My week or so in Lamu Island was one wild and fun time. Lamu is a safe and fun island and it's small enough that most of the people know each other.
I hooked up with a lot of the local Kenyans and they showed me a good time. I especially spent my time with 2 chicks - Khadija and Evanglina who were beautiful and crazy good time people! Through them I met a lot of the people I wouldn't have otherwise met! Because of the small size of the town comes gossip and stories of some people and their reputation. Unfortunately these 2 girls were given a bad rap of being trouble makers (matata's). However they weren't trouble makers or prostitutes as some called them. Because we never did anything as a group but dance, drink and party. Most of all there were no payment on my part or anyone for that matter!
Khadija is Muslim and comes from a poor family. I met her family who were friendly and nice. I felt sorry for them as the family of 8 lived in a 2 room with no bed or even mattress. So like a sucker that I am I couldn't help but get them a couple mattresses to sleep. I brought the kids a bag of candy and they were so excited. It costs maybe a few dollars but to me it was nice just helping a family. Heck so I had a couple less beers or whatever! I'd like to help them more in the future because that's how they affected me! Muslims, Christians or whatever nationality they are is of no importance. They were just a sweet kind family who needed some assistance! Yeah some may ask why pick them? Well I just met them and tried to help.
Hey I'm not rich, in fact I don't have a job or a home address. But I had a couple bucks so why not help someone before I piss the few dollars away! I know this sounds corney - seeing that it's Christmas and all but it makes me feel good to help people! I've always said I'm here for a good time and not a long time! Well part of this good time is not just partying but doing things my way and one is buying or doing things for people I like!
Anyway back to Lamu Island. Well the people are of course Kenyan of Swahilli background mainly of Muslim faith! I've lived in Saudi Arabia and Oman but while the people here are strong Muslims they are not fanatical but quite tolerant. Heck they allowed me there so they have to be tolerant.
The town of Lamu has narrow streets and reminds me of Arabic towns I saw in Saudi or Oman. I found it fun to walk down the streets in the evening eating snacks for dinner from the various carts or stalls. It was dark but a person always felt safe. I stumbled down them many nights finding my way back to my little 3rd class hotel. Heck it got to the point that for a few days I'd leave my bags with the guy running the local laundry. Then towards the evening I'd look for a place to stay. I guess I always felt I'd find a cheaper place to stay. But in reality if I had stayed at just 1 place for a few days I'd have probably received a better rate. But once a fool always a fool!
Heck after 3 nights of carousing and whatever I decided to head out to Seaha beach (can't remember the name) with Maria and Michelle (2 Irish chicks) who wanted to suntan. The beach is about 40 min walk from town or 10 mins by $1.50 dhow (boat). The beach is beautiful and long. We hung around the beach for awhile but since I'm not a sun worshipper I decided to check out the village. I came across a cheap place to stay among the expensive resorts so I decide to stay the night. I fell asleep till about 830 pm and found no one else in the house I was staying. It was so quiet in the village that night that I couldn't find a place to eat that night. So I took my mp3 player, joint and laid in a rubber dingy and watched the stars till about 3 am. That was so peaceful and isolated that it was great! However the next day I decided I had enough isolation and headed back to Lamu town.
I hooked up with Khadija and Evangilina and partied for the rest of the week. Unfortunately I didn't have time to bus it from Lamu back to Nairobbery. So I had to fork out the price of a plane from Lamu to Nairobbery to make my flight home! I don't know if I'll ever make it back to Lamu Island again but it was fun and I left some good friends there.
Well I made it out of Kenya and Africa after some crazy experiences. I can't say I'll ever forget my time there or if I'll ever remember some of my time there! Yeah it was that kind of time! It was all good fun but some times shit happens and quite often it happens to me!
I've done a lot of travelling around the world but I must say that the Africans are the friendliest people I've met! They are always smiling even if their life style isn't the best as they say "Hakuna Matata" (no problem). So I sort of hung on to that phrase as my motto while there and since. I saw a lot of poor people who still smiled and were happy. You have some one back home in that predicament and they would be soooo down! Someone asked me how I would compare say Africa and Asia. I'd have to say that I loved Asia but I found the Africans (East Africa) were much more hospitable and friendly!
I sort of felt sorry for some I met and ended up helping them when I could. Yeah I probably got lied to and suckered by their stories but no regrets as I did it because I wanted to help. I'd get invited to people's homes for meals and see that they bought meat for dinner. Then I'd notice that no one else was eating the food but me. So I'd think this is probably the only time they bought meat in months. So feeling guilty I'd leave them some money for food. At one home I also noticed that there was about an inch of water on the floor. They told me that their tap wouldn't stop dripping when they cooked. They couldn't afford to get it fixed so I offerred them money to get it fixed. The cost wasn't much but I left feeling better about helping the family. They were just awesome to me and the kids were so grateful for the candy I brought them. It's one of those times I felt guilty for being born in a rich country and they weren't.
I had a night layover in London on the way home and met up with this Aussie guy and his sister on their way to Denmark. So we headed to a pub for a meal and ended up having a few beers. They mentioned this liqueur called Ambience or something that was 73% liquor and could knock u for a loop. Well I tried it and yeah it does that. I was told to light the liquor and then immediately put my palm over the glass to cause a vacumn then you inhale the air and shoot the drink. I was told it isn't allowed in Canada (not sure if it's sold in the US) as it has a sort of hallucagen in it. I saw a bottle in Heathrow the next day but didn't buy it as it cost 24.95 pounds ($60) duty free.
I hooked up with a lot of the local Kenyans and they showed me a good time. I especially spent my time with 2 chicks - Khadija and Evanglina who were beautiful and crazy good time people! Through them I met a lot of the people I wouldn't have otherwise met! Because of the small size of the town comes gossip and stories of some people and their reputation. Unfortunately these 2 girls were given a bad rap of being trouble makers (matata's). However they weren't trouble makers or prostitutes as some called them. Because we never did anything as a group but dance, drink and party. Most of all there were no payment on my part or anyone for that matter!
Khadija is Muslim and comes from a poor family. I met her family who were friendly and nice. I felt sorry for them as the family of 8 lived in a 2 room with no bed or even mattress. So like a sucker that I am I couldn't help but get them a couple mattresses to sleep. I brought the kids a bag of candy and they were so excited. It costs maybe a few dollars but to me it was nice just helping a family. Heck so I had a couple less beers or whatever! I'd like to help them more in the future because that's how they affected me! Muslims, Christians or whatever nationality they are is of no importance. They were just a sweet kind family who needed some assistance! Yeah some may ask why pick them? Well I just met them and tried to help.
Hey I'm not rich, in fact I don't have a job or a home address. But I had a couple bucks so why not help someone before I piss the few dollars away! I know this sounds corney - seeing that it's Christmas and all but it makes me feel good to help people! I've always said I'm here for a good time and not a long time! Well part of this good time is not just partying but doing things my way and one is buying or doing things for people I like!
Anyway back to Lamu Island. Well the people are of course Kenyan of Swahilli background mainly of Muslim faith! I've lived in Saudi Arabia and Oman but while the people here are strong Muslims they are not fanatical but quite tolerant. Heck they allowed me there so they have to be tolerant.
The town of Lamu has narrow streets and reminds me of Arabic towns I saw in Saudi or Oman. I found it fun to walk down the streets in the evening eating snacks for dinner from the various carts or stalls. It was dark but a person always felt safe. I stumbled down them many nights finding my way back to my little 3rd class hotel. Heck it got to the point that for a few days I'd leave my bags with the guy running the local laundry. Then towards the evening I'd look for a place to stay. I guess I always felt I'd find a cheaper place to stay. But in reality if I had stayed at just 1 place for a few days I'd have probably received a better rate. But once a fool always a fool!
Heck after 3 nights of carousing and whatever I decided to head out to Seaha beach (can't remember the name) with Maria and Michelle (2 Irish chicks) who wanted to suntan. The beach is about 40 min walk from town or 10 mins by $1.50 dhow (boat). The beach is beautiful and long. We hung around the beach for awhile but since I'm not a sun worshipper I decided to check out the village. I came across a cheap place to stay among the expensive resorts so I decide to stay the night. I fell asleep till about 830 pm and found no one else in the house I was staying. It was so quiet in the village that night that I couldn't find a place to eat that night. So I took my mp3 player, joint and laid in a rubber dingy and watched the stars till about 3 am. That was so peaceful and isolated that it was great! However the next day I decided I had enough isolation and headed back to Lamu town.
I hooked up with Khadija and Evangilina and partied for the rest of the week. Unfortunately I didn't have time to bus it from Lamu back to Nairobbery. So I had to fork out the price of a plane from Lamu to Nairobbery to make my flight home! I don't know if I'll ever make it back to Lamu Island again but it was fun and I left some good friends there.
Well I made it out of Kenya and Africa after some crazy experiences. I can't say I'll ever forget my time there or if I'll ever remember some of my time there! Yeah it was that kind of time! It was all good fun but some times shit happens and quite often it happens to me!
I've done a lot of travelling around the world but I must say that the Africans are the friendliest people I've met! They are always smiling even if their life style isn't the best as they say "Hakuna Matata" (no problem). So I sort of hung on to that phrase as my motto while there and since. I saw a lot of poor people who still smiled and were happy. You have some one back home in that predicament and they would be soooo down! Someone asked me how I would compare say Africa and Asia. I'd have to say that I loved Asia but I found the Africans (East Africa) were much more hospitable and friendly!
I sort of felt sorry for some I met and ended up helping them when I could. Yeah I probably got lied to and suckered by their stories but no regrets as I did it because I wanted to help. I'd get invited to people's homes for meals and see that they bought meat for dinner. Then I'd notice that no one else was eating the food but me. So I'd think this is probably the only time they bought meat in months. So feeling guilty I'd leave them some money for food. At one home I also noticed that there was about an inch of water on the floor. They told me that their tap wouldn't stop dripping when they cooked. They couldn't afford to get it fixed so I offerred them money to get it fixed. The cost wasn't much but I left feeling better about helping the family. They were just awesome to me and the kids were so grateful for the candy I brought them. It's one of those times I felt guilty for being born in a rich country and they weren't.
I had a night layover in London on the way home and met up with this Aussie guy and his sister on their way to Denmark. So we headed to a pub for a meal and ended up having a few beers. They mentioned this liqueur called Ambience or something that was 73% liquor and could knock u for a loop. Well I tried it and yeah it does that. I was told to light the liquor and then immediately put my palm over the glass to cause a vacumn then you inhale the air and shoot the drink. I was told it isn't allowed in Canada (not sure if it's sold in the US) as it has a sort of hallucagen in it. I saw a bottle in Heathrow the next day but didn't buy it as it cost 24.95 pounds ($60) duty free.
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