remembered a KFC branch in Cairo employing the same concept.

Enough Nairobi for now. I haven’t done almost any of the top To-Do’s for tourists but I have experienced something for now. I decided to go to Mombasa, either a 1.5 flight or a 5 hours train ride. I knew I wouldn’t manage it on time to the train station, so I went to the airport and booked the flight in the Uber. Only 37 swiss francs. I found it funny that the airline is called 540. That’s right, just a number. What is nicer is that the flight is scheduled at 5:40 pm :D. However, the flight was delayed. Since there were no announcements in the airport, I went to inquire at the gate and found the pilot chilling in a chair. He told me that we are waiting for the plane to arrive. I asked about the estimated time. He said, “Don’t worry man, I am heeeere! relax, Hakuna Matata!” I thought that is the kind of pilot I want.

Interestingly, there was no life-jacket on board. Instead, in case of emergency, one should use the seat cushion, hug it and jump in the water. I found the safety information card funnily showing a smiling black woman hugging a seat cushion. This probably represents the laid back African mentality. “Emergency landing? No Problem. Hakuna Matata”.

I landed in Mombasa and took a taxi to a nice beach hotel where I will spend two days enjoying a relative luxury. But, you never know how life events unfold!

Kenya 2022 | Day 1: What am I doing here?

Here I go.. Here I wander..
Looking for a moment, and a missing answer..
Will we ever fill the void?.. Is it time to surrender?

I booked my flight to Nairobi 4 days ago. Planing does not make sense in these times of uncertainty. I needed to travel.. I needed to travel far.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my life. I love where I am living, and I enjoy what I am doing. I have been blessed by being constantly exposed to sensible souls, brilliant minds and remarkable personalities. However, we frequent travelers are cursed. We crave for the new. I crave.. I crave for a change.
New destinations bring new destinies. New changes that, if you allow, could alter your being. Well, it often happens also when you are not willing to allow it. I didn’t really choose Kenya. It just happened. A combination of a reasonable ticket price, reasonable COVID restrictions for travelers, and the ease with which I could enter the country.

But what am I doing here? I don’t know. I just wanted to expose myself to the universe again and see what comes my way. I have always been fascinated by the concept of “initiative”. Someone starts something. It needs momentum and energy. It requires courage and readiness to fail. Whether it is planning an event, approaching a charming person on the street or just taking a new step. Introducing energy into a system usually generates some beautiful Turbulence: life.
Serendipity, a beautiful word that sounds like gentle, soft kisses.

This quote is also from “The Forty Rules of Love”

In this trip, I am hoping to encounter and challenge some of my fears. I am hoping to think extensively over the views of extended African sands. I am hoping to clean my heart from the entitlement and greed that creeps over it from luxurious privileged high standard living.
My companion on this trip is a re-read; “The Forty Rules of Love” by Elif Shafak. I read this book a decade ago, and it has changed many of my perceptions in life.

I landed early on the 2nd of January. Everything was smooth given my online Visa, COVID19-Vaccination certificate, and negative PCR test, I uber-ed my way to the Airbnb room which was in a quiet fancy neighborhood full of residential compounds surrounded by walls and having security guards on the gates. Sheila received me, showed me the tiny room, as well as the gym and swimming pool that belong to the building. Being in Africa, you come back to the reality that in most of the world things are not perfect. This is not the case in Switzerland, where perfection is constantly aimed at. Here the water tap is leaking unless you use higher power. If you don’t look at the street while walking, you are sure to fall.

I had a light itching that I attributed to my self-diagnosed dust allergy. So I thought I pass by the pharmacy and get myself antihistamines. While checking out I found out that the price is around 2500 shillings, equaling around 20 euros. I thought, how can the regular citizen afford such medicine.. What about antibiotics? You probably need to sell your kidney.. Wait.. What do you do if you need to treat your kidney?

I slept a few hours, went to a relatively fancy restaurant for dinner, and then headed to watch Liverpool game in a mall. People here are nice and friendly. They also speak decent english in general. In my first day, I have a good feeling about this country and its people.