2010-11-15  7:00pm

Good evening, good evening!

I just got back from Nakumatt… I actually went there to buy socks, cause apparently that’s one thing I forgot to bring. And I ended up walking around…and totally forgot about it… But on my way back, when I realized why I had gone there; two guys were standing by the road and sold socks and ties. Perfect :P

 

Today I got up at 7:30am and had breakfast and then I actually sat down by a cyber café and uploaded pics and my blog!
Then I went down town to meet up with Mary at Hilton Arcade. We were gonna take the matatu to Ngara, where there is a market..

 

I bought a pair of pants, which I later realized are too big, but oh well…!
I have my shoulder bag with me, you know, the EVERLAST one, which I have had every visit to Kenya!
But I just felt like it was too much for my shoulders and I wanted a backpack instead.

 

We didn’t really find anything there, so we decided to go to a place called Gikomba, and that is one HUGE market in Nairobi… It’s located a bit outside the city centre, and it felt more like a slum, but it was CRAZY how much stuff there is!

 

I found an Eastpack bag, which I haggled down to 600 ksh. Very satisfied!
I also found a pair of used Converse, faded purple, really cool, and I just paid 300 ksh for them! Mhm!
But Mary told me, as we were standing there, another guy told the guy who owned the place, in Swahili, that he should charge me more since I’m white and have a daddy who pays for everything. OMG! Thankfully Mary was with me, and told them they couldn’t do that…
I’m glad she didn’t tell me about that until later, cause it kind of pissed me off!
I know they always try to rip us mzungus off, but putting it like that is just… Jackass!

 

I also found a shirt, and the guy told me 950 ksh, but I said I won’t pay more than 300.. He refused and I walked off… We kept walking, but we went back the same way later, and at that time there was a girl there instead, and I eventually got it for 450 ksh, which was totally fine.

 

We actually couldn’t walk around the whole market cause of the rain last night… It was s muddy it was CRAZY! And as we came out lots of people were sitting by the road, offering to clean shoes for 10 ksh! I didn’t mind my Converse being muddy so I didn’t care… But Mary told me that the locals do it cause they’re probably going into town, and want to look neat, otherwise people may judge them, especially if they meet someone they know…

Then we made our way back downtown, and it has been so hot today, it’s crazy!
Even though I’ve put on sunblock today, I got really burned! But it’s ok, it doesn’t hurt.
Then I wanted to go to the Java House where Geoffrey works, and he was there!! It was SO SO good to see him again! He’s become branch manager!! We’re going to have lunch tomorrow! :) Get to catch up a bit more!
And I had the fruit salad today and it was delicious!

Then Mary showed me a place where they serve ugali na mboga, githeri and chapati! Their chapatis were DELICIOUS! Ugali at that place is only 100 ksh! I’m gonna be eating there a lot more! :))

 

Then the sky was really dark, and we were supposed to go to Shangilia, but considering how it came down yesterday, we didn’t feel like taking that chance. Also because there are no asphalt roads in Kangemi… Imagine the mud…!
It was also getting pretty late, and I don’t want to take a matatu after nightfall…
Mary headed home so she wouldn’t get caught in the worst traffic jams… And I felt so bad… I really wanted to go to Shangilia. Eventually I got a hold of Tom, at Shangilia, and told him I’ll stop by and get the list tomorrow morning at around 8:30am.

 

Eventually it cleared up and became a really nice evening…which was frustrating. I even went out and asked a cab driver how much he would charge to Kangemi.. and he wanted 1000 ksh – ONE way!!!
In 2006 I remember we paid between 300-400 ksh to go to Kangemi, and I paid 1500 from the airport, which is a MUCH longer distance… And he didn’t want to negotiate. Otherwise I would have gone out to Kangemi and just have him pick me up a while later…

 

Buuut anyway… I’m exhausted, really, I wouldn’t have much energy over for the kids, so it’ll be better to see them tomorrow afternoon!
Mary and I are meeting up with Geoffrey at noon for a lunch, then  we’re gonna go shopping for Shangilia. I will probably start as soon as I have the list though!

 

Anyway, this is it for now, I’m actually going to bed soon… I’m wiped out!
More soon!

LOVE!

 

Ngara market

Ngara market. It's been raining a bit!

Gikomba market

One of the streets we couldn't checkout. Ankle deep mud :P

My shoes weren't that muddy!

But if your shoes ARE muddy. They will clean it for you.
They were pulling me in all directions cause they wanted to clean my shoes.
No thank you...no thank you....no thank you... NO THANK YOU! HAPANA! :)