Globetrotter girl -

KENYA 2010-11-20: Adam's Arcade/Toi market and Shangilia...Later Habesha and Casablanca!

2010-11-20 11:36pm

Hello hello!

This morning I got up at 6:30am… Had my breakfast, got ready and then walked off to Hilton, Moi avenue, to first check out the Masai Market… But since I got there at around 8, they were still setting up, so I decided to take a bus to Adam’s arcade.

When I got there they were also just setting up, but I just started walking, and as I got to Toi market, they were getting more and more set up. I found a few tops and I also bought 10 bras to the girls at Shangilia. I will actually go back next week and buy more. They were only 40 ksh each!

When I was done at Adam’s I took a matatu back to Hilton, Moi avenue and by that time the Masai market was up and running.
I didn’t spend a lot of time there, cause it was quite crowded, and you get really tired of haggling and saying no thanks, and people coming up to you saying “please come and look at my things, it’s just over there”… instead of letting me go around in my own pace… Phew.
I did find a few nice earrings and necklaces though.
One guy was rather funny… He wanted to charge me 1000 ksh for a pair of earrings… I just laughed and walked off… Later a girl came up to me and said, she’s the boss, and asked what my price would be.
I had just bought a pair of earrings for 200 ksh (without even haggling… I actually told that lady I had great respect for her, giving me a fair price from the start, cause the earrings were amazing!)… Anyway, I got the other pair for 200 as well! So I was happy :)

Then I went to Java House, Koinange lane and had a chicken quesadilla before dropping my stuff off at YMCA, and then off to Shangilia.

Getting to Kangemi wasn’t a big problem, since it’s Saturday, but there was a wedding in town, so a little jam was expected…!

I arrived at around 1pm, and the kids were just getting their dinner. Ugali na sukuma. Right then I wish I hadn’t had any dinner at Java… but I was stuffed so I had to pass….

I didn’t leave Shangilia until like 5pm…
Oh! And I finally med Sammy! Apparently he’s off at a boarding school… Don’t quite understand how it works…But oh well…!
But it was so nice hanging out with the kids today… We had a really nice time…
Some of them were going to a hotel in Upperhill for the performance (I thought it was next week)… I wish I’d been able to go with them!

Oh! And one of the younger boys, Martin had just lost a tooth and he was crying cause of the pain… I didn’t realize the tooth had come out… SO I gave him a pain killer… But then he showed me the tooth… And I told him that the tooth fairy is busy, so I’ll just give him 20KSH… He started smiling and his other boy, SO cute, started pulling his teeth cause he also wanted 20 KSH. Then he started laughing.

…Later Martin came up to me and asked if I could take the 20 KSH and go out in Kangemi and buy him a new set of teeth. Aaaahhh, so adorable!! So funny!!

At 5pm I took a matatu back to the city, and I went to YMCA to change. Mary came shortly after and then Geoffrey. We took a cab to Habesha, an amazing Ethiopian restaurant. The service is pretty poor… You have to be patient…. But we ordered one platter of Injera and a bunch of stuff on it (check the pic! …Yes, it’s an egg in the middle….!) It was a perfect size for 3 people and it’s only 550 KSH!! Imagine! That is one cheap meal… Not to mention delicious!!!

After Habesha we took a matatu to Casablanca… An amazing place…!
I was so in the mood for a cup of Ketepa tea (just like last year with Dak & Bo), but apparently they just serve tea on weekdays… Oh well…! I had to settle for a coke.
They also have water pipes… I wanted to try, but it was 1000 ksh…and I just wanted to try it, so I thought it was a bit too expensive.

The place is amazing though! The interior design is fantastic! I could so live there! ;)

After that we shared a cab back to YMCA and Mary and Geoff went on to Zimmerman, where they live.

And this is a short version of today!

Nighty night! :)