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ALMOND RESORT; Lifting Garissa’s Tourism to Scale

Garissa as they say is the hub on north Eastern Kenya, famously depicted as the linkage to the rest of Kenya. As we drive into the dusty town, we are thankful of the evening breeze to cool off the toil of the journey. However that is just one of the headaches we have to deal with. Having not made prior arrangements for accommodation, it became tricky to secure some rooms and we had to move from one hotel to another in our quest. Being a transit town, many travelers stopover for the night hence the difficulty in getting on-spot accommodation. We finally settle down for the night in a basic facility praying that the morning brings with it good tidings. Tired from the grueling journey, even the lack of mosquito nets does not disturb us much. The morning does come and instead of the good tidings, what awaits us instead, were mosquito bites lining our arms nor was the breakfast anything to write home about either. This strengthens our resolve to look for better boarding facilities, our expectations not high. Glad to be proved wrong, we look up on our way out of town and meet head-on with a hotel poster that looks too good to be true.

Driving on the recently carpeted Lamu Road, we see another huge signpost displaying what the bend on the right has to offer. Decked behind a strong concrete wall, is a sight to behold; a clear contrast from the dusty terrain is a grandeur Arabic styled establishment beautifully sitting on a lush greenery. Still the doubting Thomas’s, we venture inside; if only to satisfy our eyes desires. Inside the humongous welcome lounge, our tired feet find rest in the beautiful reed-made couches. The high ceiling, wide walls combine to give the area a coolness even without the expected air conditioner. We feast our eyes on the décor and sparsely furnished area; and oh, isn’t it just wonderful to experience such finesse?
After the alluring welcome, we head to the rooms, and the journey left us wondering whether we are not only in Garissa but in North eastern at all. So sagacious was the architecture that the heavy investment into the landscaping is one of the hotels attractions. Here, concrete pathways are lined with palm trees, well-hedged live fences as well as expertly manicured lawns, all of which give the air a strikingly fresh feel. The contrasting scenery inside the hotel grounds does not come cheap, the grounds are watered every day to maintain that special appeal.

The Rooms - Luxuriant is the best word to describe the rooms, one is spoilt for choice on whether to go with the cottages or the apartment style. For Ksh. 3000, you can afford a variably spacious room that offers space to relax as the gentle hum of the air conditioner lulls you off to slumber in the scorching afternoon heat. Being a new hotel you will not find the traditional big belly TV but rather a 32-inch flat screen draped on the wall. In case you were wondering, it has cable TV for the sport and movie fanatics.
Early in the morning there is a beautiful breeze as you take breakfast in the patio; unlike most hotels in Garissa where you will find the traditional tea, bread and eggs for breakfast, Almond offers its clients a rich array of culinary delights.

The big attraction – as we leave our rooms to go for a stroll out in the town we round the corner complaining about the heat, before us was a sight not expected in the arid lands – a spectacular mass of water glares invitingly. The square shaped pool sandwiched between the apartment style blocks beckons and with the sweltering heat overhead, the visual invitation is quickly accepted. Never ever once harboring the thought of carrying swimming costumes to Garissa, we venture out to scout for some. Out in the town, the shops do not stock swimming attire, infact most shop attendants were scandalized by the mere fact that we asked for one. For those of us who inhibit predilections for coastal ambiance, it would have been criminal to let that inviting water go to waste, so we had to invent swimming attire. For a small fee, non-residents can also access the pool services.

Visitors - Almond provides a suitable ambiance for a variety of clients. The service we got was reminiscent of the coastal hotels or the lodges out in the wild. Families or adventurous people can try to have a holiday on this side of Kenya. Or if you want seclusion for whatever reason, then you will find the silence amicable to achieve your objective. Corporates will find the place good for staff retreats, what with its three huge conference rooms, and you are more likely to full cooperation because the staff will not want to venture out of the serene setting for the scorching sun outside. Muslim wedding are also famous in Almond due to the huge space the venue offers. The night butterflies have the government guest house next door to venture for one or two for the night.

So for your next holiday, be serendipitous and head north!

The Subservient Friend

This weekend I witnessed two cases where people emotionally blackmail others to maintain friendships and I couldn’t help but be astonished at how conceited humanity can be! The amount of emotional baggage we carry around dumped on us from spouses, employers, landlords, and friend is a huge load to carry. What intrigued me most was the friends’ category. Being a bit careful not to term the others as acceptable, but let’s face it, we all tag along a lot of emotional baggage from family so much so that it may just be a necessary evil in some instances. Susan Forward in ‘Out of the FOG” defines emotional blackmail as the use of a system of threats and punishments on a person by someone close to them in an attempt to control their behaviors. FOG is the short form of Fear, Obligation and Guilt, which Susan says the blackmailer uses to get what they want from others.

Picture this; you have had a long time friend, closer than a brother/sister, twins if you can say so. However, both of your lives didn’t turn out the same and you end up being the poor relation so to say. Your friendship is ok until one day this big company calls you for an interview, ultimately opening a big door for you. With this comes the elegant two storey house in one of those neighborhoods on the other side of Uhuru Highway, a sleek top of the range vehicle and of course a new circle of friends. Or having been their plus one for ages, you meet this good looking person, hit it off and before you know it, bam, you are walking down the aisle. So everyone wakes up and notices that person who used to be in the shadows, now the object of attention. While before you would wait till your friend has had their fill to get a lift home from a party, now you can leave anytime you are bored since you have the means. That expensive drink whose name you couldn’t pronounce now glides from your tongue effortlessly.

Things are going on well yeah! Au contraire, your ‘loyal’ friend suddenly goes on the offensive, lashes at small things, questions this or that, tries to limit your exposure to the waiting world and vice versa. Or start using your emotions to get you back to the subservient friend you were. You see, to them you were useful as the poor relation which they are now bereft of. Being able to match them, they can no longer ‘use’ you for errands, or be their last option when a date cancels.

So what to do? When your ego-hungry pal feels you now don’t give them enough attention to validate themselves, simply walk away. No need to carry baggage and stay in a deleterious association when you can enjoy what the world has to offer. If you have to otherwise continue such a friendship, then choose to be impervious of the negativity. Remember if you cede ground then you build and feed a monster who will one day gobble you up!

What's your brand

Margarine is a word whose meaning I finally understood during upper primary education, after realizing blue band is just one of a type of margarine. Just the same way we think of coke when asked to name a soft drink, so do we need a personal or self brand. Now, most of us are identified by where we are from, where we work, who we are married to, or who our parents are. Women especially are not easily branded in their own right given our patriarchal society. Professionally, branding is important especially if you want to sell yourself. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a ‘hot’ commodity so as to just get a ticket to your next job, self-branding rather ensures you remain the top in your field. For example, what happens when you leave the blue chip company you work for now, do you lose who you are after that company email is pulled off? I am amazed by Patricia Mbatia (former PRO Multi-choice) who built her personal brand alongside that of her employer. After her exit, her self-branding as a PR practitioner now follows her everywhere. How she did it, is a mystery which I would love to get a how-to-do guide on.

Carol Mandi, Gina din, some tips please!

I want to be on the greener side

A year or so ago, I was in Isiolo, rubbing shoulders with the Samburu community. Well, am back again, only this time it’s in Baragoi, and am faced with the stark differences I see life has given each one of us. Here I meet Nachamei, a beautiful 19 year old girl living in Baragoi district; this for some is the other end of the world that Kenyans hear about only when there is drought.

However for Nachamei it’s home; where the cattle come at dusk or after days on end on the trail looking for pasture. Baragoi is also home because she is one of the lucky few Samburu girls to get educated to form four level with a promise to advance to college in May this year. Despite the stark cultural differences, economic challenges and far distance from so-called civilization, I can’t help but envy her. Am green with envy because of the purity of her smile, not yet tarnished with jealousy of what she could have. Oh how am envious of her gaiety, not yet tainted by the harsh realities and unrealities of the city’s life on the fast lane.

But as the grass always looks greener on the other side, Nachamei can’t help but tell me how she wishes she had lived in the city like me, maybe also get a ‘good’ job and go out on missions! Oh Nachamei, if you knew it’s not as green as you may think. Greener I think is where we all are, only that instead of looking at the other side, we chose to throw our cares behind us so that happiness can find us.

Dear Parents……

KCSE results are out, your children have passed or not; whichever the case, resist the urge to push them into college or university courses you think they are fit of without their consent. My cousin has just passed his KCSE exams with a B+ and has suddenly found out he has no idea what he wants to do. His parents of course are convinced he needs to enter into a conventionally accepted field, the kind that will enable him be viewed favorably in the eyes of society. As much as there is nothing wrong with wanting the so called high-end careers, caution should be exercised with wanting to choose courses for your children.

Another relative’s story has a not-so good ending. The parents choose for her a conventional course in 2009, which she had no interest on whatsoever. Come 2010, the young girl dropped off after a heavy investment of parallel fees had been paid for her medical course. Looking at the bright side though, better now than later!

So dear parents, again I say, exercise caution and remember that your best may not be your child’s best!

Affirmative Action.....? Not Really.

Resolutions, policies, laws and every other state or global guidelines have been enacted in the past two decades regarding women and possibly putting them in a position that they are able to be the best they can be. Has it helped? Does it help? Well am not sure I advocate for affirmative action especially where women are concerned. Many a times women are given positions because of their gender and instead of this working for them, they end up being treated as second class. In many cases you will hear snide remarks like.,‘she was just given the position’. A phrase you are not likely to hear where one works their way up. Is not it better to work hard and make it with your own sweat.

Despite these reservations, one just has to look at the debate on affirmative action regarding admission to national schools and its clear that without it, a number of communities will remain at the bottom of the chain while their nemesis revel at the top. Picture a child born in a poor Turkana household, where schools are under trees and the teacher ratio is 1:200 or something like that. Meanwhile, their private school compatriots are picked up at 5.30 am with a posh bus, grilled through the class eight syllabuses the previous year, have access to all past exam papers (even sometimes future) and have a teacher ration of 1:20. Even with all our selfishness as a country, could we just take a moment before castigating the affirmative action policy? When will the poor children ever get quality? The private schools have already rushed to file lawsuits against the government.

Who is filing one for the child in Turkana? All i hear is silence.....

Down Kenya’s most scenic waterfall

(This article also appeared in the Standard Newspaper on Thursday 18th November 2010, under the Home and Away Magazine on page 13.)

Driving into Nyahururu, the fields are awash with acres of green, be it maize, potatoes or other vegetables. The atmosphere changes drastically from warm to cool. Although I found it a wee too cold, the locals said it was warm. Even though I was warmly dressed, I still braced myself for a long haul.
We were to stay at Thomson Falls Lodge located about two kilometres from Nyahururu town. The lodge’s expertly manicured lawns and well cared for gardens and flowers promised heaven. A happy duo of traditionally dressed Maasai men ushered us in.
The rooms here are lovely and the architecture is unique, depicting a design favored by the colonialists — wooden maisonette of sorts with a mix of wood and stone. After such a long journey, the bed was most welcoming. The following morning the chirping of the birds chased away the last remnants of sleep. Buffet breakfast served in the dining was fulfilling especially when taken outdoors against the background of the rushing sound of the waterfall.

RUSHING SOUNDS
Soon it was time to take a walk to the fall. As we drew nearer, the rush¬ing sound of water grew louder and louder. The morning dew stuck to our feet and brought out a tingling sense to the body.
Shortly after before us was one of the most admirable of God’s creation. At the foot of the Aberdare Ranges, the waterfall reaches a staggering height of 200feet. To cap it all, we took the steep winding road to the bottom from where the water snakes away into a blanket of foliage rising as high as ten feet. Huge rocks line the river¬bed and you get to feel the droplets of water blown by the wind.
The walk down was peaceful; the experience of walking down the winding bush track and stepping on the giant steppingstones was thrilling.

At some point, the wet conditions made it difficult to navigate the path. People passed us on our way down out of breath; they simply wished us good luck. I was not really sure why. Was there any lurking danger? From the bottom, the view up¬wards testified to the sheer height of the waterfall. It was beauty beyond the ordinary. Soon it was time to get going and the way up didn’t look friendly at all. I remembered the sights of those we had met earlier going up.

UPHILL CLIMB
Word of caution to those thinking of visiting here; The trip upwards was an uphill task, not for the faint-hearted. My leg muscles have never been that worked out I cried many times out of sheer pain and an inward protest against the steep uphill climb. I m sure I lost a kilo or two somewhere along the way.
Except for the sound of the water¬fall in the distance, the quiet environment at the lodge is good for those seeking a peaceful haven to rest and reflect. For day visitors, the lodge offers its lawns for picnics or social events for a fee and people can carry their own food or be served by the restaurant at the lodge.
Lovers of Spanish soaps on television will be forced to make some changes because the rooms have no television sets. If adventurous enough you can take a walk to Nyahururu town, which we did.

DESERTED STREETS
The streets are deserted and the local joints, most of which double up as restaurants at the front and a bar-like ambience (plus the nyama cho¬ma) located at the back. This is quite a contrast from Nairobi or other major towns where even getting a parking space is a tough job. The most popular place, Jimrock, is a two storey establishment found in a line of three others. One of the locals explained the silence of the town — that unlike big towns where people sit in offices, locals come here to sell their produce and buy their supplies then head back home to farm.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE

Interviews! For those who are on the search for the perfect job or those who have just landed a job recently, you would identify with the intrigues that play themselves out in interviews. Having attended a couple and memories of anxiety and anticipation still color the back of your mind like it was yesterday. In a number of interviews you find that you have done greatly – portraying confidence, eloquence, poise, intellect, maturity and technical capacity. Of course others have gone dismally. Funny enough, in most interviews that have gone well, a number of candidates find themselves never getting a positive response. This can make one feeling as if the interview was a fallacy because everything went well! So why did you not come out as the best? On the other hand, you find yourself being offered the job where you personally have felt the interview did not go well? So what is the criterion?

Sitting on the other side of the table, things are different for the interviewer. They have to balance the organizations expectations with their personal biases; a task which is neither easy nor interesting. The candidate they like most – especially those who interest you with their mastery of the language and grasp of issues may not really be the person for the job. Interviewers must also be careful and look out for rehearsed phrases.

But then again, there lies the challenge. How do you decide between a candidate who has done their homework and is up to date with the ‘likely questions’ and another who has not performed well in selling themselves but after probing (and scrutinizing their papers) you find that therein lies a gem waiting to be unearthed. Is that the task of the interviewer?

‘Shawarmaing' in Mombasa....

Well, well, well, am back to Mombasa in a span of two weeks. This time I plan to enjoy even more (although am swamped with work); visit and see a wide range of places. As they say, its one thing to plan and another to actualize what you have planned. So I set out on Monday to start the work I am supposed to be doing, very early on Monday morning so as to avoid walking in the mid-morning to afternoon heat. As I go about my business, I stop to notice the old buildings that surround the town; a taste of the Swahili culture as they say. Not to be left out, I also sampled the food and this is where I got to taste the ‘shawarma’; a mixture of flame grilled chicken stripes and vegetable salad with lots of chilly rolled in freshly baked bread (or nan as they call it). What is interesting about Mombasa is that unlike Nairobi, they have food on every corner. So all ye watching their waistline, avoid the town center; the ‘mapocho pocho’ are too enticing to resist.

On the second day, I board the ferry and cross over to South Coast, deep into the farthest points of the province in Msabweni, Kwale and Kinago. Contrary to Mombasa Island where its more of white sandy beaches, this part of Coast is awash with lush green vegetation thanks to the recent rains. You could be forgiven for thinking this was not part of coast province, but yes it is; what with all the palm trees and large mangoes being sold by the roadside. It is still hot but unlike Mombasa where majority of the Muslim women are garbed in black bui buis, here the women loosely tie matching lesos/shukas around their upper and lower bodies.

The start of day three is spent in Kilifi, where the cool where sure is a change from the burning heat in Mombasa Island and South Coast. The attraction here is the famous ‘Korosho – a type of nuts found on the coast – which are so sumptuous and expensive as well! I later head to Malindi and wow, if you though Mombasa had sandy beaches, wait until you get to Malindi. The breeze feels nice to the face in light of the scorching sun, and the pineapples, mangoes and mnazi juices offered by the roadside do their cooling bit. Before I hit the road out of the town, I enjoyed a nice dive in the ocean, and yes, it was heavenly in the afternoon heat.

For sure my one week trip down at the coast was captivating. So the next time you are there, venture out and not only to the beach; go ye out into the town and sample the old architecture. While you are at it, don’t forget to shawarma!!

Garissa

“Garissa is a city in North Eastern Province, Kenya, it is the capital of the province and Garissa District…” this is the first line I come across when looking for information on Garissa – my next trip. I ask myself who wrote this on Wikipedia and how long has it stayed there not updated? If one is a visitor, this kind of information can mislead a person to think North Eastern is still in the dark ages of it being referred to as a Northern Frontier District. Actually a lot has changed; Garissa has produced a number of key people who occupy political seats (the likes of Faarah Maalim; deputy speaker, Aden Bare; livestock assistant minister etc) and a lot of professionals and business people who have excelled.

So in preparing for my trip, I open my mind to meeting a new place and hopefully good adventure. The trip is non-eventful compared to my previous ones; I actually slept through half of the four-hour journey miraculously on our very own Kenyan roads. As the dusk sets in, so do we glide into Garissa town where the roads are thinning as; women rush home, the men chew miraa (khat) and businesses close shop. Being a Muslim dominated town, am surprised to find not one nor two and neither three entertainments posts, but a slow drive around town reveals a number of them. There is even a ‘koinage’; let’s face it like a mad man, every town its own, hidden or not.

The Ewaso Nyiro Experience

If I thought the madness in Oldonyori (by now you should have known where the hell that is) was ‘IT’, ohhhh, how wrong I was. As usual (it has now become the practice) we are still quarreling over this and that before the journey begins (to Borana land now), and unfortunately, this makes the start of our troubles.

So first we forget to take a turn at the required point and when this mistake is realized there is no consensus on what to do. So those with chests (wenye kifua) get their way and we proceed in the wring direction. After driving for over 30km on rough road, we take a detour and proceed for another similar distance after which one local man tells us we are traveling on the wrong direction.

Tired and hungry, we have lunch (chapati nyama – everything here comes with meat even beans) and proceed with our journey. Reaching River Ewaso nyiro, we drive across the dry river bed and boom… we get stuck. Having a local around, we are able to get out of the mud but get stuck again now in the middle of the river!!!

Now the big question is what do you think we should do??? Sms me your answer and I will sample the best in search for a solution!!!

Isiolo – wild and free …….(but not from conflict!)

So I have been planning this activity that will take me to five administrative divisions of Isiolo district for two weeks, and when the day comes, I feel like finally, lets pack a bag and be on our way.

We have a few hitches before we embark on the journey and after heated arguments, we hit Thika road cruising at 100km per hour. All is well till we get to Nanyuki, from where we are to proceed to a division in Isiolo called Oldonyiro. Since none of us knows the way, we make a number of phone calls and after talking to the locals here and there, we are shown a dirt road out of the town that will lead us to the place. We drive for over one and half hours without seeing a human being or any households; at best we only encountered an angry elephant and jumping gazelles. It is at this point that a little bit of panic sets in - the driver asks if we are really on the right way, and the rest of us convince ourselves that were are, not wanting to have to go back the long journey, but also because we are not sure whether we are right by proceeding to God knows where!

Being the ‘supposed’ lead person here, every eye turns on me to make the gnawing decision, so I make a silent prayer to the Almighty and calmly tell the driver to proceed (after all, were have done almost half, we might as well do the other half going forward than backward). For those who don’t believe in God, I pity you, because I asked God for a sign and He gave me one – after fifteen minutes of driving, we come across a small centre and the local policeman assured us we are on the right way. (I know all you cynics are thinking we would have reached it anyway because it didn’t fall from the sky… but that’s you, and this is me who calls it faith.)

Alas! At this small centre guess what we find?? Cellphone NETWORK!!! I know it sounds crazy saying that in this 21st century, but guys… this is Africa. Need I remind you that on that long first part of the journey, we had no network yet we didn’t know where we were going? Additionally we encountered a group of five morans (or warriors if you like) later in the journey striding confidently ( with you know what), and this being Isiolo, you can guess what was running through our minds…. Yeah you guessed it. Anyway back to the network issue, the first thing we all did was try and tell people (family mostly) that we reached well and ta-da-di-da. Later we try and call our contact person in Oldonyiro to ask for further directions and he asks us where exactly we are! What??? We are in the middle of mountains and valleys with no structre in sight (even a manyatta) how do you describe where you are? Do you say we are near a large mountain with rocks on the side, dah! - they are all mountains looking alike. It’s not like in town whre you would say, we are near loita house.

To cut the long story short, we reach our destination by the grace of God, and wow the welcome was wonderful; makes you forget all that drama on the road.