Traveling to Kenya via Istanbul

[cbayer]

I just returned from an extended trip to Kenya. As Turkish airlines had the best deal, I made a stop over in Istanbul on the way back.

If anyone has any questions about traveling to either of these places, I would be happy to share my experiences.

[TBF]

1. Wow! Now that sounds like a fun trip!

I don't know if I have any questions, but I'd love to see a few photos if you're willing to share.

[bikebloke]

4. I was in Istanbul a couple years ago.

Here are my photos in video format:

http://blip.tv/veloroo/istanbul-2755502

[TBF]

5. Interesting city - and quite beautiful

It reminded me of London with the mix of new and old. Also parts reminded me of Manhattan, but then there would be shots of the fisherman. I expected the women to wear head scarves, but many young women were not - perhaps students or tourists? That is a cool thing about travel - getting out to see what things are really like vs. inaccurate conceptions you might be carrying around.

And I loved the video format - very nicely done.

[bikebloke]

6. A mix

Most were locals - with and without head scarves. And the mix is not just with the young women. Though I saw more head scarves around the Sultanachmet neighbourhood (in the vicinity of the Blue Mosque). Though there are a few shots with tourists mixed in. I knew I should've have closed the street to the while I was shooting.

[pinto]

2. No questions, but would love to hear some of your experiences either along the route or in Kenya.

[Seedersandleechers]

3. Ah, Istanbul.

My son is a lawyer in NYC and is bring home his GF who is from Istanbul to meet the family - so I'm expecting some kind of announcement. I'm expecting to go there sometime in the future as he is so much in love!

[Glassunion]

7. Yeah...

Did you make the trip to Lake Victoria? If so how was it?

Did you get the villa in Diani on the waterfront? If so how was it?

How was it traveling in a group of 7 women?

How was Turkish Airlines? I've never flown with them.

Did you meet Jomo my uncle? He would have been the the guy with the really dark skin, blue eyes and the AC/DC shirt.

[cbayer]

8. Did not meet Jomo, but I did look.

Kenyans love t-shirts with American icons on them. And they particularly love all things Obama.

I did not go to Lake Victoria, but did go to Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley. It was stunning and we stayed in a miraculous place.

The property we rented outside of Diani was directly on the beach. Here is the link:
http://www.watersidepropertieskenya.com/
It was stunning.

Traveling with 7 women was quite an experience. We ranged in age from 34 to 81, are all white and include 4 lesbians. To say that it was difficult not to be noticed would be a gross understatement. In general, we had a grand time and not many problems. The only exception would be in the market area of Mombassa, where we were (expectedly) seen as pretty easy targets for scammers.

Turkish airlines is fantastic. Great food and entertainment options. Fairly comfortable seating and a direct flight from LAX to Istanbul followed by easy connection to Nairobi.

The trip was hard. I had not previously personally seen the degree of poverty that I saw in Kenya. My level of privilege hit me in the face like a ton of bricks.

[Glassunion]

9. Thanks for sharing. But you know the rule...

If there are no pictures, it didn't happen.

[cbayer]

10. OK, here's the deal with that.

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but my friends did.

The plan was to upload them all to a site called dropbox and then we could each take what we wanted.

But... when I went to upload my 72 selected photos, it said it would take 5 hours!

I am still trying to get up the energy to see if there is some other way to do it.

[Glassunion]

11. Cool. Have you tried photo bucket?

I forgot the most important question of all. How was the food?

[cbayer]

12. I have used photobucket in the past, but the deal here is that I

want to grab photos from friends.

As with everything else in Kenya, there are two classes of food. What most people eat is pretty horrible - rice, hominy, very bad meat. But, if you have any money at all, there are some exceptional choices.

The places we stayed (the lake, safari and the beach) all had incredible cooks who used high quality local products. At the beach, the fishermen and local farmers would come by in the morning with whatever they had. We would buy it and the kitchen staff would cook it.

There is some great ethnic food. Lots of good Indian food and we went to a really great Ethiopian restaurant and enjoyed food previously unknown to me.

Interesting side note. Hardly anyone smokes cigarettes. Despite the extraordinarily low cost (Marlboros for $1.20 a pack), they are still a luxury that most people can not indulge in.