Traffic Lights in Nairobi

Nairobi has 1 major thoroughfare running from south-east to north-west, and despite a southern bypass allowing trucks to avoid going through the city center (a northern bypass is also coming soon) the road is often a major blockage for people trying to cross that road. There are also a couple of other major thoroughfares, especially one running off the main one to the north-east which is also chock-a-block during rush hour (though empty in the opposite direction).

Traffic in Nairobi is not as bad as many other places around the world or Africa, but at rush hour it can be a problem, particularly at the 3 or 4 roundabouts close together near the town center (which is just to one side of this main thoroughfare). 2 of the roundabouts have traffic lights, but they vary between being off, flashing, or being on. It doesn't matter which state they are in because they are not followed even when the are on. During rush hour there will be traffic police on those roundabouts (and also on the ones without traffic lights) and they'll direct traffic no matter what state the traffic lights are in.

These are basically the only traffic lights in entire city (and probably the entire country actually), and they don't work. Actually there is also a set of traffic lights close to the UN which work and are followed. But when a new set of traffic lights opened a month or so ago just a few hundred meters from the set by the UN, for on the first day everyone ignored them, on the second day some people ignored them and on the third day a traffic policeman turned up to try to enforce people to use them. Even a week later often some local drivers, and especially the public transport minibuses (privately run, known as a matatu) still ignored them.

Now two weeks ago another set of traffic lights were turned on. These were on a brand new road which is also an important thoroughfare this time going from the city center to the south-east, (though it is only a dual carriageway, unlike the other one going north-east which is often three or four lanes each way). Something similar happened here: first they were ignored entirely, then semi-ignored and now, after some enforcement they are being mostly followed (at least be traffic; the pedestrians are still not really following them (it is an area with a lot of pedestrian traffic, unlike the other traffic lights).

Now two weeks later, something else has happened--as i found out when i took the shuttle bus home from work. The driver didn't go up to the traffic lights (where he'd turn left), but instead turned left down a small side road beforehand, then turned a right to come out where he wanted to go; in effect, doing the other two sides of a square compared to the two sides on the main road. And everyone else was copying him (in both directions) since it was quicker than waiting at the traffic lights. It might not have been an intended consequence, but I suppose it doesn't really too much harm--unless you live on those street that now have a lot of extra traffic on them!

We've also been doing a new traffic light project: ours are "smart" in that there are cameras monitoring the flow of traffic and adjusting the timings accordingly (rather than just operating on fixed timings).Hardly revolutionary technology compared to the developed world, but still...There are 7 sets and the first ones started being turned on last week.... Let's see how things go with these ones :)

Short Rains

End of October and November was the "short rains" seasons, where it rained quite frequently, but on and off, usually for just an hour or two--and mostly overnight. The rains were often very heavy though. Over the six weeks or so it only affected my walk to work a few times.

There was a lot of rain though and hopefully that helped overcome the water shortage in the country. Unfortunately, as frequently happens, the rains caused chaos in rural areas with floods washing away bridges.

The rains did cool the temperature down somewhat but now that the rains have passed it has warmed up again. It is still cool from around 5pm (it gets dark around 6.30pm) until 10am or so in the morning, but between 10-5 it can be above 20 degrees, and in the sunshine around 30 degrees. I can safely say from experience that it is not a good idea to sit on the balcony in the sun during that time, or go running at that time!

Still, with the altitude it is not humid at all and not too hot, compared to the coast where it is both very humid and about 5-8 degrees hotter. It is very pleasant. At Christmas many people head to the beaches, but there's also plenty of people who come from Europe to see friends or family in Nairobi and just stay in Nairobi for a wonderful warm winter break!

It will be fairly dry now until April time when the long rains will come for a couple of months. It will also be the hottest time of the year; one could almost call it Summer, since the other dry period around July-August is significantly cooler.

The Kenyan election

Consider the last 12 months of Brexit: a slow-burning mess with confusion, infighting, disagreements, personalities, court cases, votes and attempted votes (in parliament)--a divided country that mostly just wants it all to be over with and move on, no matter what the outcome.

Then take that 12 months and compress it to less than 2 months and you have the Kenyan election.

In August the original election was annulled because the court were not sure if it was well managed, and therefore had to assume it was not (i.e. the elections body could not give evidence that assured them and had made many stupid mistakes). This might have been expected with more than 40,000 poll booths, each one with at least 2 or 3 electoral officers, and all needing the relevant training, papers, and equipment despite around a quarter or so being more than 8 hours away by road (some more like 15 hours) without any internet. 

It is a poor country and one may not expect a perfect election, but some mistakes were ridiculous: a login to the IT system that was meant for all returning officers to use was created in the name of the Chairman and used 9,000 times making it seem nefarious (when in reality they should have just created a "general login" name). Some polling officers made mistakes filling in the official form at the polling station so then found any old piece of paper, wrote the results on that and sent that in (next time each polling station will have spare copies of the official results paper). The election body couldn't get its act together in time to let the court have access to its computer servers. It even announced the results based on the electronic system and without waiting to collect in all the official papers. This is just some of the issues and it's almost ridiculous, and unfortunately it was enough for the court to ask for a repeat of the election (the cost is more than $100m).

At the same time the opposition comes out with all kinds of stuff about how the election was compromised, often focusing on the IT issues knowing that the average person can't understand these and therefore must trust the opposition that there were mistakes. But also criticising every one involved from the IT company to the Internet company and much more. On the one hand they are right to ask for fair and credible elections, but on the other hand their approach, message (requiring certain changes that were possible and others that were impossible in the time frame involved) and style (protests, finger-pointing) just created a very strong divide between the two main parties as well as the election management body.

So now the parallels with Brexit. The last two months have been complete confusion. At first there were just the two main candidates, then the minor candidates were allowed in the re-run (the court intervened); the opposition party has pulled out; the leaders of the two main parties refuse to meet and when they try to have their representatives meet with the electoral commission the meetings are always cancelled, postponed or walked-out on. The CEO of the electoral commission refused to take the blame for the fiasco the first time around, though finally today he has decided, 6 days before the election, that he'll take a three-week break (which seems ridiculous, but him not being around during the poll and the results will ease the criticism from the opposition, and apparently all the planning is on track so he is not needed).

The poll is supposed to go ahead in 6 days, but right now there is only one serious party campaigning and running, whilst several local government heads (from the opposition) have refused to let the election take place. The head of the electoral committee says he is struggling to get everything together and his team is completely divided on all the key issues; one of the his key allies resigned. The government has passed new legislation just last week changing some of the electoral laws (for example stating that even if there are issues with the IT, as long as the paper forms are collected, everything is fine). 

Kenya's election in August also elected all the local governments and national government positions all in one election (unlike the US, say, where some of the House seats are only contested two years after the other seats, so there is not a complete overhaul) - but if the court found the presidential election was flawed, how were the other elections not flawed? (in theory the local election results are declared locally and so it doesn't matter about the central IT systems or the tallying of the paper forms in Nairobi) And so though the local government positions have been sworn in, most are still being disputed in the courts, even whilst they have selected their local cabinets and started getting on with things.

Meanwhile it seems most of the country is not even more divided than they were before, with the opposition supporters now believing everything is rigged, and having had first weekly, then almost daily protests, in several cities. Business ground to a halt months ago as there is so much uncertainty no-one can plan for anything--will this election go ahead and if so, will the court end up requiring it to be re-run again? how much violence will there be? who will be in government? when will the new government be confirmed? The economy is slowing down, money is being spent on new elections, all attention back on elections instead of governing.

Elections in Kenya were always about tribe and basically this election was the west and east of the country on one side (the opposition) and the central and north of the country on the other side (the governing party). Many of the youth and the poor (in the slums) are squarely on the side of the opposition- promises of something better of course and less corruption, whether realistic or not. Many others doubt corruption would change no matter who wins. So there are lots of promises from both sides, but especially the opposition's seem unrealistic.

So we may have a presidential election in 6 days, maybe with only one main candidate running, who if he wins will then not be seen as credible (in my parallel to Brexit a margin of 2% is hardly enough of a margin to convince anyone) and thus the country will continue to be divided, there will be protests and constant claims of illegitimacy... just think of the two-year "transition period" of Brexit. It still won't resolve anything and life will continue with a fudge of a decision and continuing uncertainty and divisiveness across the country.

Ok, so it is not a complete parallel with Brexit - there is no squabbling within the party, and no negotiations with other countries (though the opposition in Kenya has blamed the EU for saying the first poll was fair, when it was found it wasn't; everyone loves bashing the EU); it is unlikely anyone cares enough in the UK to protest. But there is confusion, divisiveness and uncertainty. And it's not good for anyone. The UK is wasting years (and maybe billions of pounds) standing still whilst other countries can get on with more important things. Kenya is only wasting months and hundreds of millions of pounds, but in a poor country it is having major consequences.

So every day there are new twists and turns; will the opposition take part in the election after all? unlikely since they've not been campaigning and will likely lose. Will the election go ahead, even with opposition boycotts? probably as the electoral commission is mandated with trying their best. Will the election be credible in the eyes of the courts, or be seen as credible by the people? unlikely, so there may be another re-run. Will there be more violence? For sure, but hopefully it won't be too bad.

There is hope that politicians can talk to one another and find a way forward (a favourite phrase in Kenya). We all have to hope so. Otherwise,it is likely that once an election is finally held and been deemed as final, and then the violence subsides, live will return to normal, just with more than 40% of the country seeing the President as illegitimate. When the court annulled the election it was held up as evidence of impartiality and independence of the courts and the institutions in Kenya, but by the end of this there may be no trust in the electoral body or the courts, or the government.

This may be the most likely outcome as things stand today, but it won't be the best. Certainly not for the long-term.

Fingers crossed something might change in the next few days!

They grow up so fast

Last Monday Leah turned three, and this Saturday we held her birthday party: about 15 kids, some Leah's friends, some Hannah's friends (such as Arthur, a French boy), came along with their siblings for a few hours to play on a bouncy castle we set up downstairs, play some games and of course eat cake--some kids spent a while standing next to the cake devouring the last little bits piece by piece!

All went fairly well despite some small hiccups, such as Leah being somewhat overcome when she first saw all the people, and the candles being blown out by the wind, and the bouncy castle pump having some issues so the bouncy castle never properly got up (though it didn't stop the kids playing in it most of the time). At least Leah didn't have a break-down like Hannah did earlier this year during her party! This morning we took them to see the My Little Pony film; I suppose it was not as bad as I expected, but only because the Paw Patrol film (a few months ago was really bad (it was just 3 or 4 short episodes back-to-back and very painful) and Hannah managed to survive the scary scenes (Leah didn't seem to mind them)!

Leah doesn't stop talking nowadays in English (she's still not willing to talk much in Chinese during her Chinese lessons though her listening is fine) and is adorable. She tends to play with Hannah a lot, but copy her less and less, with more of her own opinions and certainly a willingness to make her own mind up on what she wants to do, eat, drink and so on irrelevant of Hannah. She no longer needs a nappy during her lunch nap (and the lunch nap is so important Leah voluntarily tells us she is tired and goes to lie down), but still does at night unfortunately.

Last week, whilst Hannah's kindergarten was closed for a couple of days in celebration of German reunification, Hannah went to Leah's kindergarten but Leah refused to let Hannah go in the bigger kids class. It was sweet with them going to kindergarten together. And they are still both so sweet. Google Photos Assistant has been stringing together little videos of the two of them growing up, as well as Hannah's first day at kindergarten three years ago. Her hair was much shorter, very boy-ish and she had similar abilities as Leah has now; though Hannah was much more sociable back then; today Leah doesn't really have many friends she plays with which might have something to do with her having played with Hannah so much.

It is weird seeing photos from when the kids were so young--without them it is hard to even remember what the kids were like then as they are always changing and my memory can barely keep up. Amazing to see videos of when Hannah was Leah's age and see how much Hannah has changed, and then to realize Leah will also change so much more still in the next few years.

Still, until they get over-tired at the end of the day, they are fantastic kids. Probably all they need is for us to focus more on reading and writing with them. I feel Hannah is maybe a bit behind, but never mind. She's very much a fan of listening to books and drawing pictures so I am sure it will come.

Q&A with the kids...part 1

So what happened at kindergarten today?

Hannah: Leo said he wants to marry me

Leah: Arthur said he wants to marry me too

How was tennis today?

Hannah: I don't like it... it's too difficult lifting up the racket

Hannah: And I can't get the ball over the net

Hannah: And I keep hitting people with the racket

What do you want for your birthday present?

Leah: A little red dinosaur

Leah: A toy dinosaur (not a real one)

Leah: And a little red car

Buying a car in Kenya

So after a very unnecessarily long and drawn out process recently I finally became an owner of a car, for the first time ever! 

When we were looking at cards we tried dealers, we tried the Car market in a field on Sundays, we tried online ads; and once we'd finally worked out what we wanted (possibility of 7 seats for family members/friends, as well as off-road capable for all the rubbish roads and speed bumps that graze the bottom of regular cars), we found a few options. In the end we picked the one with the lowest mileage (that was hopefully not clocked) and that came from an owner directly, who seemed to really take care of his card (rather than from a dealer).

Though there is one or two car assembly plants in Kenya, 98% of all vehicles are imported, and of them at least two thirds from Japan, second-hand. There is a whole industry involved in importing the cars, and it means most cars are at least 6 and often up to 10 years old when people buy them in Kenya, even though their mileage and condition is very good, having been refurbished in Japan, and presumably bought from buyers who didn't do a lot of mileage in them. As we were advised - buy Japanese since there are more local mechanics who can fix/service them and then resell values are higher. In fact since "new" cars are already second-hand reselling a car third-hand will only lose about 20% of the value of the car's second-hand price (unless the car is in a very bad state of course), which was one of the reasons we thought we'd buy a more expensive car rather than a cheaper car (we'll obviously get most of the money back later upon sale anyway).

It's done very well so far, after a good 6 months, with some damage from some national park game drives that was fixable (scrapes underneath the car) and we've quickly adjusted to the life of driving everywhere, rather than public transport, bikes, or taxis as with the previous decade or so. With a DVD player in the multimedia console the kids are happy with driving and sometimes even want to stay in the car longer! Kenya is very car-friendly in the sense of restaurants and offices having plenty of parking; and even downtown there are a few convenient car parks, if one is willing to pay. The quality of the roads is another story of course, but in general they are not too bad, with just some exceptions: the biggest frustration is long-distance driving due to the lack of roads that are more than single lane each way (and the large number of slow moving trucks), and the tendency to use speed bumps all the time to slow cars down when passing through towns, which is frequently. Average speeds of 40 miles per hour are the norm and often optimistic.

Anyway, once we'd chosen the car and paid for it, we then had to get the insurance and transfer the car to me... but without a work permit this can't be done, so we put the insurance in someone else's name temporarily and hoped to switch it (and the car's ownership) over to my name later on. However, getting the work permit is only the first step to getting a residence card, and then a PIN number from the tax authority. And unfortunately the PIN number database didn't talk to the transport authority's database until I finally found someone who was helpful and friendly in the authority to sort it out.

Initially the seller had signed the car transfer documents, but paper documents are so 2016, and when we tried to submit them (after getting the PIN sorted out) we were told that it is online only nowadays... well fair enough, except the seller suggested we ask his friend who worked for the transport authority to do it for us, which never happened (due to laziness, unresponsiveness, funerals, requests for money, and all sorts of other excuses), so in the end after wasting a month or two, we just got the seller to do it directly and a couple of weeks later (once he found time) all is done -and the car insurance can also be changed to my name.

It was frustrating but it's sorted.

Running

Developing countries (and especially rapidly expanding cities in them, like Nairobi) typically are not great for running. They grow rapidly and unplanned without consideration or funding for public spaces; and often a lack of pavements and horrendous pollution from old vehicles on the roads. And Nairobi is somewhat like this, though some of the newer roads have pavements, and there are many residential areas secluded from main thoroughfares where the traffic is light.

During the weekdays I do a couple of laps (each one just over a mile) around our residential area, and on weekends try to do longer runs. Whilst preparing for the Lewa Half Marathon, this was a regular Saturday-morning run with colleagues. We rotated among three different locations: a route that is on-rode around the outside of the arboretum (the arboretum is quite nice but fairly small and running within it would be restricted to just a few km), out in Ngong Hills, a town bordering Nairobi with some rarely-used tracks suitable for long-distance running (the circular route around the hills would be at least 40km so we would be dropped off by the bus and run 15 or 20km one way, or go 5km or 10km one way before turning around and coming back), and also some off-road paths up and down the actual hills (though i've not yet tried them).

Now that an excuse for long-runs of weekends isn't possible and that regular training is over, but Andrea and the kids are not back yet, I can still spend my weekends running in Karura Forest.

This is a fantastic forest in an area just out of town where the UN and many embassies are. There are two parts, the larger part has playing fields (occasionally for rent for events), a lovely outdoor cafe, and many paths for cycling, walking, running and walking dogs... it is huge - there is a 15km running route that goes up and down four of the main paths in the forest, which still leaves another two or three main paths untouched. There are some bike hire shops, a couple of playgrounds, plenty of small animals (deer, monkeys etc) and thanks to very good management, the whole forest is very safe. There is even a lady who comes to the cafe most weekends and does painting with kids (for a small fee) and there are some tourist attractions (waterfalls, caves etc).

Yesterday i went to the smaller part of the forest (there is a road dividing the two) which is less busy, and much simpler--there are no waterfalls or cafes and the lake that is probably normally there is all dried up (at this time of year). The longest running track here is 10km, and a third of that is on winding footpaths up and down in the hills which require great attention to prevent tripping on tree roots and rocks (compared to most of the paths in the forest which are wider tracks that are cyclable). There is also an obstacle course for adults (which took me seven minutes to complete) which is an added test after a long run (I did the 5km route after completing the 10km route for a more respectable distance).

Due to the altitude in Nairobi (almost 2,000m elevated), the weather is usually about 15 degrees in the mornings and evenings, and only hotting up to 25 degrees or more after 10am or 11am. There is no humidity (unlike at the coastal regions) so it is perfect for running. There are two periods during the year where it rains (and that is usually mostly overnight when it is cooler) and the rest of the year it is dry. So it is a fantastic place for running on the whole, especially on weekends, in the forest, past the animals and with a nice cafe to relax in afterwards. I suppose the only downfall is that the swimming pool at our compound is usually very cold as it is outdoors, the water is quite deep and it is not in the sun much. Overnight it loses any heat gained during the day, but as my dad has shown it is still fine for a quick dip after a run!

Still waiting...

Since the Presidential election result is being contested by the opposition, all is calm and life has mostly returned to usual although slowly--since until the result is final the Cabinet reshuffling cannot begin and so Central government is not really making any decisions. Local government is still going through the processes of sorting out the County-level cabinets and staff appointments.

Meanwhile the recently elected politicians (only the Presidential result is being contested) are trying to stop a recent edict lowering their pay by 5 or 10 percent. They are some of the highest paid politicians in the entire world, more so than most rich economies and it is crazy. The country can't afford it and it is a major cause of corruption and political favours. There was less arguing about the decision when it was made just before the election, yet now the new politicians have already been elected and don't need to care what their electorate think of their greed, they are going all-out to reverse the decision.

This Friday we'll find out the final result in the Court (either it stands, or is re-run). If there's a re-run (in 60 days), there will be much more waiting and the whole uncertainty will start over again. If the result holds, the opposition threatens mass action campaigns and so violence is likely to break out again (though hopefully it won't be too bad due to a prepared police force). So we're still waiting, but by next weekend we may know more....

Detroit and depressed

So last night I watched Detroit; a film just as depressing as Goodbye Aleppo, though in very different ways. The film is very different: almost two and a half hours long, shot by a world-famous Oscar-winning Director, and with a global release (Goodybe Aleppo was an hour, shot by citizen journalists and only shown on BBC in that region).

The topic was entirely different, yet the film was also a true story (at least as much as anyone can work out without all of the facts). It wasn't shot in real-time, but was a reconstruction of events but it was just as depressing as Goodbye Aleppo. Showing the race riots in Detroit of fifty years ago, it focused on a particular incident where some white racist copes violently interrogated (i.e. abused and shot) black youths whilst looking for a possible sniper, and got away without any convictions for what they did.

It is very powerful, particularly in light of the Black Lives Matter campaign as well as the Alt-Right movement of recent years. Clearly not enough has changed in those fifty years--one could almost argue things are worse. African-Americans are more economically disadvantaged, racial tensions are possibly even higher and more intrinsic, and police brutality continues to have racist undertones. But I'm not American and won't pretend to have informed opinion; just an opinion that means it is a depressing film because it certainly seems like nothing has changed and nothing is changing, even when (unlike in Syria) it seems the answers are known, the means to make a change exist, and even the willingness to change sometimes exists.

What the film does highlight though is what it feels like to be interrogated and threatened whilst being scared and vulnerable. For me this is particularly shocking and scary. At any moment someone could make a fear-induced mistaken movement, or say something that someone else does not agree with, and someone's life will end. Just like that. It is a powerful movie and I hope all police forces make their staff watch it to better understand what it feels like during these situations where the powerful and the vulnerable face up and in one split second a life could end.

Anyway, it has not all been depressing films over the last few weeks. There's also been time to watch Atomic Blonde (a kick-ass female spy movie with lots of twists set during the fall of the Berlin Wall), the Hitman's Bodyguard (a great laugh of an action film with Samuel L Jackson) and several other films. Having so much free time in the evenings and weekends without the kids feels very strange. I even watched a "boxset" (Designated Survivor--just like 24 really, but from a different viewpoint) since I like Kiefer Sutherland in those kinds of roles and my family recommended it. Thankfully the family will be back tomorrow so it is possible the end of movie watching for a while!

Fleeing Aleppo

No, I am not in Syria, not do I plan to go there, but I did watch a documentary tonight called "Goodbye Aleppo", from the BBC, and with the Director attending for Q&A. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08wz1hy.

The BBC specifically commissioned the piece, i.e. paid 4 citizen journalists (who had done some work for the BBC before) to document their last few months in East Aleppo as it was taken over by the "Regime" (as they call it) and the "opposition" lost control and fled, along with 100,000 or so citizens.

What makes it slightly different to a typical documentary is that there is not really a story or purpose to the piece, and no real direction (though the BBC were talking to the journalists most days): it was 100 hours of footage cut down to 1 hour (subtitled as all the language is in Arabic), shown chronologically, and just showing their lives really. There was no voice over, just occasional written statements on the date and situation.After 3 years of being "under attack" having taken over the city in the revolution, the documentary opens with the the end-game, when the city really was encircled and under siege; bombed all the time and then invaded. As the space for the citizens to live in shrunk over time, the opposition basically surrendered and everyone was evacuated.

The way it is shown means there is some insight into what it is like living in this situation and seeing how it changes, some perspectives from people living there, and of course, this is not an optimistic film. But there is no explanation - so we don't really know who the City Council are or what they do or their role with the fighters, but we see a few minutes where the journalists attend a meeting there where a decision is made to ask the UN for help and evacuate. 

We don't see anything of the Regime (apart from bombs going off, helicopters and fighter jets flying overhead etc) or of the Opposition fighters; but since there is no script or real direction we also don't get a full picture of how they live/survive. They have some fuel for their motorbike and generator; they eat some basics like bread and lentils, but we don't know where they get it from (there is certainly no sign of any markets or life on most of the streets as everyone is hiding in basements most of the time).

It makes for quite interesting viewing, and somewhat like the Titanic, one kind of knows how it ends--in the collapse of the city-- though thankfully the journalists survive (it's not quite like a typical Hollywood film with them fleeing under fire, but they are trying to avoid snipers and hide in basements as bombs go off overhead). 

It brings over the helplessness of the people, the pointlessness of the revolution, the craziness of the destruction, the futility of war, the sorrow and loss that affected so many people. And there is no hope. Not in the documentary, not now (6 months later). Its not optimistic. It is a record. It shows the desire of the citizen journalists to want to record what is happening for the record, even if it won't make any difference. They fought a revolution, they lost all their loved ones, they survived for 4 years, they had to eventually abandon their city and their homes with nothing. The four of them survived (2 now in Turkey, 2 in other parts of Syria). And that's it.

Does this documentary achieve anything to help them? No. Will it make any difference to the Syrian conflict? No. Will it achieve anything? There will be some awareness into what such a conflict is like among those who watch it but I can't imagine it will (like almost any other photos or films or reports of war ever have) prevent any future conflicts.

The Director added some insights: such as the intentional decisions not to show both sides, not to provide a voice-over, not to provide context (which is so complicated it would be hard anyway), not to provide much direction or instructions, and interestingly, to verify every single scene (and almost every frame) though forensic analysis of the images and metadata, cross-referencing with others who were there, and others who were not but knew the city. It was an expensive operation. 

The BBC tried to ensure accuracy in the footage. They tried to be neutral in their editing whilst trying to also provide some meaning here and there (the odd discussion about how the original uprising felt, about how they lost family members, about the infighting among the opposition affecting the opposition's success etc). Overall they just wanted to document what was happening, since it was so hard to do so.

Will there be a storm?

No, not in England... of course there is a storm there, whilst its sunny and warm in Germany. Typical of course, but good timing for the girls to go there!

I mean the storm in Kenya - the protests after the election. Once the official results are announced (possibly tomorrow, or over the weekend) and the opposition rejects them, will they incite protests? when the opposition go to court to argue their case (they definitely will, even if they have no chance of winning, since they need to put on a show) and they lose, will they then incite protests?

So we face uncertainly for either a few days or a few weeks or even longer, and Kenya's election will remain on the front pages globally as everyone waits to see how bad the protests and violence will get.

So far, the voting itself was peaceful and the post-voting skirmishes have been mild (caused by the opposition criticizing the unofficial and incomplete results) and the security forces are both well prepared and well responding as appropriate. 

Nairobi is mostly calm and quiet as people stay at home or off the streets, just in case (though most existing protests have been in some of the Nairobi slum areas, or some of the towns in Western Kenya where the opposition is stronger, and apparently those in the slums are partly just unhappy and unemployed youth looking for an excuse to make trouble). Voting day (Tuesday) was a public holiday and most companies gave employees off at least Wednesday, and often today (Thursday) too. Civil servants have been told to report to work tomorrow as usual and most companies will be doing the same, although most retailers (supermarkets, cafes etc) reopened on Wednesday so its perfectly possible to keep a normal lifestyle going. 

Whether business will return to normal soon or not is another matter...certainly the government won't be signing and contracts or issuing policies whilst things are up in the air; and whilst everyone fears for potential protests, there will be much subdued business activities and tourism. So we hope everything can be resolved fast.

As I listened to the press conference from the opposition complaining about the process (the incumbent has a large lead in the unofficial results), I almost laughed at their awful and contradictory statements, so if that is the best they can do, then they won't have much of a chance... once the paper forms (each of which was signed by the election commission at the poll center as well as representatives from the 2 main parties at each poll station to certify the tally) from each of the 40,000 poll stations are all online and added up by anyone and everyone, it will be fairly clear what the result is, irrelevant of the current unofficial results that have come from the online system. Each poll station also entered their results into the system that has been automatically adding them up) but as an online system is not seen as credible (at least by the opposition who claim hacking, strange algorithms and other things that are complete rubbish from the evidence the opposition has provided so far).

Unfortunately the opposition just does not want to accept the result and in their press conference came out with all sorts of contradictory comments and statements. It didn't help when in their letter to the electoral commission complaining about the process, they demanded their leader be declared the winner. This is before the final results are even in! 

Then they provided their own results, which they claim are final, provided to them by a whistle blower inside the electoral commission, even though the commission has not even received all the results, and even while the opposition are still counting the results from the paper forms (and complaining they need more computers to access so many paper forms that have been scanned and put online)!

They of course can't provide any evidence that their numbers are correct, or identify the whistle blower as they have to protect them, and whilst they claim that the system is rigged in how it adds up the different votes, they claim their numbers (from the same system) are accurate.

Yesterday they said they had evidence of hacking, yet produced only database log files which experts say showed only 2 things: 1) someone tried to log-in and failed, and 2) the system is slow. Today they didn't mention anything about that... Maybe there are flaws, maybe there has been manipulation, but the opposition will need to do a better job of showing it. I would think if they've seen and signed the 40,000 results forms, and if they can do their sums, it can't be too controversial, even if some processes from the electoral commission were strange (e.g. making public live online votes if they are not actually official or verified from the paper versions)

So its all a little amusing on one hand, and yet, a little scary on the other hand, because the opposition clearly will do whatever they can no matter what.... (Ten years ago the complaints and protests led to the opposition getting a compromise and the Deputy President position, and some suspect the opposition is just trying to achieve the same thing again). Personally I have been impressed with the current government in charge of the security service and the electoral commission and I think everything will blow over... a few protests here and there after the results are announced and again after the opposition loses the court cases and that will be it... but in the meantime, we just hold our breath, and Kenya's economy suffers...

2 weeks in England: tourism, cycling, camping and more

I'm just back in Kenya following two weeks back home; most of which was spent visiting tourist sites together with the family and some visiting friends from China as well as a mixture of other outdoors activities.

With Hannah having two Chinese friends (and their mum's) visiting, we visited a carefully curated list of tourist activities that would be kid-friendly and also diverse:

• A day at Legoland in Windsor, which was somewhat disappointing with only a half-hearted attempt to really use lego and not too many rides that are actually any good (for the cost and long queues) but the kids had fun, and I suppose lego doesn't really have any particular stories or characters unlike Disney that can really engage.
• A day at Mountfitchet Castle, a rebuilt Norman Castle (though in those days they were only made of wood and were quite simple) and village which is entertaining for the children to run around in and explore: there are various instruments of torture, villagers' houses, and buildings for the baron, doctor, workshops etc as well as a catapult demonstration. Next door is a toy museum which was also a hit of course.
• A day at Knebworth House with its massive playground (including a play fort and long slides), dinosaur park, maze, and country house.
• A day in London with a short walk around Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards Parade and Big Ben then a Boat along the Thames down to Greenwich and a couple of hours on the Cutty Sark and another couple of hours in the wonderful Museum of London in the Docklands. The Cutty Sark is a famous ship that originally transported tea from China to England and has been faithfully restored and has many fun things to do on a visit; the Docklands Museum was fantastically well done with great exhibits on the Docklands, its role in the slave trade, its role in the Wars, and its transformation--and also an indoor playground. Of course the driverless DLR is also fun for the kids.
• A day out at Bekonscot Model Village which has incredible replicas of British life with an airfield, hospital, race course, marina, castle and much more. It is the attention to detail that is delightful, especially for adults, with the fox chase, model trains and lots of other things.
• A day out at the Chiltern Open Air Museum which is a working farm but focuses on exploring what farms used to be like and various farm buildings through the ages. It also had a medieval themed series of events with dancing, fighting and costumes which went down well, though the rain was a bit of a dampener.
• A visit to the Science museum
• Visits to pubs and indoor and outdoor playgrounds, as well as time playing at my mum's house

There is so much to see and do in England from the weird to the strange to the normal to the famous; and no matter where you are there are so many things to see - so much is kid friendly too. It can be cultural, historical, natural, or even mad-made. It is one of the best things about England, if I am to be honest. Even better than the great pub lunches (just about) and all the public playgrounds in most towns and villages!
Then without the Chinese we went camping for a few days and did some walking and cycling, as well as visiting the very interesting Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker which was where the UK government would have been evacuated to during a nuclear attach to continue running the country. It is a three storey underground structure that houses 600 people and has a wonderful audio tour - highly recommended.
There was also time for a kids musical in London and a trip to Wembley for Hannah to see her first Spurs game (against Juventus; 2-0 victory). We also found time to see our cousins, ensure my sisters could spend time with the kids too, and for me and my Dad to do a 100-mile bike ride. phew, what a busy two-weeks.

A trip up north for some nature

Last weekend was the Safaricom (half) marathon in Lewa Conservancy which Huawei sponsors and thus enters a team of runners for every year. A conservancy is like a national park, but not managed or necessarily owned by the Central government (e.g. owned or managed privately or by a charity or local communities) but it is full of wildlife and thus the run is off-road and among wildlife--both tough and spectacular. All the locals walk for miles in the morning from their communities through the conservancy to watch the race and there is a market and festival set-up for them as well as a stage for some entertainment at the finish line.

Its been going almost twenty years and is very well organised, with armed rangers on the course and helicopters overhead to keep an eye on any animals coming near the runners. I only saw a few giraffe, but did enjoy the views, and it was tougher than any previous half marathon I've done: I'm used to the altitude now and also the heat, but it was still fairly hilly. I was happy with the time, having trained a fair bit with my team mates. The girls managed to drive around the course and watch me once, and at the finish.

The kids gorged themselves on oranges at the finish line before we had lunch; and in the afternoon we did a game drive, punishing our poor car, but seeing Rhinos, Elephants, Zebras and more besides. After a couple of hours the kids were getting bored, and we realized our car may not be 4-wheel drive (though it is an SUV) as we struggled for grip up a steep incline with loose gravel.

As Ramadan was ending, Monday was a public holiday (though only declared so one week earlier once the timing of the moon was confirmed), so we stayed in the area for a few days to make the most of it (it was a 4-hour drive from Nairobi). Unlike most other runners who stayed in tents in the Conservancy, I decided against this since it would be 3 nights with Andrea and the kids and it would be cold in the evenings. We found a great farmhouse on Air BnB for 3 nights, only a short distance from Lewa (though it took a long time on an absolutely dreadfully bumpy track) run by a White Kenyan lady whose grandparents moved to Kenya a long time ago. There are 40,000 or more White Kenyans, many of whom own farms in this part of Kenya which causes tension, but more on that another time.

This lady farmer only bought her farm a decade ago (her family has some other properties in Kenya) and is a real environmentalist; though also a very practical person who plants tress to ultimately sell them for timber, has diversity in flowers for bees to pollinate and make honey to sell, in grasses to sell for hay and for sheep to graze, in vegetables to eat and feed the animals etc. She's learnt agriculture and has now developed a good, economically viable model and we learned a lot; the kids also enjoyed their time at the farm. Nestled on the slopes of Mount Kenya, she has stunning views towards Lewa and several other National Parks and Mountain ranges. The farmhouse was great, with solar providing electricity and solar water heaters for hot showers. A fantastic kitchen, warm blankets, comfortable beds and a fire all made it a comfortable stay.

The farmhouse is in part of what is known as the Elephant Corridor whereby several landowners and charities have set aside some land to be used as a corridor for elephants to use to get between Lewa and Mount Kenya, including a tunnel underneath the main road. We didn't see any elephants in the corridor, but a few other animals were hiding in the bushes. The farmer had put up an additional small electric fence on her property to stop the elephants and large animals coming too close or destroying her farm.

One one of the other days we went to Ngare Dare Forest, another protected area, where we once again punished our car going off-road through this ancient forest, through rivers and all sorts. We did see a family of elephants, did a short hike to see a beautiful remote waterfall and walked along the Canopy Walk, 20m up amongst the trees. We also managed to find someone to bring us extra fuel in a container on a motorbike so we wouldn't get stuck in the middle of the forest, having underestimated the length of the drive in the forest (and the amount of fuel being burned in first gear most of the way)! By the end, let's just say the car wash people really earned their income with a thorough wash and vacuum needed of the inside of the car from the dust as well as the outside.

Though the kids slept for a couple of hours each way (and watched the only DVD that works in our Japanese car's DVD player, Love Actually, which we've now watched more than 20 times in the last 6 months), there was still time for Hannah to demonstrate her latest skills which is to regale us with long stories and argue with us about the origins of volcanoes and all sorts. She's really developed opinions and an ability to articulate them in the last couple of months leading to long conversations, and no longer just the "why" questions of before. Leah on the other hand is also now having conversations by stringing together complete sentences, although her pronunciation takes some getting used to and a bit of guessing!

As always, the kids befriend most strangers quickly, such as the farmer, which makes our job easier, though they're still not hot on long walks unless they can be distracted with said friends, chicken, sheep or something else. A very enjoyable long weekend

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The new walk to work... part 2

After leaving Leah, the walk continues through the area of kilimani which is highly mixed with some bungalows used as offices, some as houses, some small apartment blocks, some newer offer buildings of several stories high, and some more construction. Most of the roads lack pavements, but occasionally they appear, particularly once we get through Kilimani. Not having pavements is a pain after it rains when the muddy sides of the roads can dirty shoes and trousers; especially outside the construction sites.

As I walk through Kilimani. I pass a Lebanese restaurant and an Italian restaurant, a petrol station, the office of the Irish foreign investment/tourism agency, a beauty parlour, a couple of local restaurants, and more kindergartens. There's also a Chinese restaurant on a side street. Outside Kilimani the next stretch is on a fairly new road with excellent pavements. On the corner, beside a roundabout, there's some people selling hand-made furniture, plants, and porcelain bathroom equipment. There's also a street-stall selling breakfast. Opposite is the office of Lavington Security, a private security company that provides many of the security guards for the buildings in the area (which soon turns into Lavington), and a massive new office block under construction.

As I turn right at the roundabout there is a very steep decline and incline in order to cross another river at the bottom of the hill. Near the bottom there are frequently a few people sitting with a noticeboard displaying some magazines, which i think are religious (christian). Along this stretch there is actually a cycle lane next to the pavement, and separated from the road, which is mostly used by the odd motorbike, though there is also the odd cyclist too (usually pushing their bike up the hill). On one part of the road are a few people washing cars; all over Nairobi there are people offering to wash cars: it is so dusty that it is a good business to be in and i pass several more men washing cars every morning, not that the water they are using (usually taken from the storm drain beside the road) is that clean to begin with!

In fact the number of people selling plants may be the only close rival to the car wash industry in terms of road-side jobs. Probably pushing second place would be food stands; and then in certain areas there's plenty of shoe shine people.

At the next roundabout, where there is always a traffic jam during rush hour, I cross over, past a new apartment building under construction, and then another that is already open. This is the enjoyable part - a good pavement and a flat road, and it is usually referred to as Kileleshwa. Past some more breakfast people and car wash people, down another steep hill to cross a river and back up the other side, to another turning.

This is off a main road, which means it is bumpy (both with more speed bumps as well as potholes), and lacking pavements again! it is also fairly posh. This is now Lavington proper, a nice area. I pass a bungalow offering gymnastics and a montessori school, as well as a high school. There are plenty of nice bungalows and town houses (more on that another time). Shortly we come to the Huawei office where there is a new mini roundabout. The other side of our office is a shopping mall (there is another one just around the corner of this one too). Shopping malls are a recurring theme.. this one has the usual with cafes, chemists, supermarkets, fast/snack food, dry cleaners, cake shops, banks, a shoe shine and more, but I'll go into that another time.

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The new walk to work...part 1

We moved to a new office around 2 months ago, which is exactly the opposite direction from the previous one, and a slightly longer walk. However the walk itself is very different to the previous one.

Since Leah is now at kindergarten, and it is kind of on my way to work, the walk starts with Leah alongside me. Usually, to save time, I take her in the buggy, but sometimes she wants to walk. If so then she walks on the very narrow pavement and carefully avoids holes and stones whilst talking about them. First we walk past a local kindergarten and a boutique hotel, then we turn left and the road makes a short dip as the road crosses a river. Here we often see a dog; possibly stray, or possibly belonging to one of the workers on the construction site by the river. In this part of town, typically all the houses were single storey bungalows with large gardens and car parks. Now, thankfully, developers have begun building apartment blocks, including the one we live in (which is 8 floors high) and the new one alongside the river.

As we walk back up the short hill, a proper pavement appears, as does speed bumps in the road. In fact Kenya makes very good use of speed bumps all over the place--in residential areas, on main roads, and even on highways, where there are sometimes pedestrian crossings and speed bumps are used to slow traffic down beforehand, even in 4 lane highways. It can make it very slow going on many of the main roads, particularly as often the speed bumps are ginormous and even occasionally scrape the bottom of cars.

Then we pass a serviced apartment complex and at the junction with a main road do a quick right and left to cross over it. On the corner is a man with a small cart selling eggs under an umbrella; next to him is a bus (also known as a matatu) stop. Matatus stop very frequently and often drive badly, but in town at least they tend to use the bus stops which enables them to pull in from the road and let traffic past. On the other corner we often see a Boda Boda (i.e. motorbike taxi) driver, wearing their luminous (and sponsored with advertising) yellow top. We then continue past the trendy hotel, which used to be a Best Western and is now a brand of Sheraton. As with all hotels there are a couple of security guards at the gate which check cars before they can go in (there is also an airport style x-ray machine at the hotel entrance). The security guards often greet Leah, and she often greets them back. I like to think it brightens up their day a tiny bit!

Next we go over a couple more speed bumps which Leah often decides to run over, a part of the road with many broken bricks which Leah likes to slowly walk over one-by-one, past a lady cooking and selling corn-on-the-cobs on a stove under her umbrella, past another construction site (this one for a large office building i think) and to another junction.

Here we turn left, past another many with a cart selling eggs and sausages, past the local police station and then arrive at the gate to Leah's kindergarten - manned by a security guard who Leah rarely greets, possibly because it is at this point that it is time to enter "distraction mode" to prevent Leah crying as she says "no school". The distractions usually include looking at the playground or the rabbits, or the toys, or the teacher, or something else. After leaving Leah at the kindergarten (10 minutes after leaving home if Leah is in the buggy, or 20 minutes if she is walking) it is time for part 2...

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Kenya's parks

In March when my dad was here, we took a day trip out to Hell's Gate and Naivasha Lake; I had been before on my own, but this time we went as a family: first taking a boat out on the lake, then having lunch at one of the resorts by the lake, and then cycling in the National Park.

The kids enjoyed the lake; there are many different places where someone will take you around the lake in a speedboat and there's not national park fee or anything. It's an enjoyable hour or so and the kids like spotting hippos as well as the many birds. The guide's party trick, or throwing a dead fish into the water for an eagle to fly down from a tree and grab in its mouth always goes down well. Alongside the lake are many different resorts or campsites; where we took our boat from is one of the colonial legacy ones, where a famous conservationist once lived. We had lunch at a different one, which also had horse riding and always keeps Hannah entertained. They also have a playground, pool, bar and other things that might entice back for an overnight stay.

Hell's Gate is famed for its spectacular gorge which has only recently been formed and is getting deeper all the time from erosion, and also famed for its cliffs which inspired the scene in the Lion King where Simba's father gets caught in a stampede and cannot climb out. It's one of the only National Parks with large animals but which you can walk and cycle in as it lacks most dangerous animals (there are Buffalo, but otherwise, mostly Giraffe, Zebra and smaller animals). As with most National Parks there is a steep entrance fee for tourists, and a much cheaper entrance fee for locals, and also a cheaper fee for foreigners who are residents in Kenya.

The kids sat on the back of the bikes, as we cycled, and enjoyed spotting animals. The main cycling route is kind of a figure D, and most people just go up and down the main straight I, but there are a couple of shortcuts across the C part which is what we did, as doing the whole D with kids on the back would have taken too long. Actually most of the animals are also along the I or near it, so it is not that useful for animal spotting to do the much extra and harder distance on the D. The route has the odd signpost and it is also possible to hire bikes at the entrance, or from locals nearby the Park (as I did last time I came alone). Some of the roads are even tarmac to allow for access to the geothermal plants there which generate major amounts of renewable electricity for the country, but are generally quite well concealed and don't disturb the view or animals much.

Hannah also walked along the gorge and enjoyed the entrance, which is particularly tricky and fun to descend down (we had to carry Leah as it was too tough for her), and as usual she befriended our guide and enjoyed talking to him. She won't usually walk far if only with her parents, but if she's with a friend (a child or an adult), she'll walk forever! There's a small shop at the entrance to the gorge, and some local women have a small Masai Market too, but generally National Parks in Kenya are barebone: just natural, with a map at the entrance, not too many signs, few shops or toilets (most parks with animals you can't get out the car anyway), and generally fairly few people around. They are enjoyable experiences for a few hours, though for some people, spending longer may only be enjoyable in the parks with cycling and walking (usually the ones without many animals, like Mount Kenya) rather than spending a lot of time in a vehicle.

Over the Easter weekend we went to Nakuru, another National Park and Lake further out West, past Naivasha. Here the attraction is the land around the lake, where there are rare White Rhinos (which we saw) amongst other animals. We went in our own car, though hired a guide, who took us on one or two off-road paths, and we got stuck for a while in the mud. Even with our 4 x 4, but we managed to escape without getting mauled and continued on the circular trip around the lake, finally glancing a sleeping lion near the end. Nakuru is actually the most expensive National Park in the country (along with one other) whilst other National Parks are lower down on a sliding scale. It might be because Nakuru is fairly small compared to other parks, and it is easy and quick to see many different animals, but I may have to ask around to find out if there is a more scientific reason!

Nakuru, like some of the larger Parks have accommodation inside them, usually quite expensive and quite nice. We had a look at one as we contemplated having lunch there (though decided not to in the end as the lunch menu was very limited). It was a fairly typical place, often called a "camp", though the tents are permanent tents, on concrete, with a concrete bathroom at the back with toilets/showers ensuring each tent is en-suite, and you sleep in a regular bed inside the tent... the only thing that makes it a tent is that most of the covering over the room is indeed canvas, but it's not camping as we're used to back home! The camp also had a swimming pool. The camp is in the National Park so is surrounded by a fence of course to keep out any animals, though Nakuru also has some more traditional campsites, i.e. some land where you can pitch your own tent, and these don't have any fences around them; I read that the staff may light a fire to keep animals away. I'm not sure we'll be doing that with Andrea and the kids though anytime soon.

Nearby Nakuru we also visited the Menengai Crater, which also has a small entrance fee, though is not an official National Park. It is one of the largest craters in the World, and there are some spectacular views from the top, which you can actually drive up to. No-one was actually living inside the crater (though there was a lot of vegetation and some new geothermal plants being dug), but many people live along the sides and nearby the crater, presumably with fertile soils from previous eruptions. It's certainly worth the short trip from the National Park.

As the Kenya Wildlife Service website explains, 8% of the Kenya's land mass is protected area for wildlife conservation. The protected areas comprise of 23 terrestrial National Parks, 28 terrestrial National Reserves, 4 marine National Parks, 6 marine National Reserves and 4 national sanctuaries. Protected areas in Kenya are categorized either as parks or reserves. The distinction between the two categories is: in parks there is complete protection of natural resources and the only activities allowed are tourism and research. On the other hand in reserves, human activities are allowed under specific conditions. These activities are for instance fishing in marine reserves or firewood collection in terrestrial reserves. 

A lot of Kenya's wildlife lives outside Protected Areas, this is because most of the protected areas are not fully fenced, and hence wildlife moves in and out of these areas in search of pasture and water during certain periods within the year. When they move out of the protected areas, they interact with people on private and community land causing human wildlife conflict. This therefore requires that KWS embraces a strategic partnership with communities living in wildlife areas.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act categorizes the country's species of wildlife into four classes: critically endangered species; vulnerable species; nearly threatened species; and protected species. Harming endangered or threatened species can lead to life imprisonment and/or a fine of US$230,000. Though interestingly until the law was updated recently, the fine was only $400 and ten years in prison. The main species protected in these categories are elephant, leopard, lion, rhinoceros, giraffes, and some specific monkeys, zebra and so on.

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Climbing to Kenya's highest point

Taking advantage of an Easter holiday for the first time in 15 odd years, and the fact i didn't have any kids to take care of, I thought it would be a good time to do some serious mountain climbing and promptly drove off early up to Mount Kenya one morning. The plan was to stay 3 nights and do 4 days hiking. The plan changed.

Once i got to the entrance of the Mountain with a guide and a porter (though the porter was only carrying food as well as his own things, which i think may have been somewhat unnecessary--i'd think the guide and I could have managed that) we started up towards the mountain. It looked a very long way away. We started at 2,500m altitude and began up a tarmac road, quickly crossing the equator (as marked by a sign) and after an hour had picnic lunch. Another hour or so hiking and we reached Old Moses camp at 3,300m. It was only 2.30pm and I was not aware that we were done for the day. Not wanting to do nothing the rest of the day, I decided we'd do the start on the next 5-6 hours walk that was supposed to be the next day's task.

Once we left Old Moses camp, we were offroad and quickly above the altitude where trees grow. Now it was just heather, small bushes, and plants. Having only come across one group whilst we'd stopped for lunch, we didn't see anyone else the rest of the day. There was a great view back towards the plains around the mountain but we began making progress towards the peak. I was hoping it wouldn't take 5-6 hours. Just before the official half-way point up the mountain there was a fairly steep part which was fairly tough because of the altitude.

After the half-way mark it was only a gentle uphill walk along a river, but it was a long walk. 4 hours after leaving the camp it was getting dark so we took the torches out just as we started up another fairly steep part, and at this point, after more than 7 hours of hiking up hill, my legs were beginning to feel it. In the dark, of course, it's not possible to see where the end point is --so i was desperately hoping to see a light bulb or something in the distance where we'd stop for the night. After a false alert, which was a campsite, eventually we made it, and once i sat down in the cold hut, I immediately got cramp.

The guide went out to look for the porter who was somewhere behind us and once they came back they cooked dinner. Meanwhile others in the camp were dancing to try to keep warm. The camp had some lighting from solar panels, and was a solid building, but it was cold. Below zero. Quickly everyone was putting on lots of clothes and jumping into sleeping bags on the bunk beds. Possible because of of the altitude and partly because of the cold (the camp is at 4,300m), even though I was exhausted it took me a while to get to sleep.

We were supposed to get up at 3am to hike up to the peak for sunrise, but I was not too keen on doing that during the dark, without much sleep, and without much time for my legs to recover. So I told the guy at 3am we should leave at 7am instead. A good decision... by 7am, I was feeling better and it was light. And the path was really tough, almost 90 degrees scrambling up a cliff face for more than 2 hours at high altitude which meant going very slowly and having to stop frequently. It was hard work, it was slippery, and the peak still seemed a long way away!

After an hour we had caught up with a group that had set off at 4am trying to get the sunrise but with a large group had not made much progress. At this point there was only rock, no plants or anything can grow at this altitude. After another hour and a half we'd made it to the top of the Lenana peak, around 5,000m up. There's another peak slightly higher but it requires mountaineering equipment to scale that.

Of course the views were incredible and the feeling of accomplishment fantastic. It had taken about 10-11 hours over the previous day and that morning to get there. At the top there was even a phone signal (there was not in the valleys where much of the walking up took place). Then the long long trek down the hill, and it was really far away. The initial hour or two was very steep and fairly tricky; then there was another 6 hours or gentle descent through beautiful terrain that reminded me sometimes of the original Jurassic Park movie, with some strange plants, some large valleys and small ponds.

After a while I started to feel like I was getting blisters but eventually, after some very windy paths which were very indirectly going to the end, we made it to the next camp. It had taken about 7 hours to get all the way down and we'd been walking fairly quickly and done a fair distance. I think something like 40,000 steps each day. This camp was down at 3,000m and was not too cold. We'd arrived a day early, and since I had some things to do back in Nairobi, then got picked up from the camp the next day (the camp is on a small track) to drive back. This last camp is actually still 30km from the main road, but few people walk that, though it was downhill and fairly pretty.

I had needed the night's sleep before the 4 hour drive back to Nairobi that morning. And I needed a nice milkshake with some sugar once I was back in Nairobi. It was the highest mountain i had climbed, and probably the most walking i had done in a day, but it was enjoyable and worthwhile. The photos are great, and the memories will last a long time! Some photos are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/adamsphotos/albums/72157680787302861

Kenya's beaches

With my dad visiting it was time to take the family to the beach for a few days last month. Kenya's East Coast has some stunning beaches, and lots of them,most of the Coast in fact, whether it is Diani, South of Mombasa, North of Mombasa, near Kilifi, Malindi or further up on the islands in Lamu. On the coast its a hot and steamy 35 most of the year, though cooler with the sea breeze or when the rains come.

It's a big tourism draw for foreigners and Kenyans, with hundreds of resorts, some of which are very fancy, strung out along the coast. Those on the beach are often very large parcels of land with many nice huts or villas and multiple pools as well as bars. Those set back from the beach are often much cheaper, often smaller with just a few huts surrounding a pool. Staying there saves money and one can still go use the public beach, or even the private beaches at other resorts if using those resorts' bars or restaurants.

Kite surfing seems to be the in-thing nowadays, though its also possible to go jet skiing (which i did, and very much enjoyed, as did Hannah who spent a while on the jet ski too), camel riding and taking glass-bottomed boats as well as snorkeling. To be honest, there was nothing too dramatic to see where we stayed but I believe other parts of the coast, which have protected marine parks, have more to see. The beaches themselves are almost perfect white sand beaches that stretch for miles. Indeed they are make great places to go running, at low tide anyway.

The kids had lots of fun playing in the sand, swimming in the sea, and also playing in the pool, even though the water is so warm (both the pool and the sea) it is barely even refreshing. We ended up paying a small fortune for some sand toys at one of the few shops around (The Diani area does have a few small shopping malls but they are very touristy and unfortunately quite expensive) but it kept the kids very happy.

Last week, I was back at the beach for work, speaking at and participating in a conference. It's quite common to have conferences at these kinds of places. People like to get away from Nairobi, and once they are there, they are often stuck there and can't sneak out part way through. It also means people stay for the dinners and evenings which are both fun and useful for conversations. A change of scenery does seem to help and of course people are much more laid back on the coast; almost no-one wore a suit, and everyone was fairly open to talking to different people whilst of course being able to enjoy a drink since no driving home was involved.

I attended the same event last year, but just flew in and out for 2 days. This time it was much more enjoyable and more useful, since I already knew several people and got to know many more people, especially in the government who I'll be talking with frequently. As with last year, the attendance was very good, the topics were decent, the location excellent, and the general atmosphere very positive and conductive to sharing ideas to drive technology forward in Kenya. I'm looking forward to next year!

Talking

An explosion happened in the last 2 months. From saying only a handful of words, Leah is now talking non-stop and hundreds of words, often in long sentences (Hannah play with baba, mama play with me; lots hot milk etc). It means you can start to have conversations, but it also means she can express herself better which has meant an end to the occasional biting or throwing herself on the floor in exasperation which is nice.

She is getting on really well with Hannah, though she has become too attached to Andrea, since she's seeing Andrea for a few hours a day once she is back from kindergarten. Speaking of which, she is very happy at kindergarten--which is probably helping with her English--which is just a short walk away and once of the best we saw out of many. Of course they have nice teachers, small classes, lunch, naps and plenty of toys etc. They also have rabbits, parent-teacher meetings and the like which is more than many of the other kindergartens that we saw.

She's still not yet into sharing, but she is almost there. She gets the one for me and one for you aspect--indeed she often proactively suggests that as a way to get what she wants! She has apparently started singing songs at kindergarten and is talking to herself sometimes at home. She still loves digging in the sand and dirt downstairs as well as running everywhere. She's stopped always putting her fingers up like little bunny ears when we try to take photos, but she has also begun to dislike being in photos sometimes, or tries to make funny faces.

She's got a strong mind and seems smart, with a good memory and sometimes is a very helpful little "google assistant", listening to conversations and reacting if she hears something that makes sense, like fetching something or responding to a conversation if she thinks it may somehow relate to her. She's also begun to lose her tummy which is good though both her and Hannah still eat way too many carbs.

I'm sure the next few months will be more amusing as Hannah and Leah start to have real conversations with each other. Hannah is already having long conversations, telling stories, and talking to strangers non-stop. She has a lot to say, and it will be fun to hear what Leah has to say in response!

Barcelona

i have justs spent a few days in Barcelona for work, at the mobile world congress, one of the world's largest technology conferences, and which i also attended two years ago. The conference was just like two years ago: enormous, interesting and somewhat fun.

Huawei's booth was the largest by some way focusing on the latest trends and solutions we offer for telecommunications companies, then there was the smaller one displaying our latest phones and smart watches, and another one looking at more futuristic technology: the driverless car simulation, the high definition and virtual reality widescreen camera that you could control from home to select what you want to watch (e.g. of a football match), the robots playing music, and the merged reality which you watch through the headset but can still interact with by wearing special gloves. There was also the virtual reality zombie shooting game which was a little disorientating. Outside town there was a connected car demonstation we did with Vodafone at the Barcelona racetrack, which was also the location for the Formula 1 testing so we also saw (and certainly heard) the racecars zooming by.

Unlike my previous visit I had some time to explore the beautiful old town of Barcelona with some stunning cathedrals, churches and buildings (as well as the weird) and the pretty squares or piazas. I was very impressed with the gothic quarter in particular, and at how many old and beautiful buildings there were. It is a very walkable city, with some nice shops and interesting buildings, though nothing too modern or extravagent that would ruin the overall feeling. I also noticed a lot of kids playgrounds everywhere... i guess this is something that is near the top of my consciousness nowadays!

There is an excellent nightlife, a pleasent seafront, a few nice parks, and some good museums. The main one, next to the cathedral is incredibly well done and allows you to explore Barcelona throughout the ages by actually exploing the archaeological ruins under the building. I also managed to pop into the small Jewish museum. One evening was spent at a spectacular art gallery on a hill overlooking Barcelona at a Huawei party for customers and guests wich some great food and entertainment. Another evening was spent at the Nou Camp watching Barcelona win a football match 6-1. 

There was plenty of time to eat some nice croissants, excellent tapas and paella, as well as sample local beers and wines. It was a tiring trip with lots of walking and lots of working at the exhibition, but it was also good to see many colleagues from China and other countries around the world who also work in Public Affairs or other departments and who I had not seen for a while.

The girls' first week--and the kids making the move

The girls have been here more than a week now. We've found a Chinese nanny, ditched her and found another one -- this one should be much better, not only because she lives in the same community which is more convenient, but because she is our age, rather than a grandmother. There's a big difference in parenting style as well as language and physical capabilities. More on that another time.

Hannah's had her first week in the German kindergarten and all is well so far; lots of play, after school activities (like hip hop, running and things) and the like. So far she is managing ok with the early starts and lack of a lunchtime nap as long as she goes to bed early in the evenings. Not sure yet on how the German is coming along, but let's give it a few weeks and see.

Andrea's had a few job interviews and things look quite promising. They're happy in the apartment, sparse as it is until our things arrive in Shenzhen in a few weeks. We've bought a few things locally which should arrive this week or next week which will make things more interesting.

The kids have found some Chinese, Kenyan and Foreign friends, and hopefully will make some close friendships. They've enjoyed their weekends at some of Nairobi's best fun fairs and shopping malls. Yesterday one of them organized a special kids' activity for Valentine's Day that kept them busy with arts, bouncy castles, games, lego, face paining and even cake. It's an incredible shopping mall of which more another time. Today we spent the day at a fun fair, all day, in the heat and sun--without anyone getting sunburnt which is a big achievement! Every day is dry, hot and sunny.Every evening is nice and cool.

Last weekend we went to a coffee plantation in the countryside that has some kids activities and also went to a kid's birthday party (in a very nice house). Andrea's seen a local food market as well as the supermarkets; we've also been to the local crafts area with locals making all manner of things out of wood, metal and clay (such as beds, playground equipment and plant pots).

I think it is fair to say the kids have been spoilt with their weekends and their friends. But at least they are happy; as is Andrea. It is actually incredible how easy the move has been for Hannah... from before we left, telling her we were going to China, until coming here (via a couple of weeks in Europe). Maybe it is because she was excited to learn German in Kenya; maybe it is because she remembers the move from Beijing positively (and still remembers some of the people there who she saw occasionally) and how she had no problem making new friends again--and indeed is always making new friends in England, Germany and eslewhere; maybe it is because she just picks up positive vibes from us; or maybe it is just because she was excited to spend the 2 weeks in Europe so leaving China was easier.

Obviously we did our best to talk about the positives, not say things about not seeing people again and raise the possibility of seeing some of her friends again. But honestly I think it is all down to Hannah. She is always open, quick to make new friends. Obviously we don't quite know what is happening at the new kindergarten with her teachers and friends but if Hannah is happy then it must be alright. Leah of course, as a 2-year old, has less to worry about, less understanding of what is happening, and less ability to say anything anyway! But she's been fine (almost too fine!) never seeing the nanny again who she loved for almost two years.

It is, in summary, amazing how well we, as people, can adapt to new places, jobs, environments, and people. But it is much more incredible that kids can do it, when they can't think logically, of big pictures, or even rationally much of the time.

Life in Nairobi and Life on the walk to work

As with moving to Shenzhen two years ago, I'm alone for a month so I'm in a simple regular routine involving walking to and from the office, cooking dinner in the evening whilst watching something on TV (such as the Crown or Sherlock) and relaxing at the weekend with some running and even swimming in the pool too.

We've intentionally chosen to live in one of the apartment complexes with many others from Huawei so that the kids will have other Chinese kids to play with and keep their language skills.It is an area with a significant Chinese presence; not too far from the Chinese embassy and with at least a dozen Chinese restaurants within a few miles as well as a couple of Chinese hotels and office buildings built by Chinese. We're also planning to employ a Chinese nanny for Leah to keep the language skills up (the nanny being a grandma who is here with her family but with some spare time on her hands).

The area, suitable for Andrea, is also the main hub for NGOs and start-ups in Nairobi. Like much of Nairobi, which is mostly a combination of suburbs around a downtown, it is fairly green with some gentle hills. We have lots of birds and also some monkeys that come by looking for food.There's 3 large shopping malls within a ten minute walk; one of which has a cinema. All of which have metal detectors that you need to get through before being allowed in (a shopping mall in another part of town was subject to a large terrorist attach a few years ago, from Somali terrorists angry at Kenya's role in Somalia).

Safety is of course a concern in Kenya--particularly in comparison to China, probably one of the safest places in the World due to the large number of security cameras, police and security guards, and enforcement/punishment of crime among other factors. Kenya has made tremendous progress in recent years, with more security cameras and police, as well as security in shopping malls. There's also many private security employed by different apartment complexes and houses. However there is no denying the risk is real-which means not walking alone outside at night in particular, though in general during the daytime it is safe. This is something we'll need to adapt to (more taxi, less walking).

In fact the walk to and from work is quite pleasant. The temperature it not too hot, the skies blue and the sun shining (there is a rainy season though at some points of the year). Along the way I walk past quite a lot which I'll list so it gives a sense of Nairobi. I walk from a suburban area towards downtown but about 2/3rds of the way to downtown veer off to one of the main business districts, which is also not too far from the main government buildings.

- a couple of boutique style hotels

- the Chinese Xinhua Media Agency,
- the China Center,
- some road widening,
- a Christian hospital and a couple of churches,
- several Matatu stops,
- a couple of busy junctions where there are policeman at rush hour directing traffic (though a smart traffic light system may be coming in the future, even where there are traffic lights in Nairobi, they aren't used much with policemen preferred),
- the new buildings for Nairobi Hospital (a private hospital) and several other health centers (dentists, opticians etc) as well as the Kenyatta National Hospital (the largest public Hospital) and its Medical Training College,

- a company selling solar panels

- a second-hand car shop

- the National Library and their unfinished new building,

- the European Union Embassy,

- the Japanese Embassy,

- several banks and insurance companies' headquarters

- Coca-cola's office

- the Teacher's Union building

- several shacks which serve as hairdressers or restaurants

- several newspaper and snack stands and a few shoe-shining guys

- 3 or more beggars (always in the same spot every day, all day long)

- 5 or more local street sellers, usually selling fruit, breakfast of some kind, or something else

- several motorbike taxis hanging around on the corner

New Year and first experiences living in Nairobi

New Year has never been a particularly big deal for us in China (though it is a long weekend public holiday) but it is a slightly bigger deal in Kenya as most people take the Christmas-to-New Year (and often more days afterwards) off to go back to their village. The most significant consequence of that? Absolutely zero traffic on the roads over New Year! Even on the Friday before New Year's which was a normal working day (in theory) there was no traffic at rush hour (a week later the traffic at rush hour is definitely back!). 

Over the weekend I met some friends for lunch along with a walk and run in the fantastic Karura Forest (somewhat like the Lane tradition in the UK, yet it was 25 degrees here, rather than 5 degrees in the UK!). There is a wonderful cafe in the forest with great views, a small playground and good food. I suspect we'll be going there regularly. The forest itself has a variety of routes for walking, and I returned there on New Year's Day for the 15km run (it covers most of the man paths in the forest) which has been a regular weekend activity for me in previous visits to Nairobi and is still really nice. 

I had to dodge a deer and see a monkey run away from me and it always smells very nice. Much of the route is on tracks, usually with a gradient though there are some stretches properly off-road through the woods and up or down some steep inclines. It is mostly in the shade so it is not too hot.

I've been walking to and from work to get some exercise (35 minutes walk) and since it is quite cool in the mornings and late afternoons (low twenties) it is pleasent. It only heats up to the high twenties during the middle of the day (which today I took advantage of to use the swmming pool in our apartment complex for the first time, even though the water was pretty cold). I also did some shopping for the apartment, though we'll be trying to get by on the basics until the stuff from China gets here.

Kenyan supermarkets are very similar to those in the UK and very different to those in China. All the usual Western brands and products as well as food items (even Branston Pickle, which goes well in a toasted cheese sandwhich, since i'm not much of a cook). And cheaper than it was to buy the same imported products in China. It also seems like many of the shopping malls have outdoor kids playgrounds which is nice. It is a nice shopping experience and exciting to have easy access to certain little treats (the mince pies are cheap now post-christmas!) though I have forgotten how little food one actually gets through when living alone and only really eating one meal a day.

As would be expected, with the low average incomes, many things that are produced/provided locally are quite reasonable, and this includes cinemas. It seems like Kenyans aren't really into the cinema yet as prices are low and seats always available.  I've taken advantage of that (and I recommend the film, Why Him? as a surprisingly good comedy) with the local cinema a ten minute walk away.

Kenyans enjoy going out to eat and drink (the middle classes, obviously) and apart from the local snack stalls and restaurants downtown, in the suburbs all the restauants are basically bungalows with large car parks, outdoor seating, and a barbeque for grilling meat. It means most restaurants are quite hidden and also spread out down various leafy lanes. There's a range of Chinese restaurants as well as other international cuisines. I'm looking forward to exploring more of them in the future!