Archive for December, 2006

Pics from the Christmas Trip

December 27, 2006

I travelled to to Meruland for Christmas. Here are some pics from the trip.

Thika road on a wet morning.

Christmas 06

The roads are good (by Kenyan standards) apart for Thika Road and some stretch before and after Nanyuki.

Christmas 06

White Cap. Come to think of it, I’ve never tasted this particular brand. I’m a cold tusker person BTW.

Christmas 06

Dad’s old high school.

Christmas 06

Mt. Kenya hidden by clouds

Christmas 06

In Meru, they grow tea

Christmas 06

Maize (duh)

Christmas 06

Beans (interplanted with maize)

Christmas 06

Mangoes

Christmas 06

Trees (timber fetches top dollar apparently)

Christmas 06

Mushroom growing in the forest pictured above

Christmas 06

and coffee, veve/miraa/khat, bananas, potatoes … heck the land is fertile and the rains are usually good.

A well about 20ft deep dug manually. The rains were bad last year so this well was dry. This year round, there’s lots of water. There is a water supply in the area now so its redundant.

Christmas 06

Christmas 06

Gourd

Christmas 06

Mud. I’ve never driven in mud. Its a whole new experience. The car just gets a mind of its own and goes in completely random directions. The trick is to counter steer. If the car swings to the right then steer to the left. Also try and keep away from the sides of the road, that’s where there is more mud and its wetter than the middle; you get stuck in there and its game over. Initially its nerve wrecking but eventually one gets the hang of this counter intuitive way of driving. My experience was nothing compared to those my mum tells me about where she used to drive in the muddy hilly roads of Mbooni (somewhere in Ukambani) where one slip up could send you down a cliff!

Christmas 06

The Lewa conservatory begins at the hills in the background.

Christmas 06

Isiolo road.

Christmas 06

2006 was a great year for wheat.

Christmas 06

Marina Grill and Restaurant. The only decent eating place I know of in Nanyuki. If you’re in a hurry, just order chips-sausage (for lunch) or tea-samosa/ndazi (tea break), anything else will take 45 minutes at least.

Christmas 06

Tana river looking healthy. Kengen should have a good year.

Christmas 06

On the way back, it started to rain heavily so there were quite a number of accidents on Thika road. This led to a jam that started a kilometre or so from JKUAT all the way to the Kasarani roundabout! Now I understand the rationale behind those bypasses they’re trying to build. There was just no way out of the jam and everyone coming in from a north easterly direction from Nairobi has to use Thika Road.

Christmas 06

Kenchick Inn at the Caltex on Ngong Road. Now that’s the way to end a journey. Just FYI, they’ll be remaining open 24/7 till New Years.

Christmas 06

Eve and Adam

December 21, 2006

This is the last forward I’ll post for 06. I got it straight from the WPN (Womens’ Propaganda Network). Here goes…

One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve calls out to God…

Eve: Lord, I have a problem!
God: What’s the problem, Eve?
Eve: Lord, I know you’ve created me and have provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals, and that hilarious comedic snake, but I’m just not happy.
God: Why is that, Eve?
Eve: Lord, I am lonely. And I’m sick to death of apples.
God: Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you.
Eve: What’s a ‘man,’ Lord?
God: This man will be a flawed creature, with many bad traits. He’ll lie, cheat, and be vainglorious; all in all, he’ll give you a hard time. But, he’ll be bigger, faster, and will like to hunt and kill things. He will look silly aroused, but since you’ve being complaining, I’ll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your… ah, physical needs. He’ll be witless and will revel in childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about. He won’t be too smart, so he’ll also need your advise to think properly.
Eve: Sounds great! (with an ironically raised eyebrow) What’s the catch, Lord?
God: Yeah, well…. you can have him on one condition.
Eve: What’s that, Lord?
God: As I said, he’ll be proud, arrogant, and self-admiring…So you’ll have to let him believe that I made him first…So, just remember… it’s our secret… Woman-to-woman.

Telkom Wireless Privacy

December 20, 2006

Telkom Wireless Terms and Conditions snippet

Well, it seems like Telkom reserves the right to use personal data it collects about its clients or possibly even share(they do NOT expressly say otherwise) it for whatever they deem as “marketing and research related activities”.

Geez, the guys will/are going to keep actual records of calls/sms’s/data! I haven’t had a look at Celtel’s and Safcom’s yet buy after seeing this, its about time I begun scanning the fine-print for this nonsense.