Having lunch out with Kenyans for the first time! Specifically with two terrific guys -our host Patric and his brother Jack, our private driver. Previously we did some sight-seeing in the City Center of Nairobi but I could not find anything of much interest to comment on from our city tour. It was already 1:30 pm by the time we finished anyway, so Patrick drives us to the National Park restaurant. He suggests that we ought to take the Safari Walk as well since we are here, but the price is once again quite expensive, like everything else in Nairobi, and if we had agreed to have it we had to pay for the two brothers as well. Locals pay less, but still, it would cost a lot.
Having Lunch Out With Kenyans
We have already been to so many Animal Reserve Parks before, had more than 4 Safari trips in South Africa some years back so we decide to skip the visit and save this money to buy more food for the Orphanage Academy and the Maasai High School. We do our best to spend sensibly something not easily understood when you stay with locals. The majority believe that anyone who visits Kenya is that well-off!
Nairobi Safari Walk Entrance
With this day’s outing, we have the opportunity to chat a bit more with Patrick regarding our trip to Nairobi and made clear what this trip means to us. I explained that we are not interested in sight-seeing excursions, restaurants, Safari trips, not spending money here and there without reason, not buying souvenirs to carry home. In the meantime, we have chosen where to sit and we check the menu options.
Charcoal Barbecue
There is nothing like the smell of charcoal barbecue in the air. The telltale aroma of food being grilled outdoors make your mouth water. The National Park Restaurant is not a cheap one. After the chat we had with the two brothers I considered that our friends would choose something more economic. Contrary to our choice which was the cheapest on the catalogue, they had the two most expensive ones, ordering fresh Fish! Those who know me well and the followers through the years are aware that I would never order Chicken and French Fries at a restaurant. I am not fond of meat dishes in general unless they are of high quality and well cooked. The Fried Chicken and French Fries we had were below average taste and quality, while the two Fish dishes the brothers had were exceptional as they claimed. For the first time I had traded in, the Safari for a cheap lunch!
Salad
Main Course
This article could easily be considered a page out of a diary, not a review of the restaurant itself. I write about thoughts, feelings and experiences. I chose to stay with locals instead of hotels to get the full experience out of our ‘mission trip’. It would not be hard to get invitations from a couple of 4* and 5* hotels if I wished but I would not trade this experience with any hotel no matter how many free days I could get.
We skipped dessert, and since it was already a bit late, we had to get home with the hope that the water problem of the area we stay would have been solved by now. There is no water for the 5th day today and it is terrible. We have a bath with warm water in a bucket and a plastic bowl. The girls who cook have saved water in huge bottles and buckets, but it is a nightmare when the time comes for them to cook for 10 people each day and then wash dishes. Indeed an unpleasant experience, but before coming here I was well aware that things won’t be that easy. We had in mind worse situations, so we cope with it as the days go by. We have already missed our children, our friends and home!
Have you had a similar experience you wish to share?
