Thank you for supporting me in the IMASTravel contest!

About a month and a half ago I took part in the IMASTravel contest - basically a travel blogging contest, run by Malaysia Airlines and Yahoo! SEA. Since then until the end of the voting period I've been incessantly bugging you guys to help me by voting for it, and I ended up with about 420 votes. Decent enough, until you compare to some of the other entries which had over 4,000 votes! So I was resigned to the fact that it was a lost cause, until being very pleasantly surprised at the awards presentation luncheon when I won third place!


Turns out that voting comprised 30% of the overall score, with the remainder coming from the judges :) ... you can read my entry here: Timing Visits A Maasai Village In Kenya And Comes Away Unharmed! (don't mind me on the video, was damn nervous cos I'm not a TV presenter kind of guy :P)

For my efforts, I get to go fly to Singapore for editorial training run by Yahoo!, then whisked off to two 5d4n trips to Perth and Tokyo, and then get to write about it on my personal travel page on the Yahoo! portal!

Just a short post then, to give huge thanks to thenomadGourmand (I learned of the contest from her), Standard Chartered who sent me to Africa on business so I could also leisure, the darling who was my 'marketing manager' and spammed her friends daily to vote, and of course the organizers of the contest - MAS Traveller and Yahoo!

Love all you guys/gals, and stay tuned for the stories and photos of our travels in the months to come!

Indian Delights in Westgate - Haandi, The Mall Shopping Centre.

I'm SO behind on my meals - have already been back to Malaysia for over a month and still haven't finished off a few makans I had in Kenya. So back to Nairobi we go, to an Indian restaurant named Haandi in Westgate!

The restaurant, unsurprisingly, has a very strong curry scent. I'm not sure what it is about curries that manages to make it's scent eat into fabrics and linger for an eternity. Sort of like durians. But I digress. Dining at Haandi starts off with a cute tablet-type thing on your table. The waiter pours warm water, upon which it expands into a towel to freshen up the face. Always a good sign when a restaurant tries to impress / entertain.


Plain and savoury papadums. I especially liked the savoury papadum that was loaded with a concoction that tasted not unlike salsa. Indian-Spanish crossover cuisine? Ha ha.


Deep fried vegetable cutlets. Didn't particularly care for this, but we had a vegetarian in the dining party.


Selection of Naans to go with our mains - the range available is pretty similar to what we get here in Malaysia - plain, cheese, garlic, etc.


What I also like is that the mains are served in metal bowls on top of a large slab of heated metal. Keeps the food nice and warm. Clockwise from top left:

- Fish Hari Amritsari (Fish Masala)
- Mixed Vegetable Jhal Frazie (Mixed Vegetables in masala sauce)
- Palak Paneer (Spinach + Cottage Cheese)
- Chicken Nilgiri Tikka (Chicken Breast BBQ)


The food was overall very good, and our companion of Indian origin agreed that it was relatively authentic. I also thought that the spiciness of the curries suited a Malaysian tastebud very well - not too spicy, but also not excessively neutered.

Haandi is located in The Mall Shopping Centre, Westgate. Prices for mains are about 800-1000 KSh, and expect to add on another 400-500 KSh per person for Naan's, rice, and/or drinks. (MYR 1.00 = 27.9 KSh)

Legendary Thorn Tree Cafe - Sarova Stanley, Nairobi, Kenya

Today let's travel back in time a bit, back to Nairobi, Kenya - where we find ourselves in the Thorn Tree Cafe in the Sarova Stanley hotel. This was during the "Brazilian Gastronomic Week" (which incidentally, coincided with the Brazilian football team Palmeiras' Under-23 squad tour of Nairobi in late March.

The promotion flyer proudly says "Explore your taste buds with provoking Brazilian delicacies prepared by World renowned Chef Paulo," so explore we shall! Starting off with a decidedly un-Brazilian bun with butter ...


... followed by a Brazilian take on the cream of mushroom soup. This soup was pretty delicious! It wasn't 'creamy,' and smooth - if you can imagine blended/purée'd potatoes, then the soup had that kind of consistency. I had to say though that there was a very strong chicken taste (possibly the chef used chicken stock as a base), which sort of overpowered the mushrooms.


Main course is this chicken dish below. Unfortunately I've forgotten the name of the dish, but not the taste! The gravy is sort of like a kurma, but lighter, creamier, and with a hint of chili and citrus flavours.


Overall, pretty good - but having never tasted any Brazilian food before I don't know how authentic the dishes were.

Moving on to a couple of meals I had in room service - these are also cooked by the Thorn Tree Cafe. The lamb curry was very indian tasting - came with rice and naan bread. Flavorful and aromatic, if perhaps a bit lacking in the spiciness department. Africanized Indian cuisine?


Another indian dish - creamy tomato based chicken curry - served with rice. Tomato flavor was nice and subtle and didn't overpower the curry, but again same criticism that there wasn't enough "kick."


10" stone-baked pizza with chicken, pepperoni and anchovies. I love saltiness of anchovies on pizza. I could probably eat an entire cheese-and-anchovy pizza.


Prices are around 600-800 KSh for starters and 1000-1200 KSh for non-seafood mains. The Sarova Stanley hotel is located on the corner of Kenyatta Avenue and Kimathi Street and is within walking distance of Nairobi's Central Business District.

A corner of Italy in the heart of Nairobi - Mediterraneo Italian Restaurant

Ahem! Mediterraneo is an Italian restaurant with two outlets currently open - one in Westgate and another in Junction. I find myself in the Junction outlet for dinner with a bunch of pretty senior & high-ranking guys (and gals) from the company I work with - which is to say I had to really rush the photos without having much luxury time to do proper arrangements or make sure there were no shadows, etc - sorry!

Anyways the decorations are nice and cozy. Definitely a very inviting and warm feel. Having never been to Italy I can't comment on how authentic it is, although the restaurant was opened by an Italian expatriate.


Bread basket with butter - nothing special about the bread or the butter, would have appreciated a bit more variety.


On to the appetizers! I thoroughly enjoyed the Prosciutto Di Parma e Melone Di Voi (Slices of honey-dew melon with Parma ham, 900 KSh)! The saltiness of the ham went very well with the sweetness-and-juiciness of the honey dew. I did initially wonder why I've never seen this dish in any of the Italian joints in Kay-El - but then I remembered that ham is non-halal. Pity ... =(.


Salmone Affumicato Norvegese (Norwegian smoked salmon, 950 KSh). Can't comment because I didn't try it ... which is unfortunate because I love salmon - raw, cooked, smoked, pan fried - anything!


One of our guests was vegetarian so the kitchen whipped up a grilled mixed vegetables platter.


Strangely I can't find this dish below on the menu. I do remember it was some kind of grilled fish fillet.


Me, I'm more of a meat guy so I have the Costata Alla Fiorentina (Classic Florentine T-bone thick and juicy, 1,150 KSh). Not sure if you know this, because I didn't until very recently, but the T-bone is actually a combination of a Strip Steak on one side, and the Tenderloin on the other. This particular steak was huge. Not sure the photo does it justice, because it was close to 1.5-inches thick. It turns out to be a pleasantly delicious slab of meat - nicely seasoned and not too salty, although the inner part of the meat was bordering on 'rare.' For a place that doesn't 'specialize' in steak, it's a great achievement.


If you don't fancy beef, or if you don't feel like a half a kilogram of meat, there's the Costolette D’Agnello Marinate Alla Griglia (Marinated lamb chops, delicately grilled, 900 KSh):


Mediterraneo was by some margin the best Italian restaurant I visited in Nairobi - definitely worth a visit. Prices are reasonable, too!

(At time of writing, 1000 KSh = rm 36.33)

Travel Series: On Safari in the Maasai Mara National Reserve (Nairobi, Kenya)

A few months ago I was in Nairobi for a week. Unfortunately that meant that I didn't have the time needed to take a trip to Kenya's most well known safari area - the Maasai Mara National Reserve - I had to settle for the Nairobi National Park instead. That's OK though, cos for this trip I've got a weekend to spare, and so away we go to the Maasai Mara!

The Park is about a 250km drive from Nairobi, and takes about 6 hours by van. Doing some mental maths that's barely above a 40km/h average - that's because the roads are brutal. Sort of feels like being on a speedboat going on high speed in choppy waters, if you've done that before. If you haven't, well, the roads were so bad that the bumps triggered involuntary grunting. Losing control of your vocal chords aren't fun cos you know ... vocal chords now, what's next? The bladder? Ha ha.


Anyways, since we signed up for the budget package, we find ourselves at a ... campsite, which is where we'll be staying the night.


To be honest it's actually a pleasant surprise, because the tour company had advertised this as "camping" - which it certainly isn't. There are beds, blankets, mosquito nets, an attached toilet and shower, electricity ... it's enough, really.


... oh and there's also hot water! Gotta hope it doesn't rain though, cos if it does, the rain puts out the fire and the water turns cold mighty quick!


Anyways, a 2day/1night itinerary only gives you two 2-3 hour game drives - these are in 4WD's or vans with the roof specially modified to be propped up so us tourists can stand up to ogle the animals.



On to the photographs of the animals then! Lots of different wildlife here ranging from Lions:



Wildebeest:


Zebras:


Various Birds:




Haha, OK, that's a remarkably sexist interpretation of 'bird.' :P ... anyway lets continue, with different kinds of deer/gazelles (sorry lah, I no wildlife expert, don't remember the names of any of these):




Elephants:



Giraffes:


Surprisingly, I actually saw less animals in total here in the Maasai than in the Nairobi National Park - many more lions, though. Unfortunately, thanks to the 6 hour trip we didn't have a full day to go deeper into the reserve. If you ever find yourself with the opportunity to come, definitely go for at least a 3day/2night. And if you're able to schedule your trip, definitely make it around August-September when the Great Wildebeest Migrations happen.

Oh, and to sign off the post: Malaysia represent, yo!


I went with Kairi Tours and Safaris. Average all-in prices are about 18-20,000 KSh (rm 660) for 2days/1night, or about 25-27,000 KSh (rm 910) for 3days/2nights.

http://www.kairi.co.ke/
info@kairi.co.ke

Please Vote for me at the MasTraveller contest!

Hihi!

Just a short little 'HELP NEEDED COME QUICK!' post. I've never asked of anything from you (dear reader), I do this as a hobby. But the darling and I are gonna ask for your help now ... we joined a contest on MasTraveller with some awesome prizes, and we're hoping you can vote for us! It's easy!

1) Just click here: Timing Visits A Maasai Village In Kenya And Comes Away Unharmed!
2) Watch the video of me being so nervous I can't speak properly
3) Scroll all the way down to the post and press the "Like" button!


That's it! Thanks thanks, and if you're also joining the contest leave a link in the comments and I'll return the favor!

Travel Series: Maasai Village, Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa.

I am SO behind on my blogging. Looking through my pictures folder we've got restaurants in Kay-El that we ate at more than a month ago. I should really get around to blogging before I forget about they tasted like.

I think I've got something better though. Continuing my travel series, today I'll take you to the Maasai Mara game reserve in central Kenya for a sneak peek into the lives of the most photographed ethnic group in the world - the Maasai. Mammoth post below!



When going into a Maasai camp, it's customary to meet up with the chief (or his representative), and offer an 'offering' as an 'entrance fee' of sorts. For us, it was 1000 KES (rm36) per person, which buys entry to the village, the freedom to take photographs, and to watch the men do their traditional 'jumping' dance. The dance, accompanied by loud rhythmic chanting, is done to:

(i) celebrate the slaying of a lion, and
(ii) to entertain fair-skinned, wide-eyed tourists.



While I fail to see how entertaining visitors is a worthwhile replacement for the thrill of defeating the king of the jungle, I'm not complaining. And the men get some jumping practice. Which is useful, because apparently if you can jump really high, you get a discount on the dowry you pay when 'buying' a wife. I didn't really ask in detail, but I'd imagine as a man you'd go meet your prospective future wife's in-laws, and the conversation would go something like this:

You: How much for your daughter?
The In-Laws: 10 cows.
You: ** start to jump as high as you can **
The In-Laws: You have good genes. OK I give you discount ... 7 cows.

Easiest negotiation ever.


Anyway, this is the son of the chief. His dad was off somewhere attending an inter-village tribal meeting - you know, doing the important stuff - leaving him behind to entertain. You can't really tell from the photo, but that's a hat made from the head of a lion. It probably belongs to his dad. I mean you can just tell from his face that he's thinking "yay, dad's not here so I get to wear the lion hat!"


I kid, I kid. The women are up next, to perform their traditional dance, which is infinitely less interesting than the male dance. The dance, which involves chanting/singing and swaying their hands back and forth, is done to:

(i) celebrate a marriage, and
(ii) to entertain fair-skinned, wide-eyed tourists.


Just like in Western society, you can easily tell a married woman from a single one - the married woman has anklets on.




You might have noticed one of my pictures above has two lumps of fresh cow droppings. And you might be inclined to go 'ewwwwwwwwwww.' But the Maasai wouldn't eww at all - they mix cow dung with soil and use it to build the walls of their huts/homes. You wouldn't hold a brick and say eww, would you?

Anyway the entire village will only stay in one location for 9 years - because termites eat away at the soil/dung mixture and the walls sort of start crumbling. So 9 years in one spot, then they pack up and move to a new spot where it takes 5 months for the women to re-build their huts.




Those of you who are sharper-eyed might have noticed that all the children in my pics are girls. Where are the guys? From 7-9 years old they go to school to learn Swahili (the Kenyan national language). Then they tend to the goats, sheep and cows, bringing them to faraway pastures to graze and drink.

At nine years old. Our kids at 9 aren't even allowed to look at anything remotely sharp. Maasai kids are handed the family's entire livestock. You know, cos what better way to teach your kids responsibility than to give them a stick and a few dozen goats, say 'here, take the goats and make sure they stay alive, cos if you screw up and lose them our entire family will starve and die' ... right? No pressure.


Oh, and you know those survival shows you see on the telly about some Westerner survival expert taking forever to start a fire? The son of the chief demonstrated starting his fire in the rain - and didn't even need 5 minutes to do it.


Back to the huts, though - they're maybe 100 sq ft tops, and fit an entire family of 4-6, a store room, a dining room cum kitchen and a room to house the baby goats/cows. The entire house has one 'window' (which is really just a 3-inch hole in the wall), and a small wood fire that's used for cooking, boiling water, and providing heat and light. Naturally the lack of ventilation makes the entire house smell sort of like a pub/club in Kay-El. But smokier. And darker.

(And you thought your 2,000 sq ft apartment was cramped)



Before I finish, just a slight bit of a 'reality check.' If you're thinking "well hey their life isn't that bad," this particular camp is possibly the richest, most modern and clean camp in all of Kenya - reason being is that it's right next to the main camp grounds area of the Maasai Mara. Practically everyone here on safari will stop by this village - and pay the 1000 shillings entrance fee - so they're like the Berkshire Hathaway of the Maasai world.

I'll cover the Maasai Mara safari in a future post, hope you've enjoyed the tour!